Most Popular
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Dongduk Women’s University halts coeducation talks
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Defense ministry denies special treatment for BTS’ V amid phone use allegations
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OpenAI in talks with Samsung to power AI features, report says
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Russia sent 'anti-air' missiles to Pyongyang, Yoon's aide says
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Two jailed for forcing disabled teens into prostitution
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Trump picks ex-N. Korea policy official as his principal deputy national security adviser
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S. Korea not to attend Sado mine memorial: foreign ministry
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South Korean military plans to launch new division for future warfare
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Kia EV9 GT marks world debut at LA Motor Show
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Gold bars and cash bundles; authorities confiscate millions from tax dodgers
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New bank authority ‘indispensable’
FRANKFURT (AP) ― European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said it was “imperative” that Europe’s leaders create a new agency with powers to restructure busted banks in order to help the region leave its economic and financial crisis behind it once and for all. In the text of a speech to be delivered in London Thursday, Draghi said the new agency would keep troubled banks from burdening governments through bailout costs ― thereby cutting the vicious link that has helped drive Europe’s three-y
May 24, 2013
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Abe heads to Myanmar as Japan eyes cheapest wages in Asia
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Friday becomes the first Japanese leader to visit Myanmar in 36 years as his nation’s companies seek to invest in the former dictatorship, which has some of the cheapest labor in Asia. About 4,000 Japanese executives per month visited Myanmar last year, the second most popular destination behind Thailand, according to Masaki Takahara, executive managing director of the Japan External Trade Organization’s Yangon office. Cheap labor and an untapped market of more than 60
May 24, 2013
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Japan’s P.M. Abe defends policies as markets settle
TOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s top leaders are defending the economic strategies championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, though the central bank chief acknowledged a need for better communication with financial markets, a day after Tokyo shares suffered their worst loss since the 2011 tsunami disaster.Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda acknowledged Friday the need for careful handling of aggressive monetary policies aimed at breaking the world’s third-largest economy free of deflation, or falling prices,
May 24, 2013
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Ford to halt car production in Australia in 2016
MELBOURNE (AFP) ― Ford announced Thursday it would cease making vehicles at its unprofitable Australian plants in 2016 and axe 1,200 jobs, having produced its first car in the country in 1925.Ford Australia chief executive Bob Graziano made the announcement as he revealed losses of A$141 million ($136 million) after tax in the last financial year and Aus$600 million over the last five years.“Unfortunately we will cease our manufacturing operations in October 2016. As a result, approximately 1,20
May 23, 2013
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Bernanke signals Fed to stay course
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to slow its extraordinary stimulus programs.Reducing the Fed’s efforts to keep borrowing rates low would “carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery,” Bernanke said in testimony to the Joint Economic Committee, a panel that includes members of the House and Senate.The Fed has been buying $85 billion a month in Treasury and
May 23, 2013
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EU leaders call time on banking secrecy
European leaders targeted Wednesday setting a year-end deadline to do away with banking secrecy, hoping to recoup a trillion euros in lost tax each year in a time of record recession and unemployment.“Tax fraud and the hindrance of a real exchange of information ― that has to end,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on arrival for a one-day European Union summit.Leaders also aim to produce a joined-up energy policy, hoping to boost the European economy’s competitive edge.The ambitious goal of
May 23, 2013
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A divided Fed wrestles with when to slow bond buys
The Federal Reserve is torn over when to slow its aggressive efforts to stimulate the economy.Its uncertainty burst into view Wednesday, when Chairman Ben Bernanke testified to Congress in the morning and the Fed in the afternoon released the minutes of its last policy meeting.Stock prices gyrated through the day as investors struggled to determine whether the Fed might soon pull back _ even gradually _ on its extraordinary efforts.At one point, the Dow Jones industrial average had jumped more t
May 23, 2013
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EU leaders face tough talks at tax fraud summit
BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Leaders of recession-hit Europe take a fresh stab at fighting tax fraud and evasion worth a trillion euros a year at a summit Wednesday but seem unlikely to convince reluctant Austria and Luxembourg to sign on.With euro-skepticism gaining ground as European Union unemployment queues lengthen and growth slumps, there were hopes of the one-day summit producing an EU-wide crusade against tax evasion and agreement to make the bloc energy-sufficient.“In times of tight budgetary const
May 22, 2013
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BOJ says no new easing measures
The Bank of Japan affirmed a plan to double the monetary base over two years after a jump in bond yields highlighted risks associated with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s campaign to revive the economy. The central bank will expand the supply of money in the economy by 60 to 70 trillion yen ($683 billion) a year, as pledged in April, the BOJ said in Tokyo Wednesday. Twenty-six of 27 economists in a Bloomberg News survey forecast no change. The BOJ didn’t comment on bond prices, switching attention t
May 22, 2013
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JPMorgan's Dimon survives shareholder referendum
Shareholders at JPMorgan Chase voted to let Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO, keep both his jobs.At the bank's annual meeting, just 32 percent of shareholders voted for a non-binding measure that would have advised the bank to split the roles. That's less than the 40 percent vote that a similar proposal received last year.Shareholder groups lobbying for the split gained momentum from a surprise $6 billion trading loss last year, which tarnished the reputation of both JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Di
May 22, 2013
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Apple's CEO faces U.S. Senate questions on taxes
The U.S. Senate sharply questioned the CEO of Apple Inc., the world's most valuable company, over allegations that its Irish subsidiaries help it avoid billions in taxes, and Tim Cook declared, “We pay all the taxes we owe _ every single dollar.”The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report Monday that held up Apple as an example of the legal tax avoidance made possible for companies by the U.S. tax code. It estimates that Apple avoided at least $3.5 billion in U.S. feder
May 22, 2013
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Yahoo vows not to ruin Tumblr after takeover
NEW YORK (AFP) ― Marissa Mayer has made her boldest move to date as chief of Yahoo with the billion-dollar purchase of Tumblr, a popular blogging platform she vowed not to ruin after protests from youthful users.The two companies, one an aging Internet pioneer and the other a young smartphone-era startup, on Monday confirmed the deal, which keeps fast-growing Tumblr largely independent while integrating Yahoo’s technology and ad tools.“We promise not to screw it up,” Mayer said in a blog post on
May 21, 2013
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Apple avoids billions in U.S. taxes
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Apple Inc. employs a group of affiliate companies located outside the United States to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes, a Senate investigation has found. The world’s most valuable company is holding overseas some $102 billion of its $145 billion in cash, and an Irish subsidiary that earned $22 billion in 2011 paid only $10 million in taxes, according to the report issued Monday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The strategies Apple us
May 21, 2013
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U.S. Treasury takes extra steps to stay under federal debt limit
The Treasury Department announced further steps to keep funding the government without going over the nation’s debt limit, amid a stalemate between Congress and the Obama administration on approving an increase in the ceiling. The U.S. declared a “debt-issuance suspension period” under the statute governing the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. That allows the U.S. to redeem existing Treasury securities held by the fund as investments, and suspend new investment. Each month a debt-is
May 21, 2013
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Chinese premier vows to open up markets to India
NEW DELHI (AFP) ― Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged on Tuesday to open up domestic markets to Indian businesses and narrow a gaping trade deficit between the two countries.“As for Indian concerns over the trade deficit, the Chinese side is willing to provide facilitations for more Indian products to access the Chinese market,” Li said during a speech to Indian business leaders in New Delhi.“I am confident we have the ability to mitigate the trade imbalance between our two countries,” h
May 21, 2013
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RBS to cut another 1,400 retail bank jobs in U.K.
Royal Bank of Scotland says it is cutting 1,400 jobs from its retail banking operations over the next two years.The bank says the latest round of cuts affects support staff. Around half of those affected are based in Edinburgh, and most of the rest are in London. The bank has already slashed thousands of jobs since it was rescued by the British government in 2008 during the financial crisis.RBS, which is 81 percent owned by the British taxpayer, said the cuts are part of an ongoing effort to res
May 19, 2013
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Fitch downgrades Slovenia amid banking concerns
Fitch Ratings agency has downgraded Slovenia’s credit grade by one notch, citing a weak economic outlook and a frail banking system.It cut the government bond rating to “BBB+” from “A-,” which is still investment grade. It left a negative outlook, suggesting there’s a risk of another downgrade.Fitch said the prospects for Slovenia’s economy and its public finances have deteriorated in recent months as international investors worry the country might struggle to overhaul its banks. It predicts Slo
May 19, 2013
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ECB to help businesses, top central banker says
The European Central Bank is exploring ways to directly help small and medium-sized companies as a way to boost the recession-hit eurozone economy directly, said Benoit Coeure, A member of the bank’s executive board.Coeure, speaking at a conference south of Paris, did not say how exactly the policy would work and stressed that the ECB would not intervene to replace “other actors” including struggling banks burdened by non-profitable assets.Coeure said the ECB “can only act within its mandate” an
May 19, 2013
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Thousands join anti-austerity march in Rome
Tens of thousands of people joined a union-organized march in Rome Saturday, protesting against the new coalition government’s austerity measures.The metal workers union FIOM said the rally was to demand “the right to jobs, training and health care.”“We cannot wait any longer,” said FIOM secretary Maurizio Landini as Italy is mired in recession.He said the country’s dire economic conditions began with the decisions of the previous governments of Silvio Berlusconi and Mario Monti.But his message
May 19, 2013
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IMF sees Cyprus growth in 2015, warns of pitfalls
Cyprus should return to growth in 2015 after three years of deep recession, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday, but will need to ensure that its sweeping austerity program does not slip off the tracks.The IMF agreed in March to provide Cyprus with some 1 billion euros in aid, along with another 9 billion euros from the European Union, to stave off a meltdown of the cash-strapped economy.A staff report issued on Friday backed that decision, praising the government for the steps it has
May 19, 2013
