[Graphic News] World suffers massive data hack

　The 2016 data hack on 57 million Uber riders and drivers is among the biggest ever thefts of online users’ personal information. 　Here are some previous cases:　　In 2013, Yahoo was hit by hackers that affected all 3 billion accounts, which was the biggest cyberattack in history, and another attack affected 500 million accounts in 2014. Both were revealed in 2016.　In 2014, South Koreans scrambled to stop money being siphoned from their bank accounts after it emerged that data on 20 million credit

Dec. 4, 2017

Tesla builds world’ biggest battery in Australian Outback

ADELAIDE -- The world’s biggest lithium-ion battery has plugged into an Australian state grid, an official said Friday, easily delivering on Tesla Inc. chief executive Elon Musk’s 100-day guarantee.Musk promised to build the 100-megawatt battery within 100 days of the contracts being signed at the end of September or hand it over to the South Australia state government for free. (Yonhap)South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill announced Friday the battery began dispatching power into the state gri

Dec. 1, 2017

[Graphic News] Beijing tech hub beats Silicon Valley to be No. 1

　Beijing’s Zhongguancun has unseated San Francisco’s Silicon Valley as the top technology hub in the world, according to a report by the US-based business resource company Expert Market.　Zhongguancun tech hub has become the top destination for the world’s brightest tech talents due to its favorable climate for early stage funding, good performance in startup output and the city’s affordable cost of living, revealed the Top Tech Cities in the World 2017 report.　The ranking was based on factors su

Nov. 30, 2017

Facebook trains artificial intelligence to spot suicidal signs

　SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Facebook on Monday said stepping up the use of artificial intelligence to identify members of the leading social network who may be thinking of suicide.　Software will look for clues in posts or even in videos being streamed at Facebook Live, then fire off reports to human reviewers and speed up alerts to responders trained to help, according to the social network. (123RF)　“This approach uses pattern recognition technology to help identify posts and live streams as likely t

Nov. 28, 2017

[Graphic News] Myeongdong ranks 8th most expensive retail street in world

　South Korea's Myeongdong has been ranked world’s 8th most expensive retail district with annual rents at $914 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2017 Main Streets Across the World retail report　New York's 5th Avenue retained the most expensive main street in the world with annual rents at an average of $3,000 per square foot per year. 　Hong Kong's Causeway Bay ranked as Asia’s most expensive street with annual rents at $2,725 and placed second globally　The report is based on re

Nov. 26, 2017

Goldman sees four 2018 Fed rate hikes as US growth gains

The US economy is heading into 2018 with strong momentum that’s likely to boost wages and inflation more broadly, requiring the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates four times next year, Goldman Sachs Group economists said in a research note.The New York-based investment banking and securities firm raised its growth outlook for 2018 to 2.5 percent and lowered its forecast for unemployment to 3.7 percent by the end of 2018, said Goldman chief economist Jan Hatzius, a co-author of the note, whi

Nov. 19, 2017

[Graphic News] Luxury market set for record year in 2017

　After a year of stagnation the luxury market has returned to growth and will likely set a new record of 1.2 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) in 2017, said a study released by consulting firm Bain and Company. 　The 5 percent growth in the overall market is likely to be matched in the personal luxury goods segment, which includes clothing, watches and leather goods, to reach 262 billion euros.　Sales of luxury cars have also shifted up a gear, growing by 6 percent to reach 489 billion euros.　Europe

Nov. 16, 2017

[Graphic News] Global smartphone sales keep momentum: IDC

　The global smartphone market has momentum going into the year-end holiday shopping season, according to the International Data Corporation.　An estimated 373.1 million smartphones were shipped worldwide during the third quarter of this year, a 2.7 percent rise from the same period in 2016. 　The five top smartphone makers all shipped more units than they did in the same quarter last year.　South Korean smartphone titan Samsung remained the overall leader, shipping 83.3 million handsets in a 9.5 pe

Nov. 13, 2017

[Graphic News] Koreans’ average salary ranks low in OECD

　The average annual salary of South Koreans ranked mid to low among major economies last year, with its growth rate over the past six years also hovering below the median, a report said.　According to a report by Rep. Park Kwang-on of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, South Koreans earned an average of $29,125 in 2016, the 23rd-highest among the 34 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, excluding Turkey.　Switzerland topped the list with an average annual

Nov. 12, 2017

[Graphic News] Korean Air named world's 8th best airline

　South Korea’s Korean Air has been named the 8th best airline in the world, according to the international aviation website AirlineRatings.com.　Air New Zealand claimed the top award for the fifth straight year followed by Qantas and Singapore Airlines.　The data was based on 13 major criteria including passenger reviews, in-flight product offerings, safety, profitability, fleet age and environmental policies.

Nov. 9, 2017

US, Chinese companies sign contracts during Trump visit

U.S. and Chinese companies on Wednesday signed business deals the two sides valued at $9 billion during a visit by President Donald Trump in a tradition aimed at blunting criticism of Beijing's trade practices.China's biggest online retailer said it pledged to buy $1.2 billion of American beef and pork but no other details of the 19 agreements signed at a ceremony attended by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were immediately released. Such contract signings are a fixture of visits by foreign

Nov. 8, 2017

Shares of 'arrested' Saudi billionaire's company dive

RIYADH -- Shares in Kingdom Holding, 95 percent of which is owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, fell sharply Sunday after reports of his arrest.The share price of the company, which has high profile investments inside and outside Saudi Arabia, dropped 9.9 percent at the start of the week's trading. Shares are allowed to drop a maximum of 10 percent on one day.But the share price later recovered some of its losses to end the day down7.6 percent.This file photo taken on December

Nov. 5, 2017

[Graphic News] Asia leads world in number of billionaires

　The number of billionaires worldwide rose above 1,500 last year, a 10 percent jump from 2015, due largely to a surge in Asia. 　In an annual report, Swiss banking giant UBS and auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers said that last year marked the first time it recorded more billionaires in Asia (637) than in the United States (563), crediting the rise of China‘s entrepreneurs.　Europe took trailed in the report’s billionaire database with 342. 　The total wealth controlled by the ultra-rich group also sh

Nov. 5, 2017

Twitter shows signs of life with renewed user growth

Twitter Inc. beat sales estimates and added more monthly users, indicating signs of life at the social network that has struggled to attract new consumers and advertisers. The shares surged.Twitter has been battling the perception that it’s a niche media platform, despite its emergence as U.S. President Donald Trump’s favorite communications tool. The company reported that monthly active users gained 4 percent to 330 million in the third quarter, a positive sign for investors who view audience s

Oct. 26, 2017

[Graphic News] Chrome remains world's most popular browser

　Chrome is the most popular browser in the world, used by 62.09 percent of web surfers. The advent of Chrome had signaled trouble for all other browsers. Today, it easily outperforms the likes of Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. 　Mozilla Firefox and former market leader Microsoft Windows’ Internet Explorer are distant second and third most popular browsers. 　Other browsers like Yandex, Coc Coc and UC Browser are also far behind, according to data from StatCounter, a Dublin-based web analyt

Oct. 26, 2017

Coca-Cola profit rise 38 percent, on higher Sprite demand

ATLANTA -- Coca-Cola's third-quarter profit rose 38 percent as it sold more Sprite and bottled tea and coffee drinks in the US.The Atlanta company has been diversifying its drinks and lowering the sugar in its sodas to try to adapt to changing tastes. During the quarter, the company relaunched Coca-Cola Zero in the US as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and it bought Mexican sparkling water brand Topo Chico. This April 25, 2011, file photo shows a cap on a bottle of Coca-Cola in Philadelphia. The Coca-Cola

Oct. 25, 2017

Bitcoin hits $100 billion four times faster than Apple: Gadfly

(Bloomberg Gadfly) -- There is no official measurement. In that run, it has added roughly $90 billion in value, crossing above $100 billion for the first time on Friday before dropping back a bit. It's only a matter of time before it becomes a permanent member of the $100 billion club. Bitcoin is now worth more than a number of financial firms that would be its rivals, like American Express Co. ($81 billion)Still, compared with other asset classes, like real estate or stocks, bitcoin is a pimple

Oct. 24, 2017

[Graphic News] Koreans rank 8th in mobile data usage in OECD

　South Koreans used a monthly average of 3.83 gigabytes of data on their smartphones last year, ranking eighth among member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a report by the OECD. 　Finland was No. 1 with monthly data usage on smartphones standing at 10.95 GB in 2016, followed by Latvia with 8.21 GB, Austria with 6.28 GB and Sweden with 4.38 GB. 　Among the surveyed OECD member states, the Netherlands ranked the lowest with an average monthly data us

Oct. 22, 2017

'Co-living' project takes on London housing crisis

LONDON (AFP) - The 10-storey building may look like a hotel, but it is thought to be the world‘s biggest large-scale house-share, offering modest rooms and upscale services for hundreds of young adults caught in London’s housing crisis.The Old Oak building, situated on a canal bank in north west London, opened in the spring of 2016, and has become a pioneer of “co-living”, a concept that is beginning to catch on elsewhere, notably in the United States. “Today in cities, we don‘t know our neighbo

Oct. 18, 2017