Shares up on EU optimism

Korean stocks finished 0.8 percent higher Monday on optimism that European policymakers will take action to ease the debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 14.63 points to close at 1,843.79. Trading volume was moderate at 333.1 million shares worth 3.8 trillion won ($3.3 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 425 to 367.“Investors are cheered by the highly anticipated moves of European leaders and are opt

July 30, 2012

Manufacturing sentiment for Aug. hits 3-year low

Korean manufacturers’ business confidence for August fell to a more than 3-year low as the eurozone debt crisis and China’s slowing growth cooled sentiment, the central bank said Monday.The index of manufacturers’ outlook on business conditions came in at 70 for August, down from the 81 recorded for July, according to a monthly survey by the Bank of Korea. The index measures manufacturers’ expectations for the coming month.The August figures marked the lowest level since the index reached 69 for

July 30, 2012

Korea gets exclusive rights to undersea mine in Indian Ocean

Korea has secured exclusive rights to explore and develop a deep ocean mine in the Indian Ocean that can produce over $300 million worth of minerals per year, the government said Monday.At a general assembly held in Kingston, Jamaica last week, members of the International Seabed Authority unanimously agreed to recognize the country’s rights to the offshore mine that lies across an area of 10,000 square kilometers in the Indian Ocean, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Aff

July 30, 2012

Sales at duty-free shops surge in H1

Sales at duty-free shops in airports and downtown Seoul surged to a record high in the first half of the year on the back of a rise in inbound and outbound tourists, industry sources said Monday.Hotel Shilla Co., a South Korean luxury hotel and resort operator, posted sales of 956 billion won ($843 million) at its duty-free shops in the first half, up 39 percent from a year earlier.Its operating income spiked to 60 billion won from a mere 15 billion won over the cited period, according to the so

July 30, 2012

Samsung, Apple may resolve patent disputes

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. will likely reach an agreement over their patent disputes as neither of the two companies has been a clear winner, Fitch Ratings said Monday.Samsung Electronics and Apple, the world’s two largest smartphone makers, have been waging a series of legal suits against each other, blaming each other for patent infringement in design and technology patents on their key mobile devices.“Fitch sees the legal battle continuing for at least th

TechnologyJuly 30, 2012

Korea, Turkey to ink FTA on Wednesday

Korea and Turkey are scheduled to ink a bilateral free trade agreement and an agreement on trade in goods on Wednesday in Ankara, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said on Monday.Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho and Turkish Minister of Economy Zafer Caglayan will sign the trade pact, which will be the ninth FTA to be signed by Korea. Turkey will be the 46th country to sign an FTA with Korea.The two countries had announced in March that they concluded the FTA negotiations, which began in March 2010.Bark is also s

July 30, 2012

Korea nears legal limit on temporary public borrowing

The government neared its legal limit for temporary borrowing ― 20 trillion won ($17.56 billion) ― due to increased loans taken out by the Bank of Korea, stoking concerns of a negative impact on the central bank’s credit and monetary policy.As of the end of June, the government’s temporary borrowing stood at 19.1 trillion won, including 8.1 trillion won in treasury bill balance and another 11 trillion won in the central bank’s outstanding loans. Treasury bills have a maturity of one to three mon

July 30, 2012

Louis Vuitton most copied

Customs agency finds 1.65 million knockoffs of 211 brandsLouis Vuitton was the most widely copied brand for sale in Korea, the results of a crackdown by the Korea Customs Service on counterfeit products showed Monday.The customs agency found over 1.65 million imitation products of 211 brands offered for sale in the first half of this year, about 5 percent of which copied Korean brands.Among the knockoffs worth a total of 615.9 billion won, Louis Vuitton was the most frequent victim, followed by

IndustryJuly 30, 2012

Early bird special for AMCHAM picnic

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea will hold an early bird special for this year’s Labor Day Picnic on Sept. 1.Those who register by Aug. 10 will receive discounts between 10,000 won and 20,000 won. The event is free for children under age 8. The event will be held at the Misari Motorboat Racing Park, located in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province. Visit www.amchamkorea.org for more details. (renee@heraldm.com)

July 30, 2012

Seoul shares up 0.8 percent on Europe optimism

South Korean stocks finished 0.8 percent higher Monday on optimism that European policymakers will take action to ease the debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 14.63 points to close at 1,843.79. Trading volume was moderate at 333.1 million shares worth 3.8 trillion won ($3.3 billion) with gainers

July 30, 2012

Rich men, poor women exposed to obesity

Women on low incomes are more likely to be obese, while the opposite is true for men, according to a statistical report by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare.In a report titled “2010 National Health Statistics,” the ministry classified 8,000 people into four groups based on their monthly income.The relationship between income and obesity rates were opposite for men and women. Men’s obesity rate went up in high-income groups -- 41.0 percent compared to 31.8 percent for their low-income cou

TechnologyJuly 30, 2012

$15,000 hidden in oven goes up in smoke

An Australian woman burned 15,000 Australian dollars ($15,700) without knowing that her husband hid the money in oven without telling her. The man, who was not identified, hid A$15,000 he had made by selling his car, intending to use it to pay the mortgage. However, his wife did not know about this and destroyed the money when she turned on the oven to make chicken nuggets.“It was everything I had,” the man said.He said he thought it would be safe to put the money in the oven because nobody used

July 30, 2012

Tick bite may cause red meat allergy

People who have been bitten by a tick, may develop an allergy to red meat, U.S. researchers say. Dr. Susan Wolver and Dr. Diane Sun of Virginia Commonwealth University said delayed anaphylaxis -- a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction -- to meat is a new syndrome identified initially in the southeastern United States. Patients may wake up in the middle of the night, with hives or anaphylaxis

TechnologyJuly 30, 2012

Mom-to-be diet tied to child hypertension

The offspring of mothers on a low-protein diet are more likely to develop hypertension as adults, U.S. researchers say.Drs. Haijun Gao, Uma Yallampalli and Chandra Yallampalli of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston said in rats, the high maternal testosterone levels associated with a low-protein diet are caused by reduced activity of an enzyme that inactivates testosterone.This inc

TechnologyJuly 30, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on eased European woes

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday driven by optimism that European leaders will take practical actions to save the euro, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 19.08 points, or 1.04 percent to 1,848.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with top-cap Samsung Electronics jumping 2.35 percent and leading c

July 30, 2012