South Korean stocks closed up 0.87 percent Wednesday as investor sentiment got a boost from heightened optimism over stimulus efforts in the United States and Europe, analysts said. The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.43 points to finish at 1,903.23, extending its winning streak to a third consecutive session and rest

Aug. 8, 2012

President Lee Myung-bak instructed the Cabinet Tuesday to be more aggressive with a sense of emergency in taking steps to cope with the global economic crisis, saying he sees little action despite many discussions on how to handle the situation.“As we have feared from the beginning of the year, this crisis could last for a long time,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting, according to spokesman Park Jeong-ha. “Though we have held emergency meetings ... government measures are not seen in action."We

Aug. 7, 2012

The dietary supplement creatine can enhance the efficacy of treatments for depression, research by a Korean team of scientists suggests.Creatine is an organic acid that occurs naturally in the body, but is taken as a dietary supplement by athletes as the compound facilitates energy delivery to muscle and brain cells. According to the research conducted by professor Lyoo In-kyoon of Seoul National University’s College of Medicine in collaboration with the Catholic University of Korea researchers,

TechnologyAug. 7, 2012

BUSAN (Yonhap News) ― The chambers of commerce from Korea and Japan on Tuesday called for closer economic cooperation and investment in the face of growing global uncertainties.At the sixth bilateral chamber of commerce meeting in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Sohn Kyung-shik, the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said despite unfavorable economic conditions, two-way trade surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2011.He said the growth was made possibl

Aug. 7, 2012

Samsung Electronics has formed an alliance with Verizon, the biggest telecom company in the U.S., to boost content for smart TVs.The two companies will offer Internet Protocol television content, including video on demand, through the Verizon FiOS App on Samsung’s smart TV.Some 120 million consumers subscribing to Verizon telecom services will be able to view such content without using set-top boxes, which are normally required to watch IPTV shows and movies.Lee Kyung-shik, vice president of vis

Aug. 7, 2012

Korea’s leading flag carrier Korean Air plans to join a bidding race to acquire the nation’s sole aircraft maker Korea Aerospace Industries, industry sources said Tuesday. The company has already secured 1 trillion won ($900 million) for the potential acquisition, said Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Hanjin Group, which owns Korean Air, in a recent interview with a local vernacular news daily. A shareholders’ committee of KAI, consisting of state-run financial firm Korea Finance Corporation, Samsung Te

IndustryAug. 7, 2012

Korea’s corporate debt rose sharply in the first quarter of this year, data showed Tuesday, spawning concerns that the high indebtedness is feared to weigh on the already weakening economic growth.Local companies’ debt reached 107 percent of the country’s gross domestic product as of end-March, well hovering above a tipping point of 90 percent, according to the Korea Insurance Research Institute. In 2010, the ratio came in at 104 percent.The corporate debt ratio fell to 78 percent in 2004 after

Aug. 7, 2012

Sales of air conditioners in South Korea are on a roll as heat-battered consumers are rushing to escape the scorching weather, market watchers said Tuesday.Sales at major retailers jumped more than 20 percent in July from a year earlier, while they skyrocketed between 240-260 percent in the last few days of the month when the mercury hovered above 33 degrees Celsius in most parts of the country, according to the watchers.Due to a spike in demand, consumers have to wait a week on average for thei

IndustryAug. 7, 2012

Korean stocks closed marginally higher on Tuesday as investors took a pause after recent rallies amid eased concern over the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said.The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 0.92 points, or 0.05 percent, to finish at 1,886.80. Trading volume was moderate at 320.6 million shares worth 3.47 trillion won ($3.07 billion), with gainers outstripping losers 502 to 317. “Investors took a breather as signals fr

Aug. 7, 2012

Korea’s monthly stock trading volume has remained below the 100 trillion won ($88.6 billion) mark for four straight months this year as global uncertainties arising from the debt-ridden eurozone are sapping investor appetites, data showed Tuesday. The monthly trading turnover of stocks listed on the main bourse stood at 90.5 trillion won as of the end of July, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Financial Investment Association. Trading turnover figures had stood above the

Aug. 7, 2012

Chances are unlikely that the bloc will impose higher tariffs: expertsThe European Commission, the European Union’s executive body, has begun reviewing France’s request to require Korea to give advanced warning of planned car exports to the EU.“The European Commission confirms it has received a note from the French authorities requesting ... prior surveillance measures for South Korean car imports,” EU’s trade spokesman John Clancy said in a statement. “The Commission is reviewing carefully the

Aug. 7, 2012