High-salt diet depletes body of calcium

Canadian researchers say people who eat high-salt diets tend to develop kidney stones and osteoporosis because when sodium leaves the body, so does calcium.Principal investigator Todd Alexander and his team at the University of Alberta discovered an important link between sodium and calcium -- they both appear to be regulated by the same molecule in the body.When sodium intake becomes too high, th

TechnologyJuly 25, 2012

BOK sees weakening growth momentum of Korean economy

South Korea’s central bank said Wednesday that the recovery pace of the local economy is weakening as exports are losing steam, hit by the eurozone debt crisis and China’s slowing growth.The Bank of Korea (BOK) delivered a surprise rate cut to 3 percent on July 12, underscoring its urgency to shield the local economy from bitter impacts of the eurozone debt problems. Market players bet on an addit

July 25, 2012

Seoul shares open sharply lower on eurozone fear

South Korean stocks began sharply lower Wednesday, as signs of a worsening debt crisis in Spain and Greece unnerved investor sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 28.60 points, or 1.59 percent to 1,765.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics slumping more than 2 percent and

July 25, 2012

Banks under fire for improper profits

Local banks are increasingly under public criticism for their alleged improper profiteering from loan interest rates. A 50-something living in Seoul vented anger, saying that she recently failed to reimburse her loan because the bank informed her anew that there are penalties when paying back in advance. “The bank offered a low interest rate when I first went to get a loan, but the rate got higher later even though I once changed it to a interest rate, seeing the economic situation worsening. Th

July 24, 2012

Kia’s Soul expands small car market dominance in U.S.

The box-type compact Soul of Korea’s Kia Motors Corp. is strengthening its stranglehold in the U.S. market as its Japanese rivals are suffering sluggish sales, industry data showed Tuesday.Kia sold 63,635 units of the Soul in the first six months of the year in the U.S., with a market share of 82 percent in the segment, beating other boxes like the Nissan Cube and the Scion xB of Toyota, according to the data.During the same period, 10,206 units of the Scion xB were sold, while sales of the Cube

MobilityJuly 24, 2012

Pension fund blocks Visteon’s Halla buyout

Visteon Corp.’s attempt to buy the remaining 30 percent of Halla Climate Control Corp. is being blocked by Korea’s National Pension Service, the country’s biggest institutional investor. The pension service, which owns 8.1 percent of Halla, rejected Visteon’s offer after reviewing Halla’s future value and growth potential, the pension fund said in a statement in Seoul on Tuesday. Visteon needs approval from shareholders representing 95 percent of Halla’s stock for the offer, which closes Wednesd

IndustryJuly 24, 2012

LG to release English voice recognition tool in 2013

LG Electronics said Tuesday its newly-named proprietary intelligent voice recognition app “Q Voice” will be ready in English by the first half of next year.While competing with other personal assistant voice tools like Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s S Voice and Google, the company also said it will launch the app in European and other Asian countries following its release in English, said Sohn Jin-ho, head of LG’s Future IT and R&D Lab.“Korea is the nation that is leading the trend, which is why we wil

IndustryJuly 24, 2012

Import car brands wary of FTC probe

Antitrust watchdog poised to dispatch inspectors to officesSix import car brands in Korea are paying close attention to the antitrust regulator’s ongoing investigation into foreign carmakers on suspicion of price-fixing and irregular practices with dealerships.According to the Fair Trade Commission, the brands under investigation are BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, Toyota Motor and Lexus. Mercedes-Benz Korea recently enhanced its public relations in a move to prevent misinformation from be

IndustryJuly 24, 2012

Shares close 0.25 percent higher on bluechip gains

Korean stocks finished 0.25 percent higher Tuesday led by gains in large-cap shares on positive earnings outlooks, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.After swerving in and out of negative territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 4.49 points to finish at 1,793.93. Trading volume was moderate at 481.6 million shares worth 4.09 trillion won ($3.57 billion), with decliners far outstripping gainers 538 to 274.“Market heavyweights led the index’s

July 24, 2012

Galaxy Tab ranked No. 2 tablet PC in China

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Tab claimed the No. 2 position among tablet PCs in China but trailed far behind its archrival Apple Inc.’s iPad, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the poll by market researcher Searchina Shanghai Co., the Galaxy Tab gained 16.6 points in terms of consumer preference, ranking second among 10 tablet PCs manufactured by multinational and local Chinese firms.The iPad was a distinct leader, garnering 53.6 points. Sony’s Tablet ranked third

TechnologyJuly 24, 2012

Anti-dumping duties extended on Chinese, Taiwanese yarn

Korea has decided to extend anti-dumping duties on polyester yarn products from China and Taiwan for two years to protect local manufacturers from unfair price-cutting practices, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.The decision comes a month after the Korea Trade Commission requested slapping punitive duties of up to 6.26 percent on polyester filament partially oriented yarn from the two countries. POYs are used in clothing, cars, sofas and curtains. The domestic POY market is worth about 220 bill

July 24, 2012

‘Pooq still needs more work’

Network, copyright differences remain for online content platformPooq, a media platform formed by Contents Alliance Platform, was officially launched on Monday in Korea, with over 5,000 users already subscribing to its inexpensive service.But company officials said that more work needs to be done before it can become a global platform where overseas users can access and watch a variety of TV content provided by Korea’s four terrestrial broadcasters ― KBS, MBC, SBS and EBS.Contents Alliance Platf

TechnologyJuly 24, 2012

Korea faces growing downside risks: ministry

Korea’s economy is recovering at a slow pace in the face of expanding downside risks stemming from eurozone debt problems and uncertain global economic situations, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.In a report to lawmakers explaining its policy direction during the rest of this year, the ministry also said that it will place its top priority on bolstering the economy and stabilizing the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.“Despite continued improvement in employment and eased inflation, the economi

July 24, 2012

More households default on loans

Default rate rises much faster for non-banksThe default rate for household loans from secondary lenders is increasing sharply, raising fears of a household debt crisis.The proportion of borrowers from credit card companies who are at least 30 days behind in payments jumped from 4.5 percent in January last year to 5.6 percent in May this year.Loan default rates for capital services firms rose from 6.1 percent to 8.2 percent, and mutual savings banks from 12.2 percent to 14.9 percent in the same p

July 24, 2012

Top 10 players account for 35% of market cap: data

Korea’s top 10 market heavyweights increased their presence in the local stock market with their portion reaching 35 percent against total market capitalization, data showed on Tuesday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange, the local bourse operator, the combined market cap of the top 10 players, including Samsung Electronics Co., reached 396.59 trillion won ($345 billion) on Monday.The portion has been rising steadily since reaching 33.6 percent in January, a huge jump from 28.8

July 24, 2012