The US’ three major stock price indexes including the Dow Jones industrial average reached an all-time high last week in the wake of brisk operating performances of major US businesses.The noteworthy American rally is fueling expectations that the Korea’s benchmark Kospi -- which is also a bull market -- could break through the physiological barrier of 2,100 points in the coming weeks.The Kospi, which peaked at 2,104.41 on July 3, 2015, has ranged between 1,830 and 2,030 over the past year. But

Editorial Aug. 16, 2016

South Korea regained its position as the world’s 11th-largest economy in 2015. Its gross domestic product ranking had peaked at 11th place in 2006 but dropped to 13th in 2007 and 15th in 2008. It was 14th from 2009 to 2013 and 13th in 2014. 　However, the higher ranking is not that meaningful as the country’s competitors face unusual economic situations.Russia (10th in 2014) and Australia (12th in 2014) suffered slowdowns in due to the big drop in raw materials prices, one of their main growth en

Editorial Aug. 16, 2016

Thai tourism businesses are bracing for the economic fallout from the bomb attacks that killed four and injured dozens of people, including foreign visitors in the seaside resorts Hua Hin and Phuket, two of the country’s major tourist destinations.Eleven small bombs were detonated across seven southern provinces on Thursday night and Friday morning in unprecedented attacks that appeared to have required serious planning and some degree of professionalism.Authorities said the bombs were similar t

Viewpoints Aug. 16, 2016

Donald Trump is perhaps the most widely condemned public figure to hit the spotlight in years. He has been indicted as unfit, unstable, crazy, immoral, narcissistic, greedy, cruel, racist and dangerous by all the best -- the president, ex-presidents, Republicans, politicians, generals, intellectuals, billionaires and the Pope.Yet Trump’s campaign to be president enjoys the support of something like 40 percent of all voters, according to the polls. One wonders what level or volume of public vilif

Viewpoints Aug. 16, 2016

Think Donald Trump has some grand scheme behind his outbursts? Think his rhetoric is carefully thought out to produce a certain reaction? Think he meticulously plans each call for his followers to take up arms?　Sorry, no. There is no strategy here, folks. 　Sadly, this is the part of Trump I get too well. I do a lot of public speaking, and when I do, I try to gauge the audience because I love a reaction. Like any entertainer -- and that’s what an author tries to be on book tour -- I like to hear

Viewpoints Aug. 16, 2016

It would be very wrong to diminish the majesty and international scope of the Olympic Games by, as some are suggesting, anchoring them in Greece or on permanent sites on five continents.The seemingly endless problems with this year’s Rio Games have prompted calls to stop having nations compete to host the contests and hold them instead in permanent facilities in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.This would be a serious mistake. It would deprive nations of a chance to show national

Viewpoints Aug. 15, 2016

International financial institutions, including the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and other regional development and investment banks, have increasingly emphasized the importance of participation, good governance, and accountability in the countries where they disburse funds. Added scrutiny from these institutions is welcome, because development finance can be a powerful tool for safeguarding human rights, so long as the communities it most affects have

Viewpoints Aug. 15, 2016

Nobody said quitting the European Union would be easy. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has declared that “Brexit means Brexit,” but Britain still hasn’t decided what it wants. There’s not much clarity in the rest of the EU either. As a Bloomberg survey of officials across the union makes clear, its 27 other members have their own ideas about how they want Brexit to play out and where to draw red lines.This process is going to take time -- longer than the two years the Article 50 exit process pro

Viewpoints Aug. 15, 2016

The Korea Communications Commission has imposed 180 million won ($163,000) in fines on Lotte Homeshopping for selling the personal information of its customers to other companies.But the fines were too small compared to the revenue Lotte earned through the sale of customer data. The home shopping channel earned 3.7 billion won between 2009 and 2014 by selling 3.24 million pieces of customer data to insurance companies.The fines were small because they were levied for a fraction of the personal i

Editorial Aug. 15, 2016

Disputes are escalating between the central government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government over the provision of cash allowances to job seekers. The row was ignited by the city government’s scheme to provide 3,000 young job seekers with 500,000 won ($450) a month for up to six months.The central government opposed the plan, calling it a typical populist program. It argued that the scheme could not be seen as an employment promotion program as it allowed the recipients to use the allowances for

Editorial Aug. 15, 2016