The Korea Herald

JPMorgan's Dimon, Justice Department discuss huge deal

JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon held talks with the U.S. attorney general Thursday on a possible deal to settle a slew of alleged banking violations, with fines possibly hitting $11 billion.U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed the meeting but gave no details, amid intense negotiations mainly focused on the bank’s marketing of dubious mortgage-backed securities ahead of the financial crisis.But Holder told journalists that dealing with banking misbehavior was one of his priorities.“This i

Sept. 27, 2013

U.S. fines 9 Japanese auto-parts firms for price-fixing

The United States government said Thursday that nine Japanese auto-parts companies and two executives have pleaded guilty to price-fixing and will pay more than $740 million in fines.The parties, in separate conspiracies, fixed the prices of more than 30 different products sold to US car manufacturers and installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice said in a statement.The products include seatbelts, radiators, windshield wipers, air conditioning systems,

Sept. 27, 2013

Newspapers could become ‘luxury’: Bezos

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Amazon chief executive and new Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Wednesday that print newspapers could one day become a luxury item.“Some day, I don‘t know how many years in the future ― it could be decades ― but I think printed newspapers on actual paper may be a luxury item,” Bezos told NBC in an interview. “People still have horses but it’s not their primary way of commuting to the office,” Bezos added.Bezos was questioned on whether he envisions a day when the Washington

Sept. 26, 2013

Senate advances U.S. budget but shutdown threat remains

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― With the clock ticking toward a possible U.S. government shutdown, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to advance a stopgap spending bill.The 100-0 vote masked deep divisions within Congress over how to thrash out a measure that funds government operations beyond Monday, the final day of the current fiscal year.The Senate will now debate legislation passed by the House of Representatives that funds government through Dec. 15, but which also strips President Barack Obam

Sept. 26, 2013

France vows ‘unprecedented’ spending cuts in 2014 budget

PARIS (AFP) ― France vowed “unprecedented” cuts in public spending to rein in its deficit without compromising much-needed growth, as it unveiled its draft 2014 budget on Wednesday.The pledge came as new figures showed the number of registered job seekers in France fell for the first time in more than two years.But critics on either side of the political spectrum remained skeptical that the cost-cutting would alleviate hardship in the Eurozone’s second largest economy, which is grappling with re

Sept. 26, 2013

ICAP paying $87m to settle LIBOR charges

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Britain’s ICAP PLC has agreed to pay about $87 million to settle U.S. and U.K charges of manipulating a key global interest rate, the fourth financial firm sanctioned in the international rate-rigging scandal. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Wednesday that ICAP, the world’s largest broker of trades between banks, engaged in rigging of the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, from October 2006 to January 2011. Separately, U.S. prosecutors filed criminal ch

Sept. 26, 2013

ICAP paying $87m to settle LIBOR charges

Amazon unveils faster Kindle Fires

The new Kindle Fire HDX costs $229 to $479 and comes in two display sizes, 7-inch and 8.9-inch, Amazon said in a statement Tuesday. While the prices are lower than Apple Inc.’s latest iPads and iPad minis, which start at $329, they are more expensive than the older Kindle Fire HD that started at $199. The HDX tablets have higher-resolution screens, faster processors, weigh less than their predecessors, and have 4G wireless capability. Amazon is battling Apple and Google Inc. in the tablet market

Sept. 25, 2013

Applied Materials to buy Tokyo Electron

Applied Materials Inc., the largest chipmaking-equipment supplier, agreed to acquire Tokyo Electron Ltd. for $9.39 billion in stock in the largest deal for a Japanese company from outside the country in six years. Gary Dickerson, who was promoted to chief executive officer of Applied Materials this month, will be CEO of the combined manufacturer, the companies said in a statement. Applied Materials shareholders will own 68 percent of the new entity. Dickerson, who replaced Mike Splinter as CEO,

Sept. 25, 2013

‘Shutdown may harm credit quality’

A U.S. government shutdown or failure to raise the debt limit may slow economic activity, which would damage the nation’s credit quality, according to Moody’s Investors Service. While the ratings company expects the nation’s leaders will avoid a shutdown and increase the debt limit, if it fails to do so “the consequences for the economy and government revenues would be negative,” it said in a report Tuesday. “Financial market and economic consequences would likely be more severe if the debt limi

Sept. 25, 2013

Lew says investors may be too hopeful on debt-limit debate

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said investor confidence that a deal can be struck to raise the debt limit is “a bit greater than it should be” and the government probably will have less than $50 billion in cash by mid-October. Lew, who spoke at the Bloomberg Markets 50 Summit in New York Tuesday, repeated that President Barack Obama won’t negotiate with congressional Republicans on increasing the $16.7 trillion ceiling on the nation’s borrowing authority. Lew told Congress in an Aug. 26 le

Sept. 25, 2013

Lew says investors may be too hopeful on debt-limit debate

Japanese debt disaster likely unless VAT rises to 20 percent by 2020

Japan must raise its sales tax to at least 20 percent by the time the Olympics come to Tokyo in 2020 to avert a “disaster” in its bond market, according to the head of a panel advising the world’s biggest pension fund. The consumption levy, due to increase in April for the first time since 1997, will need to quadruple from current levels to handle Japan’s increasing welfare costs and rein in the nation’s debt, said Takatoshi Ito, who leads an investment panel for the 121 trillion yen ($1.23 tril

Sept. 25, 2013

Japanese debt disaster likely unless VAT rises to 20 percent by 2020

China Beige Book shows slowdown

China’s economy slowed this quarter as growth in manufacturing and transportation weakened in contrast with official signs of an expansion pickup, a private survey showed. Increases in business-investment and real estate revenue also slowed, while service industries picked up and employees became tougher to find, the survey from New York-based China Beige Book International said Tuesday. The report is based on responses from 2,000 people from Aug. 12 to Sept. 4 as well as 32 in-depth interviews

Sept. 25, 2013

Tesco unveils 7-inch Hudl tablet in U.K.

Tesco Plc, the U.K.’s largest retailer, will start selling a cut-price tablet loaded with its own shopping applications next week as it takes on the likes of Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. in the digital space. The 7-inch high-definition tablet called Hudl will sell for 119 pounds ($191) in Tesco stores and be available to members of the retailer’s Clubcard loyalty program for as little as 60 pounds in vouchers. Only a quarter of U.K. households own a tablet and many customers feel they are too

Sept. 24, 2013

Microsoft introduces new Surface

NEW YORK (AP) ― Microsoft refreshed its Surface tablet computers Monday, giving them longer battery life and better comfort on laps as the software giant continues its transformation into a devices and services company.The company said it tried to address many shortcomings of the first-generation Surface models, sales of which have been slow. Microsoft needs to boost its tablet business to make up for sales declines in traditional desktop and laptop computers. IDC is forecasting a nearly 10 perc

Sept. 24, 2013

Moody’s restores GM debt to investment grade

DETROIT (AP) ― A key ratings agency has restored General Motors’ debt to investment grade status, eight years after the company lost the rating as it spiraled toward bankruptcy protection.The upgrade came on Monday morning, shortly after GM announced plans to buy back high-interest preferred stock from a union retiree health care trust fund for $3.2 billion.Moody’s Investors Service raised GM’s corporate debt from Ba1, which is junk status, to “Baa3,” the lowest investment grade rating. Two othe

Sept. 24, 2013

Chrysler files for IPO, forced by UAW trust

DETROIT (AP) ― Chrysler Group is reluctantly preparing for an initial public offering of some of its shares. The automaker is proceeding with the IPO after it failed to reach an agreement on the value of the stock with the retiree trust that owns it. Chrysler shares haven’t been publicly traded since 1998, when the company merged with Daimler AG. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker is now majority owned by Italian automaker Fiat SpA. The shares that would be sold are owned by a United Aut

Sept. 24, 2013

Chrysler files for IPO, forced by UAW trust

ECB is ready to offer more long-term loans, Draghi says

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he’s ready to deploy another long-term refinancing operation to provide funds to Europe’s banking system if needed. “We are ready to use any instrument, including another LTRO if needed, to maintain the short term money markets at the level that is warranted by our assessment of inflation in the medium term,” Draghi said in response to questions from lawmakers in the European Parliament in Brussels Monday. Euro-area money-market rates rose to a l

Sept. 24, 2013

U.S. braces for shutdown over budget

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The Obama administration warned U.S. federal agencies Monday to prepare for a possible government shutdown that could hobble the U.S. economy, as Congress wrangled over a fast-approaching budget deadline.The current fiscal year ends Sept. 30 and Congress remains bitterly split over spending, in particular over President Barack Obama’s landmark health care law.The Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would prevent a shutdown at the price of defun

Sept. 24, 2013

Fairfax reaches tentative deal to buy BlackBerry

BlackBerry's largest shareholder has reached a tentative agreement to pay $4.7 billion for the troubled smartphone maker, even as many investors fret about its potential demise.BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. has signed a letter of intent that ``contemplates'' buying the company for $9 per share in cash in a deal that would take the company private. The tentative deal comes just days after the Canadian company announced plans to lay off 40 percent of its global w

Sept. 24, 2013

US judge weighs Google book copyright case

A federal judge Monday pointedly questioned attorneys for the Authors Guild in a long-running case on whether Google's book-scanning project violates copyright law.The two sides presented oral arguments in a hearing on whether the case should be dismissed, or whether the authors can maintain their challenge to the massive digitization project.US District Judge Denny Chin said a core question in determining the case is whether there is "benefit to society" in helping users find information from b

Sept. 24, 2013