South Korean stocks started a tad lower Thursday led by losses in techs and automakers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) started 10.14 points higher but soon shifted to negative territory to lose 0.84 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,030.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.44 percent and the country's second-largest home appliances maker LG Electronics dipped 0.39 percent.Carmakers were weak, with industry leader Hy

Jan. 3, 2013

Global investment banks (IBs) have mixed views over South Korea's monetary policy for this year amid a modest recovery forecast with stable inflation predicted for the economy, a report said Thursday. Goldman Sachs expected the Bank of Korea (BOK) to keep its key interest rate steady throughout this year, citing a modest gain in consumer prices projected for 2013, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. The central bank cut the key rate twice last year by a quarter

Jan. 3, 2013

MobilityJan. 2, 2013

Halla Climate Control, a top manufacturer of automotive air-conditioning and heating systems, has been dealt a blow as its key client Hyundai Motor seeks new suppliers. In 2011, trade with Hyundai made up 64.1 percent of Halla’s total sales. According to industry sources on Wednesday, Hyundai has recently stopped buying climate control products from Halla for the Sonata model produced at its Alabama plant and instead named Japanese auto parts maker Denso as the new supplier. The Korean auto gian

IndustryJan. 2, 2013

South Korea on Wednesday restarted the operation of a nuclear reactor that was shut down early last month for an emergency safety check following reports that thousands of substandard parts had been used under fake warranties in at least two reactors.The Younggwang 6 reactor resumed operation earlier in the day after the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission approved its restart on Monday.The safety commission earlier said a total of 13,794 substandard parts had been supplied to the Korea Hydro

IndustryJan. 2, 2013

The trading volume of financial derivatives on the local bourse fell last year due to the protracted economic slowdown amid rising uncertainties in the eurozone and the United States, data showed Wednesday.The daily average trading volume of the derivatives including futures and options fell 17.7 percent on-year in 2012 to 54.6 trillion won ($51.2 billion), compared with 66.3 trillion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.The average number of daily contrac

IndustryJan. 2, 2013

South Korean retailers’ sentiment for the first quarter hit the lowest level since the second quarter of 2009 due to jitters over future business conditions, a poll showed Wednesday. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its retail business survey index fell to 87 for the January-March period from 98 for the fourth quarter of last year, well below the benchmark level.A reading below 100 means that pessimists outnumber optimists.The index had been above the benchmark 100 since the seco

IndustryJan. 2, 2013

South Korean nonlife insurers are expected to post poor business performances for the 2012 fiscal year due to increased loss rates amid the country’s cold weather, industry data showed Wednesday.The average loss rate for the country’s top four nonlife insurers hovered above 90 percent in December, surpassing the industry’s break-even point of 77 percent, according to the data.The loss rate refers to the proportion of coverage a nonlife insurer pays to its policyholders from insurance premiums. T

IndustryJan. 2, 2013

Korea’s three largest telecom operators ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― could possibly to be hit with more disciplinary measures as the country’s financial regulator plans to launch an investigation into alleged malpractice concerning credit card transaction fees.The Financial Supervisory Service is expected to begin an investigation into the so-called “big three” telecom companies this week as they may have unfairly demanded that card issuers lower transactions fees below the standard market ra

TechnologyJan. 2, 2013

Major automakers in Korea effectively weathered negative factors involving the eurozone fiscal crisis last year, posting robust sales in the overseas market despite a slump at home.The five companies saw their collective sales climb by 5.65 percent in 2012 to about 8.19 million units, from 7.75 million units a year before.Hyundai Motor reported year-on-year sales growth of 8.6 percent. Its vehicle sales increased by about 350,000 units to around 4.4 million units ― an all-time high ― in 2012, fr

IndustryJan. 2, 2013

Apple’s California headquarters is unlikely to pick a new general manager for Apple Korea for the time being amid reports that Apple Japan’s operating executive will be leading Korean operations.Industry sources said that Colin Greene, senior director of operations of Apple Japan, will be overseeing Apple Korea, and that this proxy system may continue indefinitely. Greene reports to the Cupertino headquarters of Apple, as is the case for most operation executives at regional offices. Apple Korea

IndustryJan. 2, 2013

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japanese electronics giant Sony said it has stopped producing its PlayStation 2 consoles in Japan, fuelling online rumours a PlayStation 4 is in the pipeline.Since launching in 2000 the PlayStation 2, which has a Blu-ray player, has sold more than 150 million units worldwide, making it the best selling console of all time and was so popular it outsold the its replacement for the first three years.Shipments have been “completed” for the hardware of PS2, the Japanese website of Sony

TechnologyJan. 2, 2013