Among the countries surveyed, South Korea stands out as the most heavily connected society, with 96 percent of adults reporting that they use the internet. The Pew Research Center's newest study says that while the gap in internet usage between emerging and advanced economies is narrowing, there are still large swaths of the world where significant numbers of citizens do not use the internet. ...

As a trade war rages between China and the US, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is meeting leaders from central and eastern Europe in Bulgaria on Saturday to discuss investment opportunities. Road and rail projects funded by China will be high on the agenda at the summit, which has raised concerns in Brussels and richer Western European countries about growing Chinese influence in the region. At the ...

BEIJING -- The co-chairman of HNA Group, a conglomerate that operates China's fourth-largest airline and racked up tens of billions of dollars in debt as it went on a global buying spree, died in an accident while on a business trip in France, the company said Wednesday. Wang Jian, a co-founder of the company, suffered "severe injuries" in a fall in Provence in southern France and died Tuesday a...

Chinese banks won top 4 places in The Banker's latest global ranking of the top 1,000 banks this year. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China remains No. 1 in terms of tier 1 capital, followed by China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China, which together make nearly one third of global profits. US banks did well in the ranking, with JPMorgan placing 5th, Bank ...

Seoul is the world's fifth most expensive city for expatriates, according to an annual cost of living report by consultancy Mercer. Asia dominates the list, with Hong Kong at the top and Tokyo in second, followed by Singapore in fourth, Shanghai in seventh and Beijing in ninth. Outside of Asia, European and African cities were among the priciest cities for expatriates. Zurich ranked third and ...

Cashless payments are rapidly becoming more commonplace, raising hopes for innovations linked to various new services. Japan, however, has fallen behind the cashless wave that is sweeping the world. In stark contrast to South Korea and China, where cashless payment rates were nearly 90 percent for South Korea in 2015 and 60 percent in China, Japan’s rate was less than 20 percent.

The escalating trade battle between the U.S. and the rest of the world is raising the risk of a meaningful slowing in an otherwise vibrant American economy. While the tariffs already in place and set to be implemented will barely dent U.S. growth, economists say the panoply of additional measures being considered would take a perceptible bite out of gross domestic product if they go ahead. “It’...

Bitcoin dropped to the lowest level this year as pressure mounts on the embryonic digital-currency sector, with global central bankers raising questions of viability and government regulators increasing scrutiny. The biggest virtual currency fell as much as 5.1 percent to $5,832.68, piercing the previous low of the year of $5,920.72 that was set on Feb. 6, according Bitstamp prices as of 10:40 a...

Qatar Airways was named the best airline globally in 2018, followed by German carrier Lufthansa and United Arab Emirates’ national carrier Etihad Airways, according to AirHelp. Overall rankings are based on three factors: on-time performance, quality of service and a claims-processing score, which reflects how a company handles customer complaints. Korean Air ranked 66th and Asiana Airlines ...

LA MALBAIE, Quebec -- The annual G-7 summit ppeared to have weathered tensions over President Donald Trump's threats of a tariff-fueled trade war until the mercurial American pulled out of a joint statement while citing "false statements" by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It was an unprecedented attack on the leader of the US neighbor and ally. Trump was aboard Air Force One heading to...

The on-again, off-again meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been an emotional roller coaster for South Koreans, who now await Tuesday's historic summit with both hope and doubt. The hope is that improved relations between Washington and Pyongyang will ease tensions and dispel the threat of war, which has hung over the region for more than a half-century...

India is expected to be the fastest growing economy in Asia at 7.3 percent growth in 2018, according to the World Bank. Boasting one of the world’s youngest workforce, India is projected to be the fastest growing economy in Asia in 2018. The country’s growth rate this year is estimated to beat other Asian economies, including that of rival China. Bhutan, one of the world’s smallest countries...

SAN JOSE, CA -- Apple will offer more ways for people to limit the time they spend on iPhones while introducing features designed to make its products even more indispensable. The paradox emerged Monday as Apple executives previewed new versions of free software due out this fall. The forthcoming controls are aimed at addressing criticism that devices are becoming increasingly addictive and dis...

An anonymous bidder has agreed to pay $3,300,100 at auction to have a private lunch with Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The winning bid came near the end of a five-day online auction on eBay to benefit the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco charity that serves people who are poor, homeless or battling substance abuse. It was the third highest price in the 19 ...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is the most powerful CEO in the world, according to a list by Forbes. Larry Page, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, ranked second, followed by Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg and Warren Buffett. Jack Ma, chairman and founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, was named the most powerful Asian chief executive this year, taking sixth place.