For S. Korean men, makeup a foundation for success

Cho Won-hyuk stands in front of his bedroom mirror and spreads dollops of yellow-brown makeup over his forehead, nose, chin and cheeks until his skin is flawless. Then he goes to work with a black pencil, highlighting his eyebrows until they're thicker, bolder. “Having a clean, neat face makes you look sophisticated and creates an image that you can handle yourself well,” the 24-year-old college s

IndustrySept. 17, 2012

French doctors blast drug companies

Two French doctors contend in a new book that half of all drugs prescribed in the country are useless at best and dangerous at worst.Professor Philippe Even, director of the Necker Institute, and Bernard Debre, a physician and member of Parliament, maintain the French health service could save as much as 10 billion euros ($13 billion) annually if dozens of drugs were no longer prescribed, The Guar

TechnologySept. 17, 2012

Believers in luck = unhealthier lifestyle

People who have a greater faith in luck or fate are more likely to live an unhealthy lifestyle, Australian researchers say.Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark, director of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, also found people who said they believed their life can be changed by their own actions ate healthier food, exercised more, smoked less and avoided binge drinking.“Our research shows a direct link between the type of personality a person has and a healthy lifestyle,” Co

TechnologySept. 17, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks opened higher on Monday as investor sentiment got a boost from the U.S. Fed's latest stimulus measure, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed0.85 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2008.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips drove up the shares, with LG Electronics gaining 1.59 percent and SK hynix, the world No. 2 memory chipmake

Sept. 17, 2012

People who read labels weigh less

Women who read food labels weigh nearly 9 pounds less than women who didn‘t read labels, researcher in Spain said.Lead author Maria Loureiro of the University of Santiago de Compostela and colleagues at the University of Tennessee, the University of Arkansas and the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural Finance Research used data from the annual National Health Interview Survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Some 25,640 observations were collected on health, eati

TechnologySept. 17, 2012

Re-launching pet supply firm offer special discount

Online pet supply store Monami Pet is offering a special discount in September to celebrate the brand’s re-launching and the inauguration of its new CEO, Song Ha-kyung, company officials said on Sunday.Starting Sept. 1, the online pet supply store has been selling about 5,000 types of pet supplies, including best-selling pet feed brand ANF and Natura at prices lower than at competing retailers, the officials said.In addition, Monami Pet has been promoting other events such as free testing events

BusinessSept. 16, 2012

‘Protectionism’ concerns rise after patent disputes between Samsung, Apple

ITC initially rules Apple did not infringe Samsung patentsProtectionism is rising as a hot topic following the U.S. International Trade Commission’s initial ruling last week that Apple did not violate four of Samsung Electronics’ patents.Edward Gildea, administrative law judge at the ITC, said in a notice posted on its website that the Cupertino-based Apple’s gadgets ― such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod ― did not infringe on Samsung’s intellectual properties earlier on Saturday, local time.The ev

IndustrySept. 16, 2012

Stocks expected to continue upward move this week

South Korean stocks are expected to keep their upward momentum this week on improved investor sentiment following recently-unveiled stimulus measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve, analysts said Saturday.The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, jumped 4.04 percent, or 78 points, last week to close at a five-month high of 2,007.58 on Friday.On Friday alone, the index rallied 2.92 percent as investors cheered the Fed’s decision to purchase mortgage bonds as long as it needs and keep interest rates

Sept. 16, 2012

QE3 raises need for Korea to smooth capital inflows: BOK

South Korea’s top central banker has stressed the need to smooth the volatility of cross-border capital flows as emerging countries cannot block liquidity inflows stemming from advanced economies’ monetary easing steps.Central banks in the U.S. and the eurozone announced in September moves to take unconventional monetary easing steps in a bid to prop up their fragile economies, dogged by the eurozone debt crisis.The Federal Reserve pledged Thursday to pump $40 billion every month into the U.S. e

Sept. 16, 2012

Shareholders to announce 2nd bidding for KAI sale

Major shareholders of Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. plan to make a second public notice of bidding this week to sell a 41.75 percent stake in the aircraft manufacturer, Korea Finance Corp. said Sunday.The state-run Korea Finance Corp., which is in charge of the sale as the biggest shareholder of KAI with a 26.41 percent interest, will announce the second bidding on Monday, it said. The deadline to submit preliminary bids is Sept. 27.Other major shareholders include Hyundai Motor Co. and Doosan

Sept. 16, 2012

Korea fastest to recover from global crisis

Automobiles, electrical goods exports led speedy recovery: analystsAmong the world’s major economies, South Korea is most rapidly recovering from the global financial crisis stemming from the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008, studies showed Sunday. The Korean market posted the highest overall share price increase among 11 major economics of the world during the past four years, according to research by the Korea Center for International Finance. The KCIF assessed 10 other countries that rank the

Sept. 16, 2012