The Korea Herald

Euro higher after German election

SINGAPORE (AFP) ― The euro rose against the dollar in Asian trade Monday after German chancellor Angela Merkel clinched her third term in a convincing election victory.The euro bought $1.3529, up from $1.3524 in New York late Friday, while it also bought 134.15 yen compared with 134.36 yen. The greenback dipped to 99.16 yen, from 99.35 yen, with markets in Japan closed for a public holiday. Merkel’s triumphant conservative Christian Democrats fell just a few seats short of an outright majority S

Sept. 23, 2013

European leaders hail Merkel win as ‘good result for EU’

PARIS (AFP) ― Congratulations poured in from France and Angela Merkel’s other European partners on Sunday after the German chancellor clinched her third term in a convincing election victory.French President Francois Hollande ― who has at times been at odds with Merkel over her tough austerity policies for Europe ― was the first leader to telephone after poll estimates showed her with a clear win, one of his aides said.“She was sensitive to that and saw that as a sign of the strength of the Fren

Sept. 23, 2013

European leaders hail Merkel win as ‘good result for EU’

China manufacturing gauge increases to six-month high: Economy

Chinese manufacturing index rose to a six-month high in September, signaling that a rebound in the world’s second-largest economy is gaining steam. The preliminary reading of 51.2 for a Purchasing Managers’ Index released Monday by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics compared with a 50.9 median estimate from 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The gauge was at 50.1 in August. Asian stocks and the Australian dollar rose on optimism that China’s growth is picking up, boosting Premier Li K

Sept. 23, 2013

BlackBerry confirms 4,500 job cuts

TORONTO (AP) ― It was once so addictive it inspired the nickname “CrackBerry.” President Barack Obama confessed to being among the millions of devotees who couldn’t bear to stop tapping feverishly away on its tiny keyboard. Madonna once said she slept with hers under her pillow. Then came the iPhone. Users newly addicted to Facebook and photo-sharing and Angry Birds started flirting with the opposition. And as more smartphones flooded the market with their supersize Samsung screens and thousands

Sept. 22, 2013

Obama urges Congress to pass budget, raise debt ceiling

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― President Barack Obama on Saturday urged the U.S. Congress to approve a budget to keep the government open after Oct. 1, and raise the debt ceiling so the country can pay its bills.Far-right Republicans in Congress want to take neither action in their attempt to defund a sweeping health care overhaul approved more than three years ago. Critics nicknamed the law “Obamacare,” and Republicans have fought to repeal it since its passage.If a budget “doesn’t pass before September 30

Sept. 22, 2013

Asian stocks rise to 4-month high as Fed refrains from QE taper

Asian stocks rose, with the benchmark regional equities gauge climbing to a four-month high, after the Federal Reserve unexpectedly refrained from cutting economic stimulus.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.3 percent to 140.54 as of 10:02 a.m. in Tokyo as all 10 industry groups on the gauge advanced. Markets are yet to open in Hong Kong, while those in mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and Sri Lanka are closed for holidays.The Federal Open Market Committee said that it wants to see more mo

Sept. 19, 2013

Stocks, bonds rise sharply as Fed keeps stimulus

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors plowed money into U.S. stocks and bonds Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's surprise decision to keep its economic stimulus in place.The news sent the Standard & Poor's 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average to a record highs. Bond yields fell sharply, and gold jumped as traders anticipated that the Fed's decision could cause inflation.In a statement, Fed policymakers voted to maintain the central bank's $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program, which has been in

Sept. 19, 2013

Fed delays bond tapering, wants to see more data

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve has decided against reducing its stimulus for the U.S. economy, saying it will maintain the pace of its bond purchases because it thinks the economy still needs the support.The Fed says it decided to hold off on slowing the $85 billion a month in bond purchases to see more conclusive evidence that the recovery will be sustained.In a statement after its meeting, the Fed says that the economy is growing moderately and that some indicators of labor market cond

Sept. 19, 2013

As it meets this week, Fed faces many uncertainties

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Federal Reserve is being engulfed by the one thing it tries to prevent: uncertainty.Will the Fed take its first step Wednesday toward reducing the extraordinary stimulus it’s given the U.S. economy?Will its eventual pullback jolt the financial markets?Who will fill several expected vacancies on the Fed’s policy board next year?And, with Lawrence Summers’ withdrawal from consideration, who will lead the Fed once Ben Bernanke’s term expires in January, ending one of the most

Sept. 17, 2013

WB faces challenge from rival lenders

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The World Bank must be more selective and flexible in its work as its faces rising financial constraints and challenges from rivals, according to an internal strategy document seen Monday.The choices include greater risk-taking, cutting back on bureaucracy and adapting commercial-like work with the private sector, moves which would move the huge institution beyond its traditional approaches to fostering development.“To deliver on the value proposition, the WBG (World Bank Grou

Sept. 17, 2013

Yellen favorite to lead Fed after Summers pulls out

Central bank policy dove Janet Yellen was seen as the front-runner Monday to lead the Federal Reserve after President Barack Obama’s apparent preferred candidate Larry Summers’ surprise withdrawal.Yellen, currently vice chair of the Fed, and so the top lieutenant to outgoing chairman Ben Bernanke, appeared to have broader support among Obama’s Democrats who had become the first line of resistance to Summers.But the White House remained mum on who the president’s pick would be, a day after Summer

Sept. 17, 2013

Yellen favorite to lead Fed after Summers pulls out

As U.S. Fed meets this week it faces many uncertainties

The Federal Reserve is being engulfed by the one thing it tries to prevent: uncertainty.Will the Fed take its first step Wednesday toward reducing the extraordinary stimulus it's given the U.S. economy?Will its eventual pullback jolt the financial markets?Who will fill several expected vacancies on the Fed's policy board next year?And, with Lawrence Summers' withdrawal from consideration, who will lead the Fed once Ben Bernanke's term expires in January, ending one of the most tumultuous chapter

Sept. 17, 2013

Apple seen using iPhone to establish wearable products

Apple Inc.’s new high-end iPhone gives a glimpse of future products that may be in store from the world’s most valuable company. A new motion-sensor chip inside the iPhone 5S lays the groundwork for wearable-computing products, while a fingerprint sensor opens more opportunities to make the smartphone a tool for making purchases at stores, according to technology analysts who study Apple. Another new processor chip in the device may give the company the chance to switch its Mac computers away fr

Sept. 16, 2013

Apple seen using iPhone to establish wearable products

Budget tightening could widen income gap, Obama says

WASHINGTON (AP) ― On the fifth anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, President Barack Obama says the Republican focus on budget tightening could widen income disparities in the nation even as the economy climbs out of a debilitating recession. Trying to lay claim to an economic turnaround, Obama acknowledged that despite progress, middle- and low-income Americans have not benefited as much as the top 1 percent in the country. “We came in, stabilized the situation,” he told ABC’s “This Wee

Sept. 16, 2013

Budget tightening could widen income gap, Obama says

Portugal faces another bailout review

LISBON (AFP) ― International auditors arrive in Lisbon on Monday to begin an eighth evaluation of Portugal’s economy under its 78 billion euro bailout as government austerity measures get bogged down and borrowing costs soar.The experts from Portugal’s so-called “troika” of creditors ― the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank ― will assess Lisbon’s progress in implementing reforms agreed to in exchange for the bailout granted in May 2011.The evaluati

Sept. 16, 2013

Summers withdraws name from Fed consideration

Lawrence Summers had, for weeks, been considered the leading candidate to succeed Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chairman.A renowned economist, Summers built close ties to President Barack Obama when he led the president's National Economic Council in 2009 and 2010. In that role, he helped orchestrate the administration's efforts to combat the financial crisis and the Great Recession.But on Sunday, Summers withdrew from consideration for the Fed. His withdrawal followed growing resistance from

Sept. 16, 2013

Summers suspends Citigroup ties while considered for Fed

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has suspended ties with Citigroup Inc. while the White House considers nominating him to serve as the Federal Reserve’s next chairman, the company said. “Mr. Summers has withdrawn from participation in all Citi events while he is under consideration to be chairman of the Federal Reserve,” Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a spokeswoman for the firm, said Saturday in an emailed statement. Summers, a Harvard University Professor and former top economic advise

Sept. 15, 2013

Obama taps management expert as chief economic adviser

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― President Barack Obama announced Friday he would name Jeffrey Zients, a management expert who has led his budget office, as his new top economic adviser from Jan. 1.Zients, who twice served as acting budget director under Obama as well as the government’s chief performance officer, will replace Gene Sperling as director of the National Economic Council. The appointment comes as Obama faces a constant fight with Republicans over boosting the economy and cutting the government’s

Sept. 15, 2013

Obama taps management expert as chief economic adviser

WB’s Kim says trade zone will boost China’s competitiveness

China’s plan for a free trade zone in Shanghai is “very positive” and will help improve the country’s competitiveness, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said. “Every single country in the world is trying to become competitive and I think this free trade zone will allow China to become more competitive,” Kim said at a briefing in Shanghai Sunday at the start of a four-day visit. The government is committed to financial and fiscal policy reforms which will pave the way for long-term expansion, he

Sept. 15, 2013

WB’s Kim says trade zone will boost China’s competitiveness

EU seeks to strengthen tax evasion fight

VILNIUS (AP) ― European Union finance ministers on Saturday called for better global coordination in the fight against tax fraud, while they sought to downplay concerns over disagreements within the bloc on crucial banking sector reforms. EU officials say tax fraud and firms’ aggressive cross-border tax avoidance schemes cost the 28-nation bloc’s governments an estimated 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) a year, which could provide precious new revenues at a time of sluggish growth and belt-tight

Sept. 15, 2013