But they remain skeptical about M&As at present stage Major securities firms are moving to meet the regulatory requirements in a bid to attain recognition as large-sized investment banks. The brokerages, such as Daewoo Securities and Samsung Securities, are poised to resort to increasing their equity capital as an initial step rather than pushing for mergers among them. Most of them plan to in...

The weight of exports in the South Korean economy hit an all-time high in the second quarter, central bank data showed Thursday, underlining the country’s heavy dependence on overseas shipments for economic growth. Seasonally adjusted exports of goods and services amounted to 141.7 trillion won ($134.6 billion) in the April-June period, or 52.68 percent of the gross domestic product, according t...

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke won unanimous Senate confirmation Wednesday as ambassador to Beijing, becoming the first Chinese American to hold the prestigious and difficult diplomatic post. Locke, whose grandfather came from China to the United States on a steamboat, promised during his smooth confirmation hearings to be a forceful advocate for human rights and fo...

On Feb. 3, President Barack Obama and the entire West Wing lost access to e-mail for more than seven hours. A tree-trimmer had accidentally cut the lines running out of the White House data center. White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer sent a bulletin via Twitter ― the only way he could get the news out, he said ― letting the world know that “Verizon is working to solve the problem.” ...

Record downpours continued to bombard the central part of the nation for three consecutive days on Thursday, raising the death toll to 48. The “rain bombs” triggered landslides in Seoul, Chuncheon and Pocheon, killing more than 30 citizens. They also flooded thousands of houses and roads, leaving some 5,000 people homeless and causing traffic chaos and power outages. In Seoul, the precipitation ...