The Korea Herald

Israel manufacturers urge EU against trade boycott

JERUSALEM (AFP) ― The head of Israel’s manufacturers’ association has urged his European counterparts not to boycott Israeli businesses, warning that such a move could hit Palestinians as well, in a letter seen Monday.The open letter to European industry leaders comes a week before Israel is due to end exports of poultry and dairy produce from its West Bank settlements to the EU.It also comes at a time of growing calls by activists for a general boycott of Israel over its alleged human rights vi

Aug. 26, 2014

Zimbabwe central bank calls for change

HARARE (AFP) ― Foreign investment in Zimbabwe more than halved in the first six months of the year, the central bank chief said Monday, calling for the country to “fight the negative perception” that was scaring off capital.The news came as Mugabe, Africa’s oldest leader at 90 who held onto power in disputed national elections last year, kicked off a trip to China aimed at luring investment in the nation’s stagnant economy.Central Bank chief John Mangudya said Zimbabwe needed to come up with cre

Aug. 26, 2014

Roche to buy U.S. biotech firm InterMune for $8.3b

BERLIN (AP) ― Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche said Sunday it has reached an $8.3 billion deal to buy InterMune Inc., a California-based developer of treatments for lung diseases.The companies have reached an agreement under which Roche will acquire InterMune in an all-cash transaction, paying $74.00 per InterMune share, Roche said. That is a premium of 38 percent over InterMune’s closing price on Friday.The acquisition of the biotechnology company, based in Brisbane, California, “will allow R

Aug. 25, 2014

‘Modi effect’ gets Delhi working, but reforms prove elusive

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shaken up India’s ruling elite in his first 100 days since taking power, but has so far struggled to deliver the bold reforms needed to kick-start the economy.Modi swept to power in May on a tide of hope after years of political stagnation and slowing economic growth in the world’s largest democracy.His Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party’s landslide election win gave them the strongest mandate in a generation.But the new government’s first

Aug. 25, 2014

‘Modi effect’ gets Delhi working, but reforms prove elusive

Tax fraud drains potential from Romanian economy

BUCHAREST (AFP) ― Tax evasion is eating away at the heart of Romania and holding back the country, among the poorest in the European Union, in its efforts to catch up, analysts warn.The estimates for the costs of the so-called black or undeclared economy are huge: about one quarter of economic activity and one quarter of people in work are believed to be beyond the reach of tax inspectors.If all activity were taxed fully, national tax revenues would almost double.Undeclared activity exists acros

Aug. 25, 2014

‘Argentina broke global trade rules’

GENEVA (AFP) ― Argentina broke global trade rules by imposing a raft of hurdles for goods sold by partners including United States, the EU and Japan, a WTO disputes panel ruled on Friday.In the ruling, the World Trade Organization’s watchdog arm said that Buenos Aires should “bring the inconsistent measures into conformity with its obligations” under international rules.Washington hailed the decision.“This is a major victory for American workers, manufacturers and farmers,” U.S. trade chief Mich

Aug. 24, 2014

Yellen signals uncertainty about a rate increase

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) ― If anyone thought Janet Yellen might clarify her view of the U.S. job market in her speech here Friday, the Federal Reserve chair had a message:The picture is still hazy.Though the unemployment rate has steadily dropped, Yellen suggested that other gauges of the job market have become harder to assess and may reflect persistent weakness. These include many people jobless for more than six months, millions working part time who want full-time jobs and weak pay growth.

Aug. 24, 2014

Yellen signals uncertainty about a rate increase

Goldman in $1.2b deal over U.S. bond claims

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Goldman Sachs has agreed to a settlement worth $1.2 billion to resolve claims that it misled U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about risky mortgage securities it sold them before the housing market collapsed in 2007. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, announced the settlement Friday with the Wall Street powerhouse.New York-based Goldman Sachs sold the securities to the companies between 2005 and 2007.Under the settlement, Goldma

Aug. 24, 2014

Uber pulls into mobile dining and travel apps

Uber’s app (AFP-Yonhap)SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Uber teamed up with dining and travel smartphone applications Wednesday as the controversial Internet-age car-hailing service moved to park itself at the heart of mobile lifestyles.The San Francisco-based start-up let about a dozen businesses such as Starbucks, Hyatt Hotels, United Airlines, TripAdvisor and restaurant reservation service OpenTable make it simple for people to summon Uber cars from inside their applications for smartphones or tablet co

Aug. 21, 2014

Uber pulls into mobile dining and travel apps

Bank of America reaches $17b settlement with U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Bank of America has reached a record settlement of nearly $17 billion to resolve an investigation into its role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis, officials directly familiar with the matter said Wednesday.One of the officials, who spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the announcement isn’t scheduled until Thursday at the earliest, said the bank will pay $9.65 billion in cash and provide consumer relief value

Aug. 21, 2014

HP revenue inches up after years of decline

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday reported that its quarterly revenue rose for the first time in three years, nudged by improved computer sales everywhere except Russia and China.Net revenue for the quarter that ended July 31 was $27.6 billion, a 1 percent improvement from the same period last year when the California computer maker took in $27.2 billion.Meanwhile, HP profit in the recently ended quarter ebbed to $985 million compared to $1.39 billion in the same period a year e

Aug. 21, 2014

Argentina to pay creditors in Buenos Aires

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) ― Argentina said Wednesday it will pay all its creditors in Buenos Aires, seeking to circumvent a U.S. court order barring it from repaying the debt it restructured after its 2001 default.The move aims to work around U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Griesa’s ruling in favor of two hedge funds that refuse to accept a write-down, which has blocked Argentina from servicing its restructured debt and forced it into a new default.But it is unlikely to resolve the country’s dispute w

Aug. 21, 2014

Argentina to pay creditors in Buenos Aires

Berkshire fined for lax share purchase reporting

NEW YORK (AFP) ― U.S. antitrust officials have fined Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway $896,000 for failing to notify regulators ahead of a large securities acquisition in December 2013.Berkshire agreed to pay the civil penalty to resolve the case over the December 2013 purchase, the Justice Department said Wednesday. The settlement must be approved by a U.S. court.“We made a mistake when we overlooked the filing requirement,” Buffett said in a statement. Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Wa

Aug. 21, 2014

Berkshire fined for lax share purchase reporting

China fines Japanese firms

BEIJING (AP) ― China announced Wednesday it will fine 12 Japanese auto parts suppliers a total of $202 million for colluding to raise prices in an unfolding anti-monopoly probe of the country’s auto industry.Beijing has launched a series of investigations of global automakers and technology suppliers under its 6-year-old anti-monopoly law in an apparent effort to force down prices. Officials said earlier that Mercedes Benz, Audi and Chrysler also violated the law.The Japanese suppliers were foun

Aug. 20, 2014

Part-time workers a full-time headache on Yellen radar

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has a stubborn warning light blinking on her labor market dashboard: A group of Americans larger than Washington state’s population can find only part-time work. As Yellen heads to this week’s Fed symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the focus will be on the labor market, those 7.5 million part-time workers who want full-time jobs are inflating the broad measure of underemployment she watches to gauge job market health. Involuntary part-time workers have g

Aug. 19, 2014

EU announces aid to growers hit by Russian embargo

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The European Commission on Monday announced a series of exceptional measures to help growers hit by a Russian ban on fruit and vegetable imports.The products in question are in full harvesting season, with little hope of finding alternative markets to replace demand from Russia in time, the Commission said.A European official said the primary recipients of the compensation will be Russian neighbors Poland and Lithuania as well as Belgium and the Netherlands.The 125 million euros

Aug. 19, 2014

Scramble to defuse Ukraine tensions as deal nears on aid convoy

DONETSK, Ukraine (AFP) ― European leaders on Saturday scrambled to ease tensions over claims that Ukrainian forces had destroyed Russian military vehicles as Kiev inched closer to allowing a mammoth aid convoy from Moscow over its border. While a diplomatic push sought to defuse the rhetoric, deadly shelling pummeled besieged pro-Russian rebel strongholds and a top separatist leader claimed he had received a fresh injection of troops trained “on Russian territory.” Moscow and Kiev’s foreign mini

Aug. 17, 2014

Scramble to defuse Ukraine tensions as deal nears on aid convoy

‘Japan not out of deflation yet’

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan hasn’t emerged from years of deflation quite yet, the country’s economy minister said Friday, after a sales tax hike sparked a sharp decline in second-quarter growth.The comments from Akira Amari came two days after fresh data showed the economy suffered its biggest quarterly contraction since the 2011 quake and tsunami disasters as the levy rise slammed the brakes on growth.Tokyo has been working to reverse years of falling prices that held back the world’s No. 3-economy.Whi

Aug. 17, 2014

Russian food embargo smells like opportunity for Latin America

SAO PAULO (AFP) ― Russia’s embargo on U.S. and EU food products has opened a window of opportunity for Latin America, which could capitalize on the Ukraine crisis to become a major food supplier to Moscow.Furious over the sanctions Western countries have imposed on Russia over its support for Ukraine’s separatist rebels, the Kremlin announced on Aug. 7 it was placing a “full embargo” on most food imports from the United States and European Union.That could enable major Latin American food produc

Aug. 17, 2014

Amazon debuts card reader and mobile payment app

NEW YORK (AP) ― Amazon is taking direct aim at mobile payment systems such as Square by introducing the Amazon Local Register, a credit-card processing device and mobile app designed to help small business owners accept payments through their smartphones and tablets.The move places the largest U.S. e-commerce retailer in competition with Square and other established mobile payment processing systems such as PayPal Here and Intuit’s GoPayment.Amazon’s technology includes a card reader that attach

Aug. 14, 2014

Amazon debuts card reader and mobile payment app