Belgium UFO that puzzled NASA was polystyrene fake

BRUSSELS (AFP)— An unidentified flying object photographed high in the Belgian sky that puzzled even NASA scientists turns out to have been a fake made out of foam, the man behind the hoax said Tuesday.Though scientists pored over the picture of a triangular-shaped flying saucer with four lights, allegedly photographed in April 1990 by a young worker, the mystery remained intact until the man's re

TechnologyJuly 27, 2011

Monday blues: why we can’t smile on Monday

A new study suggests most people struggle to crack a smile until 11:16 a.m. on Mondays after a long weekend, the Telegraph reported.Due to Monday blues, people only manage to perform three and a half hours of productive work, according to the study by Marmite.Particularly, those aged between 45 and 54 are likely to suffer most and moan for around 12 minutes, the study said.Moreover, the experts po

TechnologyJuly 27, 2011

Kirk confident of September passage of FTAs

The top U.S. trade official predicted confidently Tuesday that Congress will pass free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia and Panama in September.In a speech at a Bretton Woods Committee meeting, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said a "framework" for a deal on the controversial Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is already in place.President Barack Obama is pushing to renew the w

July 27, 2011

S. Korean economy grows 0.8 pct on-quarter in Q2

The South Korean economy grew at the slowest pace in six months in the second quarter as export gains sharply eased amid global economic uncertainty, the central bank said Wednesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 0.8 percent in the April-June period, down from a 1.3 percent on-quarter expansion tallied in the first quarter, according to an advance estimate of the Bank of Korea (BOK). The count

July 27, 2011

August hike puts electricity prices up 4.9%

Tariff raise eases cost burden for KEPCO, complicates inflation fightThe government announced Tuesday it will raise electricity tariffs by an average 4.9 percent starting August to reflect rising energy costs even as inflation remains high.The Economy Ministry said electricity bills will rise 6.1 percent for industrial use but said the raise for home use will only be 2 percent. Finance Minister Ba

July 26, 2011

Kumho Petrochemical to invest W880b in Yeosu

Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co. and its three subsidiaries plan to spend 880 billion won ($837 million) by 2014 to scale up their production lines in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province the companies said Tuesday.The deal reflects the firms’ efforts to meet surging demand for their materials, which are used in automobiles and consumer electronics. When completed, Kumho Petrochemical will be able to churn o

IndustryJuly 26, 2011

LGE receives U.S. certification for slashing carbon emissions

LG Electronics has received certification from the U.S. for producing carbon-free goods. making headway in the field of environmentally friendly technology, said the Seoul-based company on Tuesday.The certification was from Carbon Fund, one of the leading institutes in the U.S. that provides certification for carbon-free products. LG Electronics is the first Korean company to receive the credentia

IndustryJuly 26, 2011

KT resubmission of plan to halt 2G services blocked

KT Corp.’s resubmitted plan to end services for feature phone users by September is again stirring up controversy as the number of owners remains high.“I truly hope KT is aware of the fact that even a single customer was a loyal one using its services for a minimum of a few months to a number of years,” said a Seoulite who wished to only be identified by his surname Jung. The Korea Communications

IndustryJuly 26, 2011

Hyundai Heavy to build plant in Brazil

Hyundai Heavy Industries on Tuesday signed an agreement with the state of Rio de Janeiro and the city of Itatiaia to set up a plant producing construction equipment in the Brazilian city.For the plant, the company will invest $150 million and the Brazilian government will provide support in building gas and water supply lines, and other infrastructure, Hyundai Heavy said.The company plans to compl

IndustryJuly 26, 2011

Record cattle numbers to keep beef prices stable

The number of cattle in South Korea hit a record high in June and is expected to grow further for a couple of years, helping stabilize beef prices, the government said Tuesday. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that the country had 3.05 million heads of hanwoo beef cows as of last month, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier and the largest ever. Despite 110,883 heads of

July 26, 2011

LG Chem reels in $10m battery order

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemical maker, said Tuesday that it has clinched a $10 million contract to develop a lithium ion battery for U.S. automakers.Under the deal with U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium, LG Chem will develop a high-powered, high-capacity lithium-ion battery for plug-in electric vehicles by 2013, the company said.The consortium is composed of the U.S. Department of Energy an

IndustryJuly 26, 2011

Transfer of wealth via stock gifts rises

The largest shareholders at Korea’s listed firms have reaped huge profits through gifted stocks in the past five years, taking advantage of fluctuations in the financial markets, a local source revealed Tuesday. According to Chaebul.com, which tracks news and data on Korea’s conglomerates, gifted stocks or inheritance by the largest shareholders amounted to 3.3 trillion won ($3.1 billion) in the p

July 26, 2011

SC First labor, chiefs still poles apart on pay

With no immediate end in sight for a prolonged strike, the labor and management of SC First Bank appear to be playing a game of chicken over its pay system, which could end up in a no-win situation for both sides, analysts said Tuesday.Irked by a management plan to adopt a novel merit pay system, about 2,900 unionized workers at the seventh-largest lender in South Korea have been striking for the

July 26, 2011

Korea to make foot-and-mouth vaccine

South Korea will produce vaccines for foot-and-mouth disease next year to protect livestock after the country suffered the worst outbreak of the disease earlier this year, a government agency said Tuesday.The Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency said it plans to import FMD antigens from foreign vaccine manufacturers and get local companies to learn production knowhow so the

July 26, 2011

Food inflation likely in crop price outlook

 

IndustryJuly 26, 2011