The Korea Herald

U.S. economy appears weaker as retail sales slump in June

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The outlook for the U.S. economy appeared dimmer Monday after a report that Americans spent less at retail businesses for a third straight month in June. The report led some economists to downgrade their estimates for economic growth in the April-June quarter. Many now think the economy grew even less than in the first quarter of the year, when it expanded at a sluggish 1.9 percent annual rate. Spending in June fell in nearly every major category ― from autos, furniture and app

July 17, 2012

Yahoo raids Google’s ranks for its latest CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Yahoo has hired longtime Google executive Marissa Mayer as its next CEO in the Internet company’s latest attempt to burnish its image and revive its financial growth after years of often-demoralizing upheaval. The surprise move announced Monday makes Mayer the fifth Yahoo CEO in the past five years to attempt to turn around an Internet icon that has become as well-known for its follies as its online services.Yahoo Inc., which is based in Sunnyvale, California, has lost its l

July 17, 2012

IMF warns of rising risks to global economy

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The International Monetary Fund stepped up its warnings Monday on risks to the global economy, mainly from the crisis-mired eurozone, as it trimmed its growth forecast for the rest of the year.IMF economists said that the frail situations in Spain and Italy especially could quickly turn worse amid market doubts over eurozone leaders’ resolve in implementing pledged reforms.But they also pointed to the U.S. “fiscal cliff” trajectory which, if not corrected, could crunch the U.S

July 17, 2012

IMF warns of rising risks to global economy

Microsoft, NBC end joint venture

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Microsoft is pulling out of the joint venture that owned MSNBC.com, freeing the world’s largest software maker to build its own online news service.The breakup announced late Sunday dissolves the final shreds of a 16-year marriage between Microsoft Corp. and NBC News, which is now owned by Comcast Corp. The relationship began to unwind in 2005 when Microsoft sold its stake in MSNBC’s cable TV channel to NBC.NBC is buying Microsoft’s 50 percent interest in the MSNBC website f

July 16, 2012

Turkey must end ‘illegal’ Kurd oil exports, Iraq says

BAGHDAD (AFP) ― Turkey must stop accepting “illegal” transfers of crude oil from the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq or risk damaging bilateral ties, government spokesman Ali Dabbagh warned on Sunday.His remarks were the latest sign of cooling ties between Ankara and Baghdad, as well as between the central government and the autonomous Kurdish region over oil exports.“Turkey must stop the unauthorised export of oil through its land,” Dabbagh said in an emailed statement. “Exporting

July 16, 2012

Mounting Peugeot losses limit Hollande

French President Francois Hollande says PSA Peugeot Citroen’s plan to close a factory and slash 14,000 jobs won’t be tolerated. History suggests otherwise. In the last major clash between a sitting French president and a company over corporate downsizing, Hollande’s predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy vowed in 2008 that an ArcelorMittal plant in northeastern France would never close and jobs would be saved. A year later, the world’s biggest steel company shut the factory. Hollande, elected in May after

July 16, 2012

Italy eyeing asset sale to slash debt

ROME (AFP) ― Italy’s new finance minister said the government could raise up to 20 billion euros a year in public asset sales, and accused the markets of failing to recognize Rome’s efforts to bring its finances in order.Vittorio Grilli, who was appointed just last week, also lashed out at rating agencies, in comments to the Corriere della Sera published Sunday in the wake of the decision by Moody’s to downgrade Italian debt.“The government wants to secure, through a multi-year program, the sale

July 16, 2012

Wen warns economic rebound not stable

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao warned the momentum for a recovery in economic growth isn’t yet in place and that “difficulties” may persist for a while, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Even so, the current pace of economic expansion is within the targeted range and government measures to stabilize growth are “bearing fruit,” the premier said during an inspection tour in southwest Sichuan province, according to a Chinese-language report from Xinhua Sunday. The article didn’t mention governm

July 16, 2012

GM under pressure as Opel fights overcapacity

FRANKFURT (AFP) ― General Motors was pressed by unions Friday to respect job pledges at its German unit Opel after the shock resignation of its chief executive and as Europe’s car sector struggles with overcapacity.The situation in Germany is actually better than in many European countries where large auto sectors have been slow to react to a glut in output as sales slumped.But after agreeing to management plans aimed at keeping as many workers employed in German plants as possible, unions are n

July 15, 2012

Blackberry maker loses patent suit over software

A federal jury in San Francisco has found beleaguered Blackberry maker Research in Motion Ltd. liable for $147.2 million in damages for infringing on patents held by Mformation Technologies Inc. Amar Thakur, a lawyer for Mformation, said Saturday that the verdict late Friday followed a three-week trial and a week of deliberations by an eight-person jury. Mformation, of Edison, New Jersey, sued Research in Motion in October 2008, alleging that Canada-based RIM infringed on its 1999 invention for

July 15, 2012

Apple rejoins green tech program after spat

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Apple said Friday it was rejoining a program to certify its products as environmentally friendly after a controversy that could have dented sales of its popular gadgets.The California company behind iPads, iPhones, iPods and Macbooks said it was reversing its decision to quit the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool global registry.Apple senior vice president Bob Mansfield said that the company listened to “customers who were disappointed” by the action to delis

July 15, 2012

Apple rejoins green tech program after spat

MasterCard, Visa in $6 billion settlement over card fees

NEW YORK (AP) ― Visa, MasterCard and major banks agreed to pay retailers at least $6 billion to settle a long-running lawsuit that alleged the card issuers conspired to fix the fees that stores pay to accept credit cards. As part of the settlement, stores from Rite Aid to Kroger will be allowed to charge customers more if they pay using a credit card. The pact, announced late Friday, was called by lawyers involved in the case the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history. It was seen as a maj

July 15, 2012

JPMorgan traders may have tried to hide losses

NEW YORK (AP) ― JPMorgan Chase said Friday that its traders may have tried to conceal the losses from a soured bet that has embarrassed the bank and cost it almost $6 billion ― far more than its CEO first suggested. The bank said an internal investigation had uncovered evidence that led executives to “question the integrity” of the values, or marks, that traders assigned to their trades. JPMorgan also said that it planned to revoke two years’ worth of pay from some of the senior managers involve

July 15, 2012

JPMorgan traders may have tried to hide losses

U.S. deficit grows to $904.2b through June

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The U.S. budget deficit grew by nearly $60 billion in June, remaining on track to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year.Through the first nine months of the budget year, the federal deficit totaled $904.2 billion, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.President Barack Obama is almost certain to face re-election having run trillion-dollar-plus deficits in each his first four years in office. That would likely benefit his opponent, GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romne

July 13, 2012

Global PC shipments have sluggish Q2

Global personal-computer shipments stalled in the second quarter, a seventh straight period of anemic growth, amid economic weakness in Europe and waning demand for PCs in favor of tablets, according to Gartner Inc. Shipments slipped 0.1 percent to 87.5 million units, market-research firm Gartner said in a statement Wednesday. Hewlett-Packard Co. clung to its spot as the top PC seller, followed by Lenovo Group Ltd., while Acer Inc. nudged aside Dell Inc. for the No. 3 ranking, Gartner said. Fell

July 12, 2012

EU push for car CO2 cuts faces industry flak

The European Commission pushed Wednesday for cuts in automobile carbon emissions but environmentalists said the plans did not go far enough while car makers warned that it would hurt the industry.European Union Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard issued proposals to slash the average emissions in new cars from 135.7 grams of CO2 per kilometer to 95 grams in 2020.“With our proposals we are not only protecting the climate and saving consumers money, we are also boosting innovation and com

July 12, 2012

U.S. eases sanctions, allows investment in Myanmar

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Obama administration gave permission Wednesday for American companies to invest in Myanmar and work with its state oil and gas enterprise, a go-ahead that marks the most significant easing of U.S. sanctions against the former pariah nation.At the same time, the administration expanded U.S. Treasury authority to punish those who undermine the nascent political reforms and sanctioned a Myanmar military industry involved in a deal for ballistic missile technology from North Ko

July 12, 2012

U.S. eases sanctions, allows investment in Myanmar

Spain unveils new austerity under European pressure

Spanish impose another round of austerity, aiming to shave $79b off budgetMADRID (AP) ― Spain’s government imposed more austerity measures on the beleaguered country Wednesday as it unveiled sales tax hikes and spending cuts aimed at shaving 65 billion euros ($79.85 billion) off the state budget over the next two and a half years. A day after winning European Union approval for a huge bank bailout and breathing space on its deficit program, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned Parliament that Sp

July 12, 2012

Spain unveils new austerity under European pressure

Russia OKs historic WTO accession

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russia’s parliament on Tuesday voted to ratify WTO membership, a historic move which the government says will boost productivity but the opposition claims will bear a heavy social toll.The vote was the last major hurdle for Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization as deputies from opposition parties presented a rare united front in arguing it will hurt the Russian economy.A team of ministers faced the Russian Duma where they were bombarded with questions before a vote of

July 11, 2012

Jobless rate to stay high until 2013, OECD says

PARIS (AFP) ― The unemployment rate in advanced world economies will remain high at nearly 8.0 percent until the end of next year with about 48 million people jobless, the OECD said on Tuesday.The “joblessness rate is forecast to remain high at 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, close to the 7.9 percent rate in May 2012,” a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said.“To get employment rates back to pre-crisis levels, about 14 million jobs need to be created

July 11, 2012

Jobless rate to stay high until 2013, OECD says