Most Popular
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Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
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Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Trump picks ex-N. Korea policy official as his principal deputy national security adviser
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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S. Korea not to attend Sado mine memorial: foreign ministry
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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Toxins at 622 times legal limit found in kids' clothes from Chinese platforms
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Davos elite: Capitalism has widened income gap
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ― A four-year economic crisis has left societies battered and widened the gap between the haves and have-nots, financial leaders conceded Wednesday ― with one suggesting that Western-style capitalism itself may be endangered.As Europe struggles with its debt crisis and the global economic outlook remains gloomy at best, there’s a sense at the heavily guarded World Economic Forum that free markets are on trial.Many at the elite economic gathering in the Swiss Alps accept t
Jan. 26, 2012
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Apple tops Exxon as most valuable firm
NEW YORK (AP) ― Apple briefly surpassed Exxon as the most valuable U.S. company after an excellent quarter, though the oil company has regained the lead at the market’s close. Apple’s stock rose as much as 8 percent, while Exxon’s fell as much as 2 percent during trading Wednesday. Exxon Mobil Corp.’s stock closed up 4 cents at $87.22 for a market capitalization of $418 billion. Apple’s increased 6 percent to $446.66 for a market cap of about $415 billion. Apple said Tuesday that net income in i
Jan. 26, 2012
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Iran eyes banning oil sales to Europe
Lawmakers to take up bill banning oil exports to European countries in retaliation for embargoTEHRAN (AP) ― Iran’s parliament will begin debating a draft bill requiring the government to immediately halt oil exports to Europe, a prominent lawmaker said Wednesday, as Tehran weighs its options following the European Union’s decision to stop importing oil from the country. The EU embargo, announced on Monday, was the latest attempt to try to pressure Iran over a nuclear program the United States an
Jan. 26, 2012
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Ailing Portugal’s bond yields hit record highs
LISBON (AP) ― The yield on Portuguese bonds in the secondary market climbed to euro-era records Wednesday amid market fears that the bailed-out country won’t be able to break free of its financial crisis in the near future. The yield on 3-year bonds reached 19.4 percent Wednesday. The rate on 5-year bonds was 18.7 percent and on 10-year bonds was 14.6 percent. Portugal needed a 78 billion-euro ($101 billion) rescue package last year as its high debt load and feeble growth pushed it towards bankr
Jan. 26, 2012
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Merkel: Europe’s strugglers must reform
German chancellor warns Germany cannot be relied on to bailout all European countriesBERLIN (AP) ― German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stuck to her agenda of reform for Europe’s debt-troubled countries, warning that her country doesn’t have an infinite ability to help.Speaking in an interview with six European newspapers published Wednesday, Merkel also dismissed increasing pressure for the 17 countries that use the euro to beef up their financial firewall, clashing with comments made by Interna
Jan. 26, 2012
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Fed unlikely to raise rates until at least 2014
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Federal Reserve went further than ever Wednesday to assure U.S. consumers and businesses that they'll be able to borrow cheaply well into the future.The Fed pushed back the date for any likely increase in its benchmark interest rate by at least a year and a half, until late 201
Jan. 26, 2012
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New Yahoo! CEO promises action after poor quarter
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Yahoo!’s brand new chief executive Scott Thompson promised urgent action to turn the company around on Tuesday after it reported another quarter and year of falling income and profits.Thompson, named Yahoo! CEO only on Jan. 4, said the web giant needed to move quickly to exploit its huge bank of user data to regain market share, especially in display ads where it has lost ground.The former PayPal chief stressed that Yahoo! needed to become an agile and “disruptive” force te
Jan. 25, 2012
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Ford CEO expects Fusion to grab profits without Camry’s crown
Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally has suggested that his stylish new Fusion sedan is seeking sales supremacy over Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry. That’s not exactly what the boss wants, executives said. Ford can’t make enough Fusions to outsell the Camry, the top car in the U.S. for the past decade, according to researcher IHS Automotive. Instead, with Fusion, Mulally is aiming for a balance between commanding top dollar for each car and selling a lot more of them. “Between price a
Jan. 25, 2012
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Fold-up car of the future unveiled at EU
BRUSSELS (AFP) ― A tiny revolutionary fold-up car designed in Spain’s Basque country as the answer to urban stress and pollution was unveiled Tuesday before hitting European cities in 2013.The “Hiriko,” the Basque word for “urban,” is an electric two-seater whose motor is located in the wheels and which folds up like a child’s collapsible buggy, or stroller, for easy parking.Dreamt up by Boston’s MIT-Media lab, the concept was developed by a consortium of seven small Basque firms under the name
Jan. 25, 2012
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Japan posts first trade deficit in 31 years
Trade deficit stood at $32 billion in 2011, the first time since 1980TOKYO (AP) ― Japan reported its first annual trade deficit since 1980 as it imported expensive energy to offset shortfalls caused by the devastating tsunami and manufacturers shifted production overseas to avoid the damage inflicted by the strong yen. The 2.49 trillion yen ($32 billion) deficit for 2011 reflects a 2.7 percent decline in the value of Japan’s exports to 65.55 trillion yen ($843 billion). In December, the trade b
Jan. 25, 2012
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IMF, Germany at odds over how to rescue Europe
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Global leaders are sharply at odds over how to rescue Europe from its escalating debt crisis: Should they focus more urgently on economic growth or on budget cuts?The disagreement presents another obstacle to solving the region’s financial crisis, and it pits one of the world’s most important lenders against Europe’s strongest economy.The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that encouraging growth should be policymakers’ highest priority. It issued the warning on a day whe
Jan. 25, 2012
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Spain’s ministers clash on budget amid recession
Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Spain is sticking to its deficit goal even as the economy shrinks, underlining a rift in the month-old Cabinet over whether the nation can halve its shortfall during a recession. De Guindos said the government’s commitment to budget cuts is “total” and there’s “no change” to this year’s target. His comments in Brussels Tuesday came after reporters asked him about Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro’s call on Jan. 22 for the European Union to ease Spain’s 2012
Jan. 25, 2012
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Nokia Lumia sales seen topping 1m
Nokia Oyj’s first phones running Microsoft Corp. software may have sold enough units last year to help rebuild investor confidence in the Finnish company, which lost $19 billion in market value in 2011. The Lumia handsets, which went on sale in Europe in November, probably sold 1.3 million units globally to operators and retailers by the end of last year, according to the average estimate of 22 analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The projections range from 800,000 to 2 million and only one analyst p
Jan. 24, 2012
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600 million new jobs needed in next 10 years, ILO says
GENEVA (AFP) ― The International Labour Organization on Tuesday released a pessimistic report for the global jobs market in 2012 saying urgent attention is needed to create 600 million new jobs in the next 10 years.“Despite strenuous government efforts, the jobs crisis continues unabated, with one in three workers worldwide, or an estimated 1.1 billion people, either unemployed or living in poverty,” said ILO director-general, Juan Somavia, in the Global Employment Trends 2012 report.“What is ne
Jan. 24, 2012
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Tablet, e-book ownership soars: study
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Tablets and e-readers were a popular gift over the holidays, so much so that the number of people who own them nearly doubled between mid-December and January, a new study finds.A report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, released on Monday, found that 29 percent of Americans owned at least one tablet or e-reader as of the beginning of this month. That’s up from 18 percent who said the same in December.The iPad from Apple Inc. is perhaps the best-known example
Jan. 24, 2012
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New software won’t save Blackberry maker
New RIM CEO stays course, but analysts doubt new software can revive the BlackBerryNEW YORK (AP) ― In the trend-setting North American market, BlackBerry phones have gone from must-have messaging toys to outdated clunkers ― all in the space of a few years. The new CEO of Research In Motion Ltd., the company behind the phones, says it can claw its way back to the top with new software, but analysts are deeply doubtful.The two co-CEOs of the Canadian company resigned Sunday. The new CEO is Thorst
Jan. 24, 2012
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Eurozone, bondholders clash on Greek interest rate
BRUSSELS (AP) _ Eurozone finance ministers early Tuesday set the stage for further tough negotiations with private bondholders over how to cut Greece's massive debt pile, by setting a low limit on the interest rate the country will pay on new lower-valued bonds.The interest rate is the key remaining
Jan. 24, 2012
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Iran revives Gulf threats after EU sanctions
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ Senior Iranian lawmakers have stepped up threats that Islamic Republic warships could block the Persian Gulf's oil tanker traffic after the latest blow by Western leaders seeking to rein in Tehran's nuclear program: A punishing oil embargo by the European Union that sharply
Jan. 24, 2012
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Apple sells iPads to replace textbooks
NEW YORK (AP) ― Apple Inc. on Thursday launched its attempt to make the iPad a replacement for a satchel full of textbooks by starting to sell electronic versions of a handful of standard high-school books.The electronic textbooks, which include “Biology” and “Environmental Science” from Pearson and “Algebra 1” and “Chemistry” from McGraw-Hill, contain videos and other interactive elements.But it’s far from clear that even a company with Apple’s clout will be able to reform the primary and high-
Jan. 20, 2012
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GM retakes title as world’s No. 1
U.S. company ousts Toyota by selling more than 9 million vehiclesDETROIT (AP) ― General Motors Co. has retaken the title of world’s top-selling automaker, selling just over 9 million cars and trucks across the globe. The company said Thursday that it sold 9.03 million vehicles worldwide last year, up 7.6 percent from 2010. That’s more than 1 million better than Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp., which took the title away from GM in 2008. GM had held the global sales crown for more than seven decades be
Jan. 20, 2012
