The Korea Herald

Tech giants bet on ‘smart home’ revolution

BERLIN (AFP) ― It’s long been the stuff of science fiction, but tech giants hope the “smart home,” where gadgets talk to each other and the fridge orders the milk, will soon become reality.The futuristic vision of wireless domestic bliss that puts people and their smartphones or tablets at the center of an “Internet of Things” is a key theme at this year’s IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin.Industry titans such as Google, Samsung and Apple have been battling for an early lead in the race to

Sept. 11, 2014

Tech giants bet on ‘smart home’ revolution

Li promises more open economy

BEIJING (AP) ― China’s premier promised Wednesday to open the world’s No. 2 economy wider to foreign companies, promising favorable conditions despite a wave of anti-monopoly investigations that business groups say might be aimed at limiting competition. Speaking at a business conference, Premier Li Keqiang made no mention of the probes against foreign automakers, drug and technology suppliers and other companies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a report this week the investigations unfairl

Sept. 11, 2014

Scotland-registered banks may shift to England under independence

LONDON (AFP) ― Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland may move their registered offices from Edinburgh to England if Scots vote for independence next week, Lloyds and a Treasury source said on Wednesday.Currently, the state-backed banks are legally registered in Scotland due to historical ties with the country, but plans are being made to review this in the event of a “Yes” vote.“While the scale of potential change is currently unclear, we have contingency plans in place which include the establishme

Sept. 11, 2014

Japan e-commerce giant Rakuten to buy cash-back site Ebates for $1b

TOKYO (AP) ― Rakuten Inc. announced Tuesday it plans to buy U.S.-based cash-back site Ebates for $1 billion, part of a series of overseas acquisitions aimed at building what the Japanese e-commerce company says will be the “world’s largest product line-up.”With goods ranging from toys and cat beds to luxury watches and golf clubs, Rakuten is the top Internet retailer in Japan. It has made numerous overseas acquisitions, including Cyprus-based Internet phone application Viber Media and led a $100

Sept. 10, 2014

Japan e-commerce giant Rakuten to buy cash-back site Ebates for $1b

Honda unveils self-driving car

DETROIT (AP) ― Honda shared its vision of the hands-free highway commute Tuesday, a car that can safely drive itself on the freeway while the driver’s hands are off the wheel. While the car is just a prototype, Honda says the technology could start appearing on Honda cars in 2020 and beyond. The prototype ― an Acura RLX sedan ― has cameras that monitor lane marking and multiple radar sensors on the front and sides. On top is a beacon that uses laser beams to continually scan the car’s surroundin

Sept. 10, 2014

Facebook’s value tops $200b on mobile-ad optimism

Facebook Inc.’s market value exceeded $200 billion to put it among the world’s biggest corporations, as investors bet on the company to capitalize on the future of mobile advertising. Facebook shares rose 0.8 percent to $77.89 at Tuesday’s close in New York, valuing the company at $201.6 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That made it the 22nd-largest company in the world, behind Verizon Communications Inc. and ahead of Toyota Motor Corp. The stock has jumped 9.3 percent since Jul

Sept. 10, 2014

Microsoft in $2b talks for ‘Minecraft’ maker

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Microsoft is in talks to buy the Swedish company behind the wildly popular “Minecraft” video game in a deal valued at more than $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday.U.S. technology colossus Microsoft and game maker Mojang AB were not commenting on the report, which was based on an undisclosed source purported to be privy to developments.“Minecraft” has won a tremendous following, with players spending countless hours managing resources, building with virtual blo

Sept. 10, 2014

Japan Inc. cautious on India despite premiers’ love-in

TOKYO (AFP) ― Even as the friendship between Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi blossomed during the new Indian leader’s first foreign trip, Japan Inc. refused to get misty-eyed, wary of the pitfalls of doing business on the subcontinent.A five-day tour that began with a bear hug and a day of sightseeing in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto worked itself up through a crescendo of mutual compliments that culminated in Tokyo’s pledge to spend $34 billion in India over the next five years.Companies l

Sept. 10, 2014

Japan Inc. cautious on India despite premiers’ love-in

Moody’s negative on Brazil in new blow to Rousseff

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) ― Ratings agency Moody’s lowered its outlook for Brazil Tuesday, in the latest blow to President Dilma Rousseff’s economic record, just weeks before voters decide if she will be reelected.Moody’s dropped its outlook for the world’s seventh largest economy from stable to negative just over a week after Brazil was declared in recession.Now, as the country prepares to go to the polls on Oct. 5, the U.S.-based agency warned that “sustained low growth and worsening debt metrics”

Sept. 10, 2014

WB warns of global jobs crisis

SYDNEY (AFP) ― The world is facing a global jobs crisis that is hurting the chances of reigniting economic growth and there is no magic bullet to solve the problem, the World Bank warned on Tuesday.In a study released at a G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting in Australia, the Bank said an extra 600 million jobs needed to be created worldwide by 2030 just to cope with the expanding population.“There’s little doubt there is a global jobs crisis,” said the World Bank’s senior director for

Sept. 10, 2014

Fed pressures big banks to shrink

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Federal Reserve is pushing the biggest U.S. banks to shrink so that they’re less of a risk to the financial system.In testimony at a Senate hearing Tuesday, Fed Gov. Daniel Tarullo highlighted several proposals that regulators are working on. They include imposing additional capital requirements for the eight largest banks ― including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America ― that exceed the levels mandated by international regulators. That means the banks would have

Sept. 10, 2014

European Stocks Decline Amid Uncertainty Over Ukraine, Scotland

European stocks dropped for a fourth day, their longest streak of losses in five weeks, as the region’s governments weighed tougher sanctions on Russia and concern grew the U.K. may be heading for partition. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares fell.Sports Direct International Plc slid 3.3 percent after saying its performance in its first accounting quarter was hurt by England’s early exit from World Cup soccer tournament. Bilfinger SE lost 2.3 percent after announcing job

Sept. 10, 2014

Due to poor sales, Amazon cuts price of its Fire phone to 99 cents

SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- Amazon launched their answer to the smartphone earlier this summer to much fanfare. Touting features other phones don't have, like Firefly that will allow users to photograph barcodes on products instantly placing them on a shopping list. Firefly can even recognize music, movies, artwork on a wall and even TV shows.Fast-forward a few months, and Amazon has slashed the price of it's much lauded phone to .99 cents. That price is with a two-year contract with AT&T, the exclus

Sept. 9, 2014

World Bank warns of global jobs crisis

SYDNEY (AFP) -- The world is facing a global jobs crisis that is hurting the chances of reigniting economic growth and there is no magic bullet to solve the problem, the World Bank warned on Tuesday.In a study released at a G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting in Australia, the Bank said an extra 600 million jobs needed to be created worldwide by 2030 just to cope with the expanding population."There's little doubt there is a global jobs crisis," said the World Bank's senior director fo

Sept. 9, 2014

China's promised reforms moving too slowly: EU businesses

BEIJING (AFP) -- European businesses in China on Tuesday warned the Communist Party urgently to implement promised reforms or risk seeing growth in the world's second-largest economy plummet and incomes stagnate."The 'golden age' for business in China is drawing to a close," the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said."China is nearing the end of its window of opportunity to create the framework to rebalance the economy," it added in its annual European Business in China Position Paper.

Sept. 9, 2014

Apple feeds frenzy with selective silence

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – It is a marketing strategy that few experts would recommend and even fewer companies can pull off.But the less Apple says about its eagerly anticipated event on Tuesday at a performing arts center in Silicon Valley, the more frenzied the speculation becomes.In keeping with its style, Apple has revealed little about what is expected to be the unveiling of the company's first "big thing" since the death of legendary co-founder and driving force Steve Jobs nearly three years a

Sept. 8, 2014

Verizon to pay $7.4 million for U.S. privacy violations

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. telecom giant Verizon has agreed to pay a $7.4 million fine to settle a probe into its privacy practices, including accessing customer data for marketing purposes, officials said Wednesday.The Federal Communications Commission said Verizon failed to notify some 2 million of its landline customers about how their personal data would be accessed and used. Pedestrians walk past a Verizon Wireless store in New York. (Bloomberg)Verizon also agreed to notify customers of their

Sept. 4, 2014

Verizon to pay $7.4 million for U.S. privacy violations

Chrysler, Nissan lead U.S. auto sales rise

DETROIT (AP) ― The seismic shift in American car-buying toward trucks and crossover SUVs is creating great deals on compact and midsize cars.The shift, which has been going on for more than a year, is hurting car sales so much that automakers are offering bigger discounts to keep moving metal.The change became even more pronounced in August, with companies such as General Motors and Chrysler reporting that truck sales, including crossover SUVS, were up while car sales fell.The increasing SUV and

Sept. 4, 2014

Chrysler, Nissan lead U.S. auto sales rise

BOJ holds off fresh stimulus

The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. (Bloomberg)TOKYO (AFP) ― The Bank of Japan on Thursday stuck by its view that the world’s No. 3 economy was recovering, despite a contraction in the second quarter that underlined the damage inflicted by an April sales tax hike.Policymakers held fire on expanding the BOJ’s vast stimulus program following a two-day policy meeting, although they flagged housing and industrial production as weak spots, along with shaky demand for Japanese exports.Investors w

Sept. 4, 2014

Malaysia Airlines renames ‘bucket list’ promotion

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) ― Malaysia Airlines has renamed a promotional competition asking people what activities and destinations are on their “bucket list” after acknowledging it was inappropriate given the two deadly disasters it has suffered this year.A bucket list is a term used by some English-speakers to describe a list of adventures they want to have before they die. The “My Ultimate Bucket List Campaign” asked customers to come up with suggestions, the best of which would win prizes including f

Sept. 4, 2014