Economists say debt may cool business sentiment in second halfEconomists expect inflation to cool with the arrival of harvest season but cautiously forecast that business sentiment will lose steam in the second half of the year on debt both at home and abroad.The central bank froze its policy rate at 3.25 percent Thursday even after having an inflation rate above its 3 percent target range for hal

July 14, 2011

Troubled companies to be shut downKorea’s creditor banks have singled out some 30 large firms that should either go through a workout program or be forced out of the market. The names of the companies in question, however, remain undisclosed.According to banking sources on Wednesday, local creditor banks completed the evaluation of companies whose loans exceed 50 billion won ($47 million) in late

July 13, 2011

Cooperative is in process of drastic restructuring to spin off financial operation into separate unitThe capital owned by South Korea’s state-run National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup, stood at 16.1 trillion won ($15.22 billion) as of May, sparking fresh debate about how much the government should fork out to help it split up its units smoothly.Nonghyup is now drawing up a dras

July 12, 2011

Regulator pushes banks to improve capital adequacy ratiosKorea’s financial regulator said Monday it will further toughen the standards used to assess savings banks’ fiscal soundness in a bid to accelerate the cleanup of the troubled sector. “The planned assessment of 85 savings banks has started, and banks with BIS capital ratio of less than 8 percent as of late June are now required to submit sel

July 11, 2011

South Korea’s finance minister said Monday that the government could carry out smoothing operations if the local currency fluctuates sharply against the U.S. dollar.“If there are steep fluctuations in currency rates, our basic stance is that we could implement smoothing operations to ease the herd behavior in the market,” Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told reporters after a meeting with financial

July 11, 2011

  LUCKNOW, India (AP) _ Rescuers searched through the wreckage of a packed express train for people trapped inside after it derailed in northern India on Sunday, killing at least 21 and injuring more than 100 others, officials said.   The Kalka Mail train was on its way to Kalka, in the foothills of the Himalayas, from Howrah, a station near Kolkata in eastern India, when 12 coaches and the engine

World News July 10, 2011

   MOSCOW (AP) _ A passenger boat sank on the Volga River in Russia Sunday, killing at least one person and leaving 61 missing, officials said.   Regional emergencies ministry spokesman Marat Rakhmatullin said the Bulgaria sank in the middle of the river in the Tatarstan region, about 450 miles (750 kilometers) east of Moscow..   He said 173 passengers and crew were onboard when the boat went down

World News July 10, 2011

   LONDON (AP) _ Britain's best-selling Sunday tabloid the News of the World signed off with a simple front page message _ ``THANK YOU & GOODBYE'' _ leaving the media establishment here reeling from the expanding phone-hacking scandal that brought down the muckraking newspaper after 168 years.   Journalists crafted the newspaper's own obituary before sending the tabloid's final edition to the prin

Culture July 10, 2011

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) _ A plane crashed in a thunderstorm as it was attempting to land in the Congo Friday, killing at least 48 people, and leaving a dozen or more buried in the wreckage. 53 passengers survived.``I confirm the crash of one of our planes,‘’ said Stavros Papaioannou, the chairman and CEO of Hewa Bora Airways told The Associated Press by telephone. ``There are already 46 bodies at the

World News July 10, 2011

   WANDO ISLAND -- South Korea's Kim Ju-hee on Saturday routed Fahpratan Looksaikongdin of Thailand to become the new Women's International Boxing Council (WIBC) light flyweight champion, making her the holder of five world boxing organizations' titles.    The 25-year-old won a 3-0 victory over Looksaikongdin, 20, after dominating the bout on Wando, an island off South Korea's southwest coast.   

More Sports July 9, 2011

The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine USS Texas made a port call in South Korea on Saturday as part of a regular deployment to the Pacific area, the U.S. military in the South said.    The Texas, based in Hawaii, arrived at South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan with more than 130 crew members, according to officials at the U.S. Forces Korea.    The 7,800-ton Texas is a Virginia-class attack s

Defense July 9, 2011

  The head of South Korea's ruling party said Saturday that he agreed to ditch a plan to further cut taxes for big companies, as the conservative party looks to regain votes from the poor ahead of next year's elections.    "It is inconsistent for the government to continue to cut taxes for big companies, which are said to put some 100 trillion won(US$94.6 billion) in banks and block the money from

Politics July 9, 2011

   DETROIT (AP) _ Betty Ford, the former first lady whose triumph over drug and alcohol addiction became a beacon of hope for addicts and the inspiration for her Betty Ford Center, has died, a family friend said Friday. She was 93.   Mrs. Ford's death was confirmed by Marty Allen, chairman emeritus of the Ford Foundation. He did not comment further, and said he expected the Gerald R. Ford Presiden

People July 9, 2011