Volkswagen to end iconic 'Beetle' cars in 2019

Volkswagen announced Thursday it would end production of its iconic "Beetle" cars in 2019 after adding a pair of final editions of the insect-inspired vehicles.The curvy-topped sedans, which shook off Nazi origins to become a global auto phenomenon, are being sidelined as Volkswagen emphasizes electric cars and larger family-oriented vehicles.But company officials, still trying to completely turn the page after 2015's costly "dieselgate" scandal, opened the door to reviving the model at some poi

Sept. 14, 2018

[Graphic News] Thai Airways ranks best economy-class airline

　Thai Airways took the top spot as the best economy-class airline in the world, according to the Skytrax’s annual “Best Airlines in the World” ranking for 2018.　Airlines based in Asia dominated the ranking, taking nine of the top 10 spots.　The UK-based consumer aviation agency’s survey based its ratings on more than 20 million customer satisfaction surveys. 

Sept. 12, 2018

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma announces plans to retire at 54

Alibaba's charismatic co-founder and chairman Jack Ma plans to retire from the Chinese e-commerce giant on Monday to devote his time to philanthropy focused on education, he told the New York Times in an interview.Ma was an English teacher before starting Alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus, becoming one of the world's richest men and a revered figure in his homeland.His own worth has soared along with that of the company, which has added cloud computing, fi

Sept. 9, 2018

South Korea hungry for Vietnamese garments

HANOI, Vietnam (Viet Nam News) -- Vietnam expects the growth of textile and garment exports to South Korea to continue until the end of the year after strong results in the first seven months of 2018, according to the General Department of Customs.Up until July, Vietnam showed an on-year increase of 24.88 percent in textile and garment export value to $1.5 billion to South Korea, marking a strong breakthrough in those products to the market.In July alone, the export value of those products to th

Sept. 2, 2018

Useful or creepy? Machines suggest Gmail replies

NEW YORK -- Google is toeing the line between helping you save time and creeping you out as it turns to machines to suggest email replies on your behalf.The customized auto-responses come in the latest version of Gmail on the web and expand on a feature already available on Android devices and iPhones. They’re just one more example of how artificial intelligence is seeping into everyday online life, whether it’s to tailor product recommendations or correct spelling.So far the new feature has bee

Aug. 31, 2018

Argentina's interest rate hiked to 60% to counter currency woes

Argentina's Central Bank hiked its benchmark interest rate from 45 to 60 percent on Thursday in a dramatic but fruitless bid to shore up the peso, which plunged to a record low against the dollar.Despite the bank's extraordinary measure to impose one of the world's highest benchmark rates, the currency lost a further 13.5 percent by the close -- its biggest daily loss of the year.The Argentine currency has now lost 53 percent of its value since the beginning of the year, to trade at 39.87 to the

Aug. 31, 2018

US and Mexico tentatively set to replace NAFTA with new deal

WASHINGTON — Snubbing Canada, the Trump administration reached a preliminary deal Monday with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement — a move that raised legal questions and threatened to disrupt the operations of companies that do business across the three-country trade bloc.President Donald Trump suggested that he might leave Canada, America’s No. 2 trading partner, out of a new agreement. He said he wanted to call the revamped trade pact “the United States-Mexico Trade Agre

Aug. 28, 2018

Uber heads in new direction with Toyota on self-driving cars

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber is teaming up with Toyota to build self-driving cars for its ride-hailing service after its efforts to do it alone were derailed by a fatal collision and allegations of high-tech theft.Toyota, based in Japan, is also investing $500 million in Uber as part of the alliance announced Monday.The deal aims to combine the best features from the two companies’ work on autonomous technology into cars that will be picking up Uber’s customers by 2021. (AP)By the time that happens, Ube

Aug. 28, 2018

[Graphic News] South Korean beer exports to China surge

　South Korea's beer exports to China more than doubled in 2017 from the previous year, but exports of other alcohol dropped steeply, industry data showed.　South Korea shipped $50.2 million worth of beer to China in 2017, more than twice as much as $23.9 million tallied in the preceding year, figures provided by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Corp. showed. The volume of exports, likewise, rose to 65.03 million liters from 31.61 million liters, and the unit price of the exports edged up to $0.77

Aug. 27, 2018

[Newsmaker] China’s transport ministry censures Didi after murder

BEIJING (AFP) -- China’s transport ministry on Sunday slammed Didi Chuxing’s safety lapses as the ride-hailing giant said it would suspend its Hitch service after the rape and murder of a passenger, the second such killing this year. A 20-year-old female passenger was raped and killed by her driver on Friday in the eastern city of Wenzhou, barely three months after a similar incident in May. “These two vicious incidents that have violated the life and safety of passengers has exposed the gaping

Aug. 27, 2018

[Graphic News] SK hynix boasts sharpest growth among chipmakers

　SK hynix, South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker, posted the sharpest growth in sales among the world's top 15 players in the first six months of 2018, industry data showed, with Samsung Electronics maintaining its solid lead. 　SK hynix saw its sales jump 56 percent on-year to reach $17.7 billion in the January-June period, the data compiled by IC Insights showed.　Samsung Electronics topped the list by boasting a whopping $39.7 billion in sales, up 36 percent on-year, followed by Intel which advanced 13

Aug. 23, 2018

Investors sue Tesla's Musk over go-private tweets

Two investors filed suit against Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the electric car company after he tweeted he wanted to take the firm private, causing the share price to inflate and short-selling investors to lose millions.On Tuesday, Musk said he could finance the buyout of Tesla, founded in 2003, at a large premium to current valuation, at a price of $420 a share. As a result, Tesla shares jumped 11 percent, causing so-called short-sellers who have been betting on the stock crashing for years to lose

Aug. 12, 2018

[Graphic News] Huawei overtakes Apple to become world's No. 2 smartphone maker, Samsung still No. 1

　China-based Huawei overtook Apple to claim the No. 2 spot in the global smartphone market in the second quarter of the year, according to International Data Corp.　South Korean consumer electronics titan Samsung remained the top smartphone maker, shipping 73 million handsets, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Huawei rose to second place with shipments of 54 million units. 　Silicon Valley-based Apple shipped 41 million iPhones, claiming 12.1 percent of the global market

Aug. 7, 2018

[Graphic News] Miami named world's priciest Airbnb city

　Miami and Boston took the top two spots in the average daily cost of lodging in private dwellings for the second straight year, according to Bloomberg index. 　Airbnb owners asked for $205 a night and $195 a night, respectively, in the two cities. 　The Middle East has been climbing in the annual index and this year has five destinations among the top 15 priciest global cities: Tel Aviv and Dubai at No. 4 and No. 5, and Jerusalem, Riyadh and Kuwait City also near the top.

Aug. 5, 2018

Markets lower with eyes on central banks

LONDON (AFP) -- Asian and European stock markets slid Monday in a downbeat start to the week as investors waited on key global interest rate decisions.Nearing midday in London, the British capital's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.1 percent, while Frankfurt dipped 0.2 percent and Paris pared 0.3 percent in eurozone early afternoon deals. (AFP-Yonhap)"Monday's barren economic calendar (has been) allowing the markets to stew ahead of the week's trio of central bank get-togethers," noted Spreadex a

July 30, 2018

Trump blames tariff critics for weakening US bargaining power

President Donald Trump lit into critics of his tariffs Wednesday saying discord -- some from Republicans in Congress -- undercuts his ability to narrow the U.S. trade gap with other countries."When you have people snipping at your heels during a negotiation, it will only take longer to make a deal, and the deal will never be as good as it could have been with unity," Trump said on Twitter. "Negotiations are going really well, be cool. The end result will be worth it!"Trump’s latest shot comes as

July 25, 2018

[Graphic News] Samsung Electronics ranks 12th on Fortune 500

　Samsung Electronics placed 12th on the list of the top 500 global companies, US business magazine Fortune showed, marking the highest standing ever posted by the tech giant.　The Korean tech giant first entered Fortune's top 500 list by ranking No. 221 in 1995. Since then, Samsung has gradually expanded its presence around the globe, reaching No. 15 last year. 　Samsung was the only Korean company that made the top 20, Fortune showed. The company's archrival, Apple, placed 11th.　Fortune said whil

July 25, 2018

[Graphic News] EU antitrust fines against tech companies

　Google was hit with a record-breaking 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine, topping the 2.4 billion euros it was ordered to pay in another case last year.　EU antitrust regulators accused the company of abusing the dominance of its Android smartphone operating system by blocking rivals.　Qualcomm was also fined 997 million euros this year after the European Commission said it breached EU rules by paying Apple to use only its chips in iPhones, in an effort to block rivals such as Intel.

July 24, 2018

UK to refuse Brexit bill without trade deal, says minister

LONDON - Britain will only pay its EU divorce bill if the bloc agrees the framework for a future trade deal, the new Brexit Secretary warned in an interview published Sunday.Dominic Raab, who replaced David Davis earlier this month after he quit the role in protest over the government's Brexit strategy, said "some conditionality between the two" was needed."Article 50 requires, as we negotiate the withdrawal agreement, that there's a future framework for our new relationship going forward, so th

July 22, 2018

EU tries to limit influx of steel diverted by US tariffs

The European Union will impose provisional safeguard measures on imports of steel products on Thursday to prevent them flooding into Europe after the US also placed tariffs on incoming steel, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. The EU announced it will impose an additional 25 percent tariff on 23 kinds of imported steel products if their volumes exceed average quotas over the past three years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "The EU has taken the measures, saying an increas

July 18, 2018