The International Monetary Fund has lowered the world’s 2012 economic growth to 3.3 percent, down from its September projection of 4.0 percent, citing the faltering global recovery and greater risks.“The global recovery is threatened by intensifying strains in the euro area and fragilities elsewhere. Financial conditions have deteriorated, growth prospects have dimmed, and downside risks have escalated,” the IMF said in its update of the World Economic Outlook.The IMF said the downward revision

Jan. 25, 2012

NEW YORK (Yonhap News) ― Korea signed a bilateral agreement Monday with Bermuda on the exchange of tax information which officials said would serve as a stepping stone for the improvement in the two countries’ relations.South Korea proposed the Tax Information Exchange Agreement with Bermuda, known as a major tax haven in the North Atlantic Ocean, in 2009.“This pact, the first between South Korea and Bermuda, will be an important starting point for the development of ties between the two sides,”

Jan. 24, 2012

Korea said Saturday that it will fight a planned U.S. government probe into alleged dumping of Korean washing machines in its market, voicing strong objection to the investigation triggered by a complaint from Whirlpool Corp. On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department announced its plan to probe allegations that Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. sold their washing machines to U.S. customers at unfairly low market prices. Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statemen

Jan. 24, 2012

Korean stocks will likely extend their gains next week and approach to 2,000 points on the back of continued foreign buying and easing fears over the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said Saturday.Last week, the KOSPI rose 3.95 percent from the previous week to 1,949.89, closing at its highest level since the first-ever downgrade of U.S. sovereign rating on Aug. 5.The weekly gain came as France and Spain’s strong debt auctions helped stave off investor concerns following eurozone sovereign rating

Jan. 24, 2012

Aging Koreans cited economic difficulty and health as their biggest concerns, but the weight of their worries varied according to their education levels, a report showed Monday.In a survey of 60-year-olds by Statistics Korea, 43.2 percent of the respondents with elementary education picked economic difficulty as their top concern. Health closely followed at 40.5 percent, while unemployment and loneliness each stood at 4.7 percent and 4.3 percent.In contrast, 40.5 percent of the respondents with

Jan. 24, 2012

Major South Korean securities firms reaped more than half of their commission income from stock consignments in the fiscal first half, with the stock commission profits of the top 10 players exceeding 100 billion won ($88 million) on average, data showed Monday.The commission profits that 62 local securities firms earned by selling and buying stocks for their customers totaled 2.94 trillion won in the April-September period, accounting for 70.3 percent of their total commission income, according

Jan. 24, 2012

Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. topped last year’s U.S. auto market performance scoreboard, a report by a consumer data provider showed Tuesday.U.S.-based TrueCar.com said Hyundai and Kia ranked No. 1 in its 2011 Annual Performance Scoreboard that checks such areas as sales growth, market share and customer brand loyalty.It said the two carmakers, which are the flagship companies of Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth largest automotive conglomerate, received an average “A-plus

MobilityJan. 24, 2012

The nation’s 30 largest conglomerates acquired 211 companies over the past three years, commanding more than 1,000 firms under their wings and pursuing more firms with technological prowess. Politicians are raising their voices for chaebol reform amid the companies’ growing appetite for mergers and acquisitions, with the ruling Grand National Party reviewing plans to reduce the side effects of the removal of a cap on large conglomerates’ equity investment. The top 30 business groups in asset val

IndustryJan. 24, 2012

Experts warn of Korea’s economic losses from joining U.S.-led punitive action on TehranKorea’s joining of the U.S.-led sanctions against Iran will fan inflation and cause $7 billion in losses for exporters a year, international relations experts warned Tuesday.Lee Hee-soo, a professor at Hanyang University, said the U.S. demand for Korea to reduce trade activities with Iran last week is the strongest push made in its 30 years of sanctions against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.“Iran is the No. 1 marke

Jan. 24, 2012

Leo Burnett Korea chief aims to support companies to go globalMcDonald’s Korea launched its coffee brand McCafe in 2009, but sales struggled amid the growing popularity of specialty coffee houses like Starbucks. For young women working in offices, who led the new trend of sipping a cup of brand coffee, the half-priced McCafe appeared to be not enough to satisfy their appetite for luxury. Then a television commercial changed the game. The ad, made by Leo Burnett Korea, featured consumers who part

IndustryJan. 24, 2012

Korea’s manufacturing sector grew at a brisk pace of 7.7 percent on-year in 2011 fueled by surging exports, a report by the central bank showed Tuesday.The Bank of Korea said of the 16 industrial sectors checked, only five surpassed the country‘s gross domestic product growth, with three contracting compared to the year before.Asia’s fourth largest economy may have grown by 3.8 percent last year, down from 6.2 percent growth posted in 2010. For the first three quarters of 2011, data showed the e

Jan. 24, 2012

Korea saw its trade with seven economic entities with which it has free trade agreements jump over the past few years, government data showed Monday.South Korea’s trade with those entities came to $296.1 billion in 2011, or 27.4 percent of its total trade volume of $1.08 trillion, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. That is up from 14.6 percent in 2009.The entities include Singapore, Chile, Peru, the European Free Trade Association, the European Union, and the Association of Sout

Jan. 24, 2012

The nation’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday it will support a consumer class action lawsuit for the first time against Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which rigged prices for domestic appliances.The Fair Trade Commission slapped the two companies with fines of 44.6 billion won ($39.6 million) for colluding to fix prices of washing machines, flat screen televisions and laptop computers.“We will provide financial aid for a class action suit led by the Green Consumer Network in Korea as it

IndustryJan. 24, 2012