South Korean households with monthly spendings of 4 million won ($3,450) or more are on the rise as prices for essentials increase, a report showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, such households in the highest spending bracket accounted for 10.51 percent of all households in the third quarter of the year, exceeding the 10-percent mark for the first time. The comparable figure for 201...

South Korean stocks closed 0.34 percent lower on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve failed to lay out new stimulus measures to prop up the economy, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI fell 6.31 points to 1,857.75. Trading volume was moderate at 396.6 million shares worth 4.36 trillion won ($3.77 billion), but gainers outpaced losers 433 to 381. “The...

SC First Bank, the local unit of the British banking group Standard Chartered, plans to accept the request of all 813 workers who applied for early retirement, the bank said Wednesday, cutting 13 percent its workforce as part of cost cutting reforms. “We plan to accept all 813 applications for voluntary redundancy. They will work until the end of the month,” a spokeswoman at the bank said. The ...

Report says 2003 documents were written by regulators, not accounting firm Financial regulators are suspected of fabricating documents on Lone Star Funds in 2003 when Korea Exchange Bank was acquired by the buyout fund, according to a news report. At least over the past few months, the Financial Services Commission (then the Financial Supervisory Commission) has argued that the records, submitt...

Global credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said Wednesday it has affirmed its sovereign credit rating for South Korea, citing the nation's fiscal soundness and its net external creditor position. According to an e-mailed statement, S&P said that it has decided to maintain the credit rating on South Korea at "A," the sixth-highest level, and also maintained the country's credit outlook at "st...

MENLO PARK, California (AP) _ Facebook is making it easier for people who express suicidal thoughts on the social networking site to get help. A program launching Tuesday enables users to instantly connect with a crisis counselor through Facebook's “chat” messaging system. The service is the latest tool from Facebook aimed at improving safety on its site, which has more than 800 million users. ...

A three-page contract that established Apple Computer Co. (AAPL) sold for $1.59 million at Sotheby’s (BID) in New York today, soaring past the presale estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. The bidding started at $70,000 in a half-empty room attended by about 20 people and almost as many Sotheby’s staffers manning the phones. Six telephone and online bidders competed for the lot, which finally went t...

Opposition lawmakers call for parliamentary probe into FSC over KEB deal Financial regulators are expected to make public their stance on Lone Star Funds this week as to whether the U.S.-based fund was eligible to own Korea Exchange Bank between 2003 and 2006. “The Financial Services Commission has notified that it would send related documents on Lone Star to us on Dec. 15,” a researcher of the...

Opposition submits proposal to investigate into regulator’s OK of fund’s takeover of KEB Financial regulators are expected to make public their stance on Lone Star Funds this week as to whether the U.S.-based fund was eligible to own Korea Exchange Bank between 2003 and 2006. “The Financial Services Commission has notified that it would send related documents on Lone Star to us on Dec. 15,” a r...

Lotte Group hopes to acquire Hi Mart, the nation’s largest electronics appliance retailer, in an apparent bid to gain a new growth engine. Lotte revealed its intention to buy Hi Mart on Monday when the Korea Exchange asked the retail giant to confirm the rapidly spreading market speculation. “We are not considering specifics as Hi Mart has yet to announce the details on its sale of shares. But ...

South Korean stocks closed 1.88 percent lower on Tuesday as investors had growing skepticism about the effectiveness of a new fiscal treaty for the European Union, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI fell 35.7 points to 1,864.06. Trading volume was moderate at 442.9 million shares worth 5.21 trillion won ($4.51 billion) with losers outpacing gainer...

The ratio of young customers to total buyers of import cars has surged by about 10 percentage in five years. According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, the number of buyers of foreign-made cars in their 20s and 30s accounted for 22.7 percent of customers in 2011, compared to 12 percent in 2006. The proportion young customers in the import automobile market, which ...