The Korea Herald

Mexico opens oil to private firms

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― A Mexican senate committee on Saturday proposed the most dramatic oil reform in decades that would open the country’s beleaguered, state-run sector to private companies and investment. The Senate proposal would allow the government to grant contracts and licenses for exploration and extraction of oil and gas to multinational giants such as Exxon or Chevron, something that is currently prohibited under Mexico’s constitution. It also says that contracts could be made directly wi

Dec. 8, 2013

China exports power ahead on demand from U.S., Europe

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s exports grew much more strongly than expected in November, official figures showed Sunday, as a rebound in overseas shipments gained strength on demand from the United States and Europe.Exports increased 12.7 percent to $202.2 billion from November last year, the General Administration of Customs said ― compared with a forecast of seven percent in a poll of 11 economists by the Wall Street Journal reported by Dow Jones Newswires. Imports were up 5.3 percent year-on-year t

Dec. 8, 2013

EADS to downsize defense, space business

PARIS (AFP) ― EADS, the maker of Airbus, is set to announce a draconian restructuring plan to unions on Monday that may include thousands of job cuts and strain relations with shareholders Germany and France.In the line of fire is not EADS’ successful Airbus business, but the company’s defense and space operations, both suffering a drop in orders that the company says requires urgent attention.The restructuring is the brainchild of Tom Enders, the EADS chief executive whose bold plan to merge th

Dec. 8, 2013

Baidu stops accepting bitcoins after China ban

Baidu Inc., China’s biggest search engine, stopped accepting bitcoins after the nation’s central bank barred financial institutions from handling transactions, triggering a drop in the virtual currency. Bitcoin fell more than 20 percent and was quoted at 4,250 yuan ($863) as of 3:25 p.m. Shanghai time on BTC China, the most active online exchange where it’s traded. It lost 30 percent to $575 on Bitstamp, another Web platform where the digital money is exchanged for dollars and other currencies.

Dec. 8, 2013

Baidu stops accepting bitcoins after China ban

Greece approves tough budget

ATHENS (AFP) -- Greece's parliament on Saturday approved a tough budget for next year, including further spending cuts of 3.1 billion euros ($4.2 billion), aimed at ending the country’s deep recession.The coalition government, which enjoys a narrow majority in the 300-seat chamber, scraped through with 153 deputies backing the 2014 budget in a late evening vote.The move came as Greece's troika of international creditors -- the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monet

Dec. 8, 2013

Deal to boost global trade reached at WTO summit

A deal to boost global trade has been approved by the World Trade Organization's 159 member economies for the first time in nearly two decades, keeping alive the possibility that a broader agreement to create a level playing field for rich and poor countries can be reached in the future. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo shed tears during the summit's closing ceremony Saturday as he thanked host nation Indonesia and his wife.``For the first time in history, the WTO has finally delivered''

Dec. 7, 2013

MS wins EU approval for Nokia deal

Microsoft Corp. won European Union approval for its 5.44 billion euro ($7.4 billion) bid to take over Nokia Oyj’s handset business as regulators warned that they would monitor Nokia’s licensing practices. The European Commission said it “will remain vigilant and closely monitor Nokia’s post-merger licensing practices under EU antitrust rules,” according to an emailed statement. Any possible competition concerns over Nokia’s conduct as the owner of a portfolio of smartphone patents “falls outside

Dec. 5, 2013

EU fines global banks $2.3 billion

AMSTERDAM (AP) ― The European Commission has fined a group of major global banks a total of 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) for colluding to profit from the manipulation of key interest rates. The banks that received fines, which include JPMorgan, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, are accused of manipulating for years European and Japanese benchmark interest rates that affect hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts globally, from mortgages to credit card bills. Switzerland’s UBS bank escaped a

Dec. 5, 2013

Greenspan says bitcoin a bubble without intrinsic currency value

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said bitcoin prices are unsustainably high after surging 89-fold in a year and that the virtual money isn’t currency. “It’s a bubble,” Greenspan, 87, said Wednesday in a Bloomberg Television interview from Washington. “It has to have intrinsic value. You have to really stretch your imagination to infer what the intrinsic value of bitcoin is. I haven’t been able to do it. Maybe somebody else can.” Bitcoins, which exist as software and aren’t regulate

Dec. 5, 2013

Greenspan says bitcoin a bubble without intrinsic currency value

Obama says income disparity a defining challenge of era

President Barack Obama, setting a theme that he’ll pursue in the final years of his presidency, said growing income disparity in the U.S. is the “defining challenge or our time” and Washington must confront it. Upward mobility for middle-income Americans has been stymied by economic changes and government policy, Obama said.“The basic bargain at the heart of our economy has frayed,” he said in an address in Washington Wednesday that echoed a speech he gave two years ago in Osawatomie, Kansas, th

Dec. 5, 2013

Japan, SE Asia in talks to expand currency swap

Japan and Southeast Asian countries are in talks over expanding currency swap arrangements to help cushion their economies in financial emergencies, an official said Thursday, ahead of a Japan-ASEAN summit next week.A swap is a device useful in times of economic stress, when normal foreign exchange markets can seize up, in which financial authorities agree to buy local currency with something much more liquid -- usually the U.S. dollar.Tokyo is now talking with five countries -- Indonesia, the P

Dec. 5, 2013

Fed: U.S. growth stays moderate during shutdown

A Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday found that the U.S. economy held steady during the 16-day partial government shutdown, growing moderately in most regions from October through late November.The Fed said seven of its 12 banking districts described growth as moderate. Four _ Philadelphia, Chicago, Kansas City and San Francisco _ said growth was modest. Boston said its regional economy continued to expand.Manufacturing strengthened in most districts, helped by more production of cars, tr

Dec. 5, 2013

EU fines six banks record 1.7 bn euros for rate fixing

(AFP) -- The European Union fined six finance groups a record 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) on Wednesday for rigging the Euribor and Japanese yen Tibor interest rates.German Deutsche Bank, involved in rigging both rates, was fined a total of 725 million euros, and French Societe Generale was fined 446 million euros for manipulating the European Euribor rate.British bank RBS, already mired in controversy, was fined 391 million euros for involvement in cartels which rigged both rates.The Europe

Dec. 4, 2013

‘Somber’ mood as hope fades for WTO deal in Bali

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AFP) ― India Wednesday rejected a proposed World Trade Organization package, casting a cloud over a high-stakes conference tasked with reviving the WTO’s faltering efforts to liberalize global commerce.The package, which New Delhi fears could endanger its efforts to subsidies food in the huge nation, “cannot be accepted,” commerce minister Anand Sharma said. “Agriculture sustains millions of subsistence farmers. Their interests must be secured. Food security is essential for

Dec. 4, 2013

Judge declares Detroit eligible for bankruptcy

DETROIT (AP) ― A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Detroit can use bankruptcy to cut employee pensions and relieve itself of other crushing debts, handing a defeat to the city’s unions and retirees and shifting the case into a delicate new phase.Judge Steven Rhodes turned down objections from unions, pension funds and retirees, which, like other creditors, could lose under any plan to solve $18 billion in long-term liabilities.The issue for Rhodes, who presided over a nine-day trial, was whether

Dec. 4, 2013

Judge declares Detroit eligible for bankruptcy

Auto sales hit fastest pace since 2007

CHICAGO (AFP) ― U.S. auto sales clocked their fastest pace in nearly seven years as holiday deals boosted already strong demand, industry data showed Tuesday. The auto industry has been steadily climbing out of a deep and painful downturn after the 2008 financial crisis sent sales spiraling to levels not seen in decades. Improved consumer confidence, economic growth and the need to replace ageing vehicles has fueled growth which accelerated this year. But the promotions offered in Thanksgiving

Dec. 4, 2013

Yuan passes euro as second most used global trade currency

China’s yuan overtook the euro to become the second most used currency in global trade finance after the dollar this year, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. The currency had an 8.66 percent share of letters of credit and collections in October, compared with 6.64 percent for the euro, Swift said in a statement Tuesday. China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany and Australia were the top users of yuan in trade finance, according to the Belgium-based financia

Dec. 4, 2013

Yuan passes euro as second most used global trade currency

EU nations approve pact with China on solar-panel imports

European Union countries approved a deal with China to curb imports of Chinese solar panels, bringing to an end the EU’s biggest trade dispute of its kind. EU governments endorsed an agreement struck by their trade chief and China in July that sets a minimum price and a volume limit on European imports of Chinese solar panels until the end of 2015. Participating Chinese manufacturers will be spared EU tariffs meant to counter alleged below-cost sales, a practice known as dumping, and subsidies.

Dec. 3, 2013

EU nations approve pact with China on solar-panel imports

Top U.S. court affirms state sales tax on Amazon

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Monday New York state’s law requiring Amazon to collect sales tax on items sold online, the latest decision in a long battle over e-commerce taxes.The top U.S. court dismissed without comment an appeal from Amazon and online retailer Overstock.com, after the New York state Court of Appeals ruled the tax constitutional in March.The decision requires Amazon to collect and remit sales taxes for goods sold to residents of New York state, an important

Dec. 3, 2013

Bali summit may be last chance for WTO trade deal

BALI (AP) ― Top trade officials began talks Tuesday that will either produce an eleventh hour deal that could boost the global economy by $1 trillion or possibly spell the end of the World Trade Organization’s relevance as a forum for negotiations. After more than a decade of inertia in WTO talks, negotiators are close to a slimmed-down deal but there is no finished document for the dozens of trade ministers attending a summit on the Indonesia resort island of Bali to sign. So close to an agreem

Dec. 3, 2013

Bali summit may be last chance for WTO trade deal