The Korea Herald

Australian mogul Packer donates $188m

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Billionaire James Packer, one of Australia’s richest men, on Tuesday announced he was setting up a philanthropic foundation to give away A$200 million ($188 million).The casino tycoon, who runs worldwide gambling empire Crown, said the cash would go to charities promoting the arts and those supporting the broader community, particularly indigenous education.Half of the money, to be donated in A$20 million installments for the next 10 years, will come from Crown Resorts, and the re

July 22, 2014

German retail tycoon Albrecht dies aged 94

BERLIN (AP) ― Karl Albrecht, cofounder of the Aldi grocery store empire and one of the world’s richest people, has died in the western German city of Essen. He was 94.Essen’s city hall told The Associated Press that Albrecht was buried Monday in a family plot in a small ceremony in the city’s Bredeney district where he lived. Aldi’s press office said Albrecht died July 16.“He created a corporate culture of mutual respect, he trusted his employees and their talents, and he gave them a chance to u

July 22, 2014

Toyota Motor plans to hold U.S. Hispanic market lead

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to remain the top-selling auto brand among U.S. Hispanic customers as competing automakers boost efforts to win a bigger share of business from the nation’s largest ethnic minority group. Toyota has been the top brand for Hispanic buyers for 10 consecutive years, Bill Fay, group vice president for U.S. sales, said Sunday at a conference for the National Council of La Raza, the largest U.S. Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group. Nissan Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co. are

July 21, 2014

McDonald’s, KFC in China face food scandal

BEIJING (AP) ― McDonald’s and KFC in China faced a new food safety scare Monday after a Shanghai television station reported a supplier sold them expired beef and chicken.The companies said they immediately stopped using meat from the company, Husi Food Co., Ltd. The official Xinhua News Agency said authorities had ordered the supplier to suspend operations and were investigating.Dragon TV said on Sunday that Husi, owned by OSI Group of Aurora, Illinois, repackaged stale beef and chicken and put

July 21, 2014

McDonald’s, KFC in China face food scandal

Russia trade halt to deepen Ukrainian recession, P.M. says

Ukraine, already facing recession, may see its economy shrinking by as much as 2 percentage points more should Russia halt trade as a conflict widens between the two ex-Soviet partners, Premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk said. The trade relationship between Ukraine and Russia is “getting worse,” Yatsenyuk said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “We do not have any kind of real relationship. We have the war. It will severely hamper Ukrainian gross domestic product.” Ukraines’s economy has been batte

July 21, 2014

Russia trade halt to deepen Ukrainian recession, P.M. says

British retailer Tesco says CEO to step down

LONDON (AFP) ― Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco said Monday that chief executive Philip Clarke will step down in October, as the troubled supermarket giant warned that first-half sales and profits would miss expectations.Clarke, who has been at the helm for three years, will be replaced by Unilever executive and turnaround specialist Dave Lewis, Tesco said in a statement, as the group struggles with what it described as “challenging” trade.“Tesco plc announces that Dave Lewis will join the board

July 21, 2014

China’s Xi seeks energy deals in Venezuela

CARACAS (AFP) ― Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived Sunday in Venezuela, the third leg of a Latin American tour aimed at bolstering trade with the region and sealing energy deals.The Chinese leader’s charm offensive, which has already taken him to Brazil and Argentina and will next bring him to Cuba, seeks to secure new bilateral trade deals, particularly for coveted raw materials.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro greeted Xi as he landed at the Maiquetia airport that serves Caracas, with doze

July 21, 2014

China’s Xi seeks energy deals in Venezuela

Really smart cars are ready to take the wheel

PARIS (AFP) ― Why waste your time looking for a place to park when your car can do it for you? An idea that was pure science fiction only a few years ago is becoming reality thanks to automatic robot cars.A car with no one on board drives into a car park at walking pace, lets a pedestrian pass, and then backs into a narrow parking space without the merest bump or scrape.The technology that makes this possible has been developed by the Swedish car company Volvo and the French parts maker Valeo. I

July 21, 2014

Really smart cars are ready to take the wheel

AbbVie buys Shire for $55b

The drugmaker AbbVie has reached a deal worth roughly $55 billion to combine with British counterpart Shire and become the latest U.S. company to seek an overseas haven from tax rates back home.The companies said Friday they will create a new company that is incorporated on the British island of Jersey, where Shire currently is incorporated. But the new company will be controlled by shareholders of North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie, who will own about 75 percent of the new company‘s stock.Shi

July 20, 2014

Amazon launches unlimited e-book plan

NEW YORK (AFP) ― U.S. online giant Amazon unveiled a Netflix-style subscription plan Friday for unlimited access to e-books, a move which could shake up the world of publishing.The $9.99 per month Kindle Unlimited program offers access to some 600,000 titles in the Amazon Kindle format.Subscribers will be able to access the books on Amazon’s Kindle tablets, as well as other devices with a Kindle app, including iPads and iPhones, Windows devices and Android-powered mobile gadgets.Amazon is using

July 20, 2014

BBC News to cut 400 jobs in austerity drive

LONDON (AFP) ― The BBC said on Thursday that it will cut 415 jobs from its news department in the latest cost-cutting measures by the world’s largest public broadcaster.Director of news James Harding said the cuts were part of savings needed as a result of a freeze in the license fee, which all British households with a television must pay.The cuts will save 48 million pounds ($82 million) a year over the next two years and are part of a total of 800 million pounds in savings that began in 2010.

July 20, 2014

BES holding firm seeks creditor protection

LISBON (AFP) ― The troubled holding company of Portugal’s largest listed bank on Friday said it had filed for creditor protection as it struggles to pay a “material” amount of maturing debt.Espirital Santo International said it has applied to be placed under management by Luxembourg authorities in a move that would be “more adequate than a rapid and massive liquidation.” “The controlled management regime will allow the company to defend the interests of its creditors in a transparent and orderly

July 20, 2014

BES holding firm seeks creditor protection

Xi hails ‘new horizons’ in ties with Argentina

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) ― Relations between Argentina and China are poised to reach unprecedented “new horizons,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told lawmakers in Buenos Aires during a summit visit Saturday.Xi is on a Latin American charm offensive to secure bilateral trade deals ― particularly coveted raw materials ― from governments throughout the region.China is Argentina’s third-largest trading partner behind the South American Mercosur bloc and the European Union, and one of its main destinations

July 20, 2014

IMF chief says low inflation can hit European growth

PARIS (AFP) ― IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned on Friday that low inflation could damage growth in Europe and urged the European Central Bank to maintain a flexible policy.The former French economy minister also urged caution over asset prices, which she said could be too high in relation to fundamentals. “Obstinately low inflation can seriously undermine growth,” said Lagarde, who recently hinted that the 3.6 percent global growth forecast for 2014 might have to be trimmed.The “good news,” La

July 20, 2014

West escalates Russia sanctions

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Both the U.S. and European Union imposed new economic sanctions on Russia Wednesday, with President Barack Obama declaring that Russian leaders must see that their actions supporting Ukraine’s rebels “have consequences.”Though the American and European sanctions were coordinated, they nonetheless exposed fissures in what the West has tried to project as a united front in its months-long effort to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.Ukraine and the West have accused Russia

July 17, 2014

Starbucks opens first store in Colombia, land of coffee

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz (center) takes part in the opening ceremony of the first Starbucks in Colombia on Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap)BOGOTA (AFP) ― U.S. chain Starbucks on Wednesday opened its first cafe in Colombia ― a world famous coffee exporter ― apparently unafraid it will be like selling sand at the beach.To gear up for a soft landing, the U.S. company teamed up with local company Nutresa, and picked a location in Bogota’s exclusive Parque de la 93 for upscale appeal.Starbucks “is looking

July 17, 2014

Starbucks opens first store in Colombia, land of coffee

Apple may refund $400m in digital book settlement

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Apple will refund up to $400 million to consumers ensnared in a plot to raise the prices of digital books unless the company gets a court to overturn a decision affirming its pivotal role in the collusion.The settlement bill emerged in a Wednesday court filing made a month after attorneys suing Apple notified U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in New York that an agreement had been reached to avoid a trial over the issue.Lawsuits filed on behalf of digital book buyers had origi

July 17, 2014

Apple may refund $400m in digital book settlement

BMW expands recall to 1.6 million cars worldwide

DETROIT (AP) ― BMW is expanding a recall of its most popular models to fix an air bag problem that is hitting much of the global auto industry.The German automaker says it will recall 1.6 million 3-Series cars from model years 2000 to 2006 across the world, including 574,000 in the U.S.The company on Wednesday said that it’s a precaution because other automakers using similar systems have reported problems, but it has no reports of problems in its vehicles.Air bag inflators in systems made by Ta

July 17, 2014

VW passes GM in global auto sales race

DETROIT (AP) ― Volkswagen bumped General Motors out of second place in the global auto sales race during the first half of the year, but Toyota is expected to stay in first place.GM said Wednesday that it sold 4.92 million cars and trucks worldwide from January through June. But VW said it sold 4.97 million. Toyota won’t release first-half numbers until later this month. But it was in first place at the end of the first quarter and it expects to sell 10.1 million vehicles this year.VW sales are

July 17, 2014

Yellen rejects move to set up formula for Fed

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday it would be a serious mistake for Congress to require the U.S. central bank to adopt a formal policy rule to guide its decisions on setting interest rates.Yellen faced a barrage of questions from Republican lawmakers about legislation that they are supporting to make the Fed more accountable and make its policy decisions more transparent. One of the requirements would have the Fed adopt a policy rule that would govern future dec

July 17, 2014