The Korea Herald

BlackBerry outages spread to N. America

NEW YORK (AP) ― BlackBerry users across the world were exasperated Wednesday as an outage of email, messaging and Internet services on the phones spread to the U.S. and Canada and stretched into the third day for Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa.It was the biggest outage in years for BlackBerr

Oct. 13, 2011

China export growth slows on Sept.

China’s export growth cooled to the weakest in seven months and officials said that trade faces “severe challenges” as the yuan strengthens and confidence slides in developed nations. Exports climbed a less-than-forecast 17.1 percent in September from a year earlier, customs bureau data showed in Be

Oct. 13, 2011

Slovak parties in deal to approve EU bailout fund

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) -- Slovakia's main political parties have reached a deal to approve changes to an EU bailout fund this week, the main opposition leader said Wednesday, just one day after parliament rejected the proposal, causing the government to fall.Robert Fico, head of Smer-Social

Oct. 13, 2011

EU speeds up capital rules for big banks

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union plans to force the region's biggest banks to raise billions of euros in capital to better withstand market turmoil over the high debt in several euro countries, the European Commission's president said Wednesday.Jose Manuel Barroso also warned that key European ba

Oct. 12, 2011

Japan’s machinery orders rise 11%

Japan’s machinery orders rebounded in August on demand for electrical products, signaling that companies are willing to invest even as global economic growth slows and the yen stays near post-World War II highs. Bookings rose 11 percent in August from July, the fastest increase in a year, the Cabine

Oct. 12, 2011

Local union votes down Ford, UAW agreement

DETROIT (AP) ― A local Ford Motor Co. union has rejected a contract agreement between the company and the United Auto Workers, indicating that Ford and the UAW could have a tough time getting some workers to accept the deal.UAW Local 900, which represents workers at three plants outside Detroit, sai

Oct. 12, 2011

EU to propose bank recapitalization Wednesday

BRUSSELS (AP) — The president of the EU's executive arm says he will unveil proposals on how to make European banks fit enough to sustain the worsening debt crisis on Wednesday.Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday that the European Commission would unveil several initiatives that should contribute

Oct. 12, 2011

Senate passes bill to sanction China over currency

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Senate voted Tuesday to threaten China with higher tariffs on Chinese products made cheap through an artificially undervalued currency, which lawmakers blame for destroying American jobs. The House of Representatives, though, is unlikely to take up the bill, which some American

Oct. 12, 2011

Jobs’ cause of death released as Apple mourns

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― The official cause of death for beloved Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was made public on Monday as a private memorial was planned at the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters for employees.Local public health officials reportedly determined that Jobs was at home in the Northern C

Oct. 11, 2011

Jobs’ cause of death released as Apple mourns

Moody’s reviews Belgian regions for downgrade

BRUSSELS (AP) ― Belgium’s financial troubles appeared to mount Monday as Moody’s Investors Service announced it was putting the country’s three regions on review for a possible downgrade, along with three of their government-related issuers.The news followed Friday’s announcement that Moody’s was pu

Oct. 11, 2011

GM China sales up 15.3% in September

SHANGHAI (AFP) ― U.S. auto giant General Motors said Monday its sales in China jumped 15.3 percent in September from a year earlier to 240,244 units, despite government moves to phase out incentives for buyers.In the first nine months of the year, GM and its joint ventures sold a record 1.89 million

Oct. 10, 2011

Japan offers 10,000 foreigners free trips

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan will offer 10,000 foreigners free airfare to visit the country next year, in an attempt to boost the tourism industry, which has been hit by the ongoing nuclear disaster, a report said Monday.The Japan Tourism Agency plans to ask would-be travelers to submit online applications f

Oct. 10, 2011

GM China sales up 15.3% in September

SHANGHAI (AFP) ― U.S. auto giant General Motors said Monday its sales in China jumped 15.3 percent in September from a year earlier to 240,244 units, despite government moves to phase out incentives for buyers.In the first nine months of the year, GM and its joint ventures sold a record 1.89 million

Oct. 10, 2011

Japan offers 10,000 foreigners free trips

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan will offer 10,000 foreigners free airfare to visit the country next year, in an attempt to boost the tourism industry, which has been hit by the ongoing nuclear disaster, a report said Monday.The Japan Tourism Agency plans to ask would-be travelers to submit online applications f

Oct. 10, 2011

Thousands take Wall Street protest to NYC park

Police arrest a protester on New York's Brooklyn Bridge during a march by Occupy Wall Street, as protesters speaking out against corporate greed and the gap between the rich and the poor attempted to walk over the bridge from Manhattan, resulting in the arrest of more than 700 during a tense confron

Oct. 10, 2011

Thousands take Wall Street protest to NYC park

Sinopec to acquire Canada’s Daylight Energy for $2.1b

China Petrochemical Corp., the country’s biggest refiner, agreed to buy Daylight Energy Ltd. for about CA$2.2 billion ($2.11 billion) in cash to add oil and gas assets in Canada. The offer of CA$10.08 a share from China Petrochemical, known as Sinopec, is more than double Daylight’s closing price of

Oct. 10, 2011

Sinopec to acquire Canada’s Daylight Energy for $2.1b

How bad can it get if the U.S. falls into recession?

NEW YORK (AP) ― Are investors overreacting to the prospect of a recession?The slightly better jobs report on Friday notwithstanding, the odds of a recession appear to be climbing, and that’s bringing back scary memories. Though stocks may look cheap thanks to record corporate profits, that was also

Oct. 10, 2011

China sees higher quality at lower prices in H.K.

Pan Jingdan traveled more than 40 miles to shop in Hong Kong during China’s Golden Week holiday. Unlike the thousands of Chinese tourists who lined up outside luxury goods stores, she stuffed her bags with shampoo, cosmetics and Unilever’s Dove shower gel. “It’s so much cheaper here, especially if y

Oct. 10, 2011

China sees higher quality at lower prices in H.K.

Libya oil chief optimistic on output

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) ― Libya’s oil production stands at about 25 percent of its prewar levels but could return to an output of 1.6 million barrels per day in about 15 months, the country’s oil chief said Sunday.The OPEC country’s output all but stopped during the months of fighting to oust Moammar Ga

Oct. 10, 2011

Flying in Africa still pricey despite busier skies

CAPE TOWN (AFP) -- It has never been easier to fly to Ouagadougou, Juba or Maputo but Africa’s increasingly busy skies are still among the most expensive in the world.Budget carriers are cropping up in the bigger countries, with South African taxi operators last month becoming the latest to enter th

Oct. 10, 2011