Economy-related ministries had said that the nation would see a rebound in exports this year, predicting a 2.1 percent increase on-year. But exports for the first nine months dropped 8.5 percent over the same period last year.On a monthly basis, exports fell 5.9 percent in September from a year before. Over the past 20 months, the export sector has experienced 19 months of negative growth with the exception of August 2016 when compared to the same month in the previous year.Given the unfavorable

Editorial Oct. 4, 2016

PARIS -- In many countries, where you live tends to be an accurate predictor of what or whom you are voting for. This was most evident in the maps of the electoral geography of voting for “Leave” and “Remain” in the United Kingdom’s June referendum on European Union membership. A similar pattern can be found in the distribution of votes in the 2012 US presidential election or in French support for Marine Le Pen’s National Front in the 2015 regional elections. It is very likely to be found in the

Viewpoints Oct. 4, 2016

India and Pakistan perpetually shift between a steady simmer and a roiling boil. When relations reach the latter extreme, Kashmir quite often fans the flames.　Tension between the two nuclear-armed archrivals is at the highest it’s been in years, following a Sept. 18 attack on the portion of Kashmir controlled by India. Eighteen Indian soldiers were killed. India says the raid was carried out by a Pakistani militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and further asserts that the militants were actively sup

Viewpoints Oct. 4, 2016

Nearly one and a half billion people in the two countries of India and Pakistan appear to be held hostage to conspiracy, rumour and reckless warmongering, and this needs to be stopped immediately. 　On Thursday, 11 days after the Uri attack and seemingly an eternity in Pak-India sabre-rattling and diplomatic tensions, another layer of confusion and chaos was added to one of the world’s most complicated bilateral relationships. 　With the facts of the Uri attack yet to be established or shared with

Viewpoints Oct. 4, 2016

Donald J. Trump is a rich man. Exactly how rich is unknown. Around $10 billion, as he has claimed? Or $4.5 billion, as Forbes counted? Maybe just a few hundred million? Voters likely won’t know unless Trump releases his tax returns, a modern tradition for presidential candidates that Trump says he can’t follow because he’s being audited — even though experts, including the IRS, say an audit has no legal bearing on whether Trump can share his returns with the electorate.The point of releasing his

Viewpoints Oct. 4, 2016

Take a broad look at what’s happening in all sectors of Korean society and you will be convinced this country is in big trouble. You will also agree that lack of efficient and trusted leadership is primarily to blame for the current dismal state of the nation. For starters, politics is in utter disarray. The National Assembly has been paralyzed for more than one week since the opposition unilaterally passed a no-confidence vote against Agriculture Minister Kim Jae-soo. The action prompted the ru

Editorial Oct. 3, 2016

If Americans had known how sick Franklin D. Roosevelt had become by 1940, would they have voted to give him an unprecedented third term as president? What about his fourth, which lasted three months and ended with his death?Who knows, but at least voters would have had the information necessary to make a rational choice.Instead, most Americans voting in the 1940 election were unaware that the polio victim had astronomical blood pressure, a condition he could do little to combat outside rest, die

Viewpoints Oct. 3, 2016

For a few years it seemed that Americans were moving to the cities, but now the trends are toward the suburbs once again. Long-term trends favor suburbs even more.One reason is the rise of Uber and other ride-sharing services. Uber helps users virtually everywhere, but in cities there are subways and buses and walking might be an option. Uber therefore is swinging the advantage to the suburbs, or to spread out suburb-like cities such as Los Angeles.Self-driving vehicles are also likely to help t

Viewpoints Oct. 3, 2016

Less than a decade after the financial crisis, Deutsche Bank is in trouble again, with investors speculating about whether the German government will have to rescue one of the world‘s largest financial institutions. The sad thing is how easily this predicament could have been avoided.This time around, Deutsche Bank isn’t dealing with an unforeseen market meltdown or sovereign-debt crisis. Rather, the proximate cause of distress is the US Justice Department‘s threat to fine the firm $14 billion f

Viewpoints Oct. 3, 2016

Recently, Congress engaged in a bipartisan barrage of CEO bashing.The Senate Banking Committee assailed Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf for pushing employees to create as many as 2 million bogus bank and credit card accounts without customer consent — making customers pay overdraft and late fees on accounts they never knew they had.Louisiana Republican David Vitter pressed Stumpf on when he knew about the wrongdoing. “In 2011, about 1,000 employees were fired over this,” said Vitter, incredulously,

Viewpoints Oct. 3, 2016

The US is putting pressure on North Korea on several fronts, including military deterrence. Such efforts should be expedited and encourage other members of the international community to follow suit. Real deterrence against the North -- which even threatens a nuclear strike on the continental US -- should involve Washington and its allies South Korea and Japan making sure the fanatic rogues in Pyongyang do not even consider such provocations. The US, which sent B1-B supersonic bombers to South K

Editorial Sept. 29, 2016