The Korea Herald

Japanese chipmaker Elpida files for bankruptcy

Japanese computer chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc. filed for bankruptcy Monday after amassing debts from nose-diving prices, longtime competition from Samsung and the flooding in Thailand last year that stagnated demand.Elpida, the only maker in Japan to specialize in chips called DRAM, used in mobile p

Feb. 27, 2012

Mao’s limo returns in threat to Audi

Chairman Mao Zedong’s Red Flag limousine is making a comeback after a $280 million overhaul, seeking to regain its standing as the ride of Chinese leaders from Volkswagen AG’s Audi. China FAW Group Corp., which built the first Hongqi ― as the brand is known in Chinese ― for Mao in 1958, received state approval this month to make the C131, reviving the Red Flag’s production after it was discontinued in 2010. The sedan will be the official car for minister-level officials, according to the Communi

Feb. 27, 2012

RIM chief counting on Europe sales

Research In Motion Ltd., whose U.S. sales plunged 45 percent last quarter, is counting on Europe to regain ground lost to Apple Inc. and Google Inc. as the BlackBerry maker races to introduce a new operating system. Thorsten Heins, who took the top job at RIM last month, heads to Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress this week to convince carriers he has the products European consumers want. His challenge is to bolster market share in the region, where sales in the U.K., for example, have begu

Feb. 27, 2012

ECB’s Draghi expects banks to increase credit supply

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he expects banks to increase credit supply after its next three-year operation as confidence returns to financial markets, making the currency a “safer place.” While banks used an initial offering of three-year loans “to repurchase their bonds coming due in the first quarter of this year,” banks will now be “more inclined to use this money ― which was our primary expectation really ― to expand credit into the real economy,” Draghi said after a me

Feb. 27, 2012

ECB’s Draghi expects banks to increase credit supply

‘Sooner the better’ for firewall deal: France

MEXICO CITY (AFP) ― French Finance Minister Francois Baroin Sunday called on Europeans to rapidly agree on boosting a firewall against the debt crisis, after a G20 meeting in Mexico which urged progress on the issue.“I agree with Wolfgang Schaeuble, that the month of March is good,” Baroin said, referring to a date proposed by his German counterpart, after a meeting of finance ministers and central banks here.“Objectively, the sooner the better,” Baroin said.France hopes the amounts for an incre

Feb. 27, 2012

Luxury brands face Chinese rivals

Global brands from L’Oreal SA to Gucci face new competition in their race for a share of the $33.7 billion Chinese luxury market: homegrown Chinese brands. Shanghai Jahwa United Co., established more than a century ago, sells a revamped line of products, including 1,000 yuan ($159) perfumes, whose package is designed by Demos Chiang, great grandson of the nationalist leader and Taiwan’s first president Chiang Kai-Shek. Eve Group has more than 400 boutiques which sell its own brand of luxury mens

Feb. 26, 2012

U.S. consumer prices up as gas, clothing costs rise

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Consumer prices rose modestly in January on higher costs for food, gas, rent and clothing. But economists downplayed the increase, saying inflation will likely ease in the coming months as prices for raw materials level off. Separately, a gauge of future economic activity rose in January for the fourth straight month, adding to evidence that the economy has strengthened in the New Year. The consumer price index increased 0.2 percent last month, after a flat reading in December,

Feb. 26, 2012

U.S. consumer prices up as gas, clothing costs rise

Buffett says Berkshire has picked next CEO

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Billionaire investor Warren Buffett announced Saturday that a successor has been chosen to lead his Berkshire Hathaway holding company, although he did not identify the person.Buffett, 81, wrote in a letter to investors that Berkshire Hathaway’s board of directors chose his successor and two back-up candidates.“When a transfer of responsibility is required, it will be seamless and Berkshire’s prospects will remain bright,” Buffett wrote.“Do not, however, infer from this discus

Feb. 26, 2012

Buffett says Berkshire has picked next CEO

Fitch cuts Greece’s credit rating two notches to ‘C’

PARIS (AFP) ― The international ratings agency Fitch said Wednesday that it has cut the long-term rating on Greece’s sovereign debt by two notches, from “CCC” to “C.”A Fitch statement said it now considered that a Greek debt default was “highly likely in the near term.”The agency said the downgrade followed Tueday’s hard won agreement for a second rescue of Greece, which includes a 53.5 percent writedown on private holdings of the country’s sovereign debt through a bond swap scheme.The writedown

Feb. 24, 2012

GM in alliance talks with Peugeot in Europe

PARIS (AP) ― General Motors Co. is in talks about a possible alliance with France’s leading car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen, a deal that could dwarf PSA’s partnerships with BMW, Mitsubishi Motors and Toyota.Peugeot Citroen shares surged on news of the talks, which were confirmed Wednesday by France’s labor minister.The Paris-based maker of the Peugeot 207 hatchback and Citroen C4 Picasso minivan lost 439 million euros ($578 million) on its car business last year amid falling sales and concerns ove

Feb. 23, 2012

GM in alliance talks with Peugeot in Europe

China economy faces crisis if no reforms

BEIJING (AFP) -- China could face an economic crisis if it does not implement major reforms in the next 20 years, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday, citing a report by the World Bank and Chinese government researchers.The “China 2030” report -- to be released Monday -- warns economic growth is at risk of a sharp and sudden slowdown, which could trigger a severe downturn in the world’s second-largest economy, the paper said.The report makes a number of recommendations for restructuring China’

Feb. 23, 2012

Christie: Buffett should ‘write a check and shut up’

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who called for the nation’s wealthiest people to pay more taxes, should “just write a check and shut up.” “I’m tired of hearing about it,” Christie told CNN’s Piers Morgan in an interview that aired last night. “If he wants to give the government more money, he’s got the ability to write a check. Go ahead and write it.” Christie, a 49-year-old first-term Republican known for a blunt and caustic style, has proposed a 10

Feb. 23, 2012

Christie: Buffett should ‘write a check and shut up’

Asia CEOs look to Europe for takeovers: Citi

Asian chief executive officers are preparing to accelerate acquisitions in Europe to take advantage of asset prices depressed by the continent’s sovereign debt crisis, according to Citigroup Inc. The number of deals the New York-based bank is working on involving Asian companies has jumped about 25 percent from a year ago, driven by clients seeking opportunities in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Canada, said Colin Banfield, Citigroup’s head of mergers and acquisitions for the Asia- Pacific re

Feb. 23, 2012

Asia CEOs look to Europe for takeovers: Citi

Wen seen setting China growth below 8 percent

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao is seen signaling next month that curbing pollution, inequality and the risk of financial instability eclipse the benefits of faster economic growth, a survey of analysts indicated. Wen will target an expansion of less than 8 percent in his report to the National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 5, the equivalent of the U.S. President’s State of the Union address, according to 8 of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The median estimate of 7.5 percent compar

Feb. 23, 2012

HP: Earnings fall 44%

PALO ALTO (AP) ― Net income at Hewlett-Packard Co. fell in its first full quarter under CEO Meg Whitman, as the company confronted weak consumer sales and supply shortages due to flooding in Thailand.Whitman described a company in transition Thursday, but she identified goals, which include improving internal procedures and reducing costs to free up money for investments in growing areas. She said HP sees opportunities in security services, information management and Internet-based systems known

Feb. 23, 2012

EU to freeze $655 million in Hungary funds

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Brussels is proposing to freeze 495 million euros ($655 million) in EU funds destined for Hungary in 2013, the European Commission said Wednesday, the first time it has ever taken such a measure.Hungary, whose Prime Minister Vikor Orban is already in dispute with Brussels over a raft of new laws criticized as undemocratic, lashed out over the “unfathomable” move, saying it contravened the spirit of EU treaties.“This unprecedented step follows the Commission’s repeated warnings t

Feb. 23, 2012

EU to freeze $655 million in Hungary funds

B&N launches $199 Nook tablet

NEW YORK (AFP) ― U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble unveiled a new version of its Nook tablet computer Tuesday, a device with the same $199 price tag as Amazon’s Kindle Fire.The 7-inch Nook Tablet also has eight gigabytes of memory like the tablet released by online retail giant Amazon in November.Apple’s cheapest iPad costs $499. Barnes & Noble released a $249 Nook Tablet with 16 gigabytes of memory in November.Barnes & Noble also said it was slashing the price of its Nook Color electronic book rea

Feb. 22, 2012

Obama seeks 28% corp. tax rate

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is proposing to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, and to seek an even lower effective rate for manufacturers, a senior administration official says.In turn, corporations would have to give up dozens of loopholes and subsidies that they now enjoy. Corporations with overseas operations would also face a minimum tax on their foreign earnings.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday was to detail aspects of President Barack

Feb. 22, 2012

Company sues Apple over iPad name in Shanghai

A Chinese company fighting Apple Inc. over its use of the iPad trademark in China took its complaints to a Shanghai court Wednesday, though it says it is willing to talk about a settlement.Shenzhen Proview Technology claims ownership over the iPad name. Apple says it bought the rights to the name in China and other countries in 2009, but that Proview failed to transfer the rights in mainland China as agreed.Proview accuses Apple of acting dishonestly when it bought rights to the iPad name from i

Feb. 22, 2012

China to surpass U.S. by 2016

China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest trading nation by 2016, as intra-Asian commerce and rising demand from emerging markets boost shipments, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.Trade in China and the Asia-Pacific will grow at an annualized pace almost twice as fast as the world average over the next five years, driven by shipments within the region and expanded ties with Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, HSBC said in a global trade report issued Tuesday.Demand from trad

Feb. 22, 2012