S.Korean lawmakers scold gov’t for underestimated sovereign debts

S.Korean lawmakers scold gov’t for underestimated sovereign debts

English.news.cn   2013-10-16 14:12:04

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday scolded the government for surging sovereign debts, which have been underestimated after excluding debts that are highly likely to be realized in the future or belonging to the government in the end. Combined debts, which the South Korean government should be accountable for, would reach 1,053 trillion won (1 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2013, main opposition Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yong-sup said in a report for the parliamentary audit session on Wednesday. Read more of this post

Korea has the fourth-highest number of patents in the world, yet just 20 of patented technologies are commercialized. 7,400 fried chicken restaurants open and 5,000 go bankrupt each year. Half of all chicken restaurants go under within 3 years and 80% close within 10 years

Entrepreneurs thriving in former East Germany state

Oct 16,2013

SPECIAL REPORTING TEAM [kjy@joongang.co.kr]

When 50-year-old Park Myung-ja opened a fried chicken restaurant in June 2012 with her husband, it cost 60 million won ($56,297) just in rent and key money.

However, Park closed the store in less than a year.
“There are so many fried chicken stores around that we worked until dawn to survive, but there was nothing more we could do,” she said, shaking her head.
Then Park started working in the kitchen of a restaurant again, where she got paid 50,000 won a day. Her husband is currently looking for a food delivery job.
About 18,000 start-ups go out of business each year. Fried chicken stores, in particular, seem to fail easily.
According to KB Financial Group, 7,400 fried chicken restaurants open and 5,000 go bankrupt each year. Half of all chicken restaurants go under within three years and 80 percent close within 10 years.  Read more of this post

Li Ka-shing packing bags for ‘Journey to the West’

Li Ka-shing packing bags for ‘Journey to the West’

Staff Reporter

2013-10-16

With declining profit levels a ripening reality for his businesses in mainland China and Hong Kong, business magnate Li Ka-shing is dumping his assets and heading West, the Economic Observer reported. According to the financial reports of Li’s Hutchison Whampoa, the company recorded an operational income of HK$325.9 billion (US$40.03 billion) in 2010, with pre-tax revenue pegged at HK$39.3 billion (US$5.1 billion). Of this figure, the company’s mainland China business accounted for 12% of the total, with pre-tax revenue taking up 28% of the total. The contribution of its mainland China business dropped to 11% in 2012, with pre-tax revenue plunging 19%. Read more of this post

Express delivery staff in China profit from selling client data

Express delivery staff in China profit from selling client data

Staff Reporter

2013-10-16

Express delivery employees in China are profiting from the sale of records containing personal information online, with asking prices ranging between 0.40 yuan to 1 yuan (US$0.06- US$0.16), reports the Chinese-language Economic Information Daily. The business of selling express sheets has become a vast “gray area” for express delivery employees to earn money from an individual’s personal information. It is also becoming a platform for con artists to make false claims, burglarize homes or even commit murder, the paper said. Read more of this post

Export Fair in China Loses Steam

October 15, 2013

Export Fair in China Loses Steam

By KEITH BRADSHER

GUANGZHOU, China — With nearly as much floor space as five McCormick Places in Chicago, the sprawling Canton Fair, which opened in Guangzhou Tuesday morning, is a monument to China’s industrial versatility and export prowess. But although the 12 million square feet of exhibits still offer products as varied as wheelbarrows and Segway knockoffs, the autumn session of the fair hints at the broader malaise now afflicting exporters across China and other East Asian nations. Read more of this post

Australian tio, including Vanda Gould, chairman of listed investment company CVC, charged in $30 million fraud investigation

Trio charged in $30 million fraud investigation

October 16, 2013 – 12:50PM

Ben Butler

Police have arrested Australian businessmen Vanda Gould and John Leaver and Belgian national Peter Borgas as part of an Operation Wickenby investigation into $30 million of tax evasion and money laundering. Mr Gould, who is chairman of listed investment company CVC, and Mr Leaver, who is a director of the company, were arrested in raids on their Sydney homes on Tuesday night.

Read more of this post

Asia’s Challenge to Europe

October 14, 2013

Asia’s Challenge to Europe

By KEITH BRADSHER

The BaShiTong food court, a collection of small eateries on the third floor of an office building in central Chongqing, China, closed this summer just three months after it opened. Workers sued for back wages. The owner of one spot lost all his savings and barged into the office of the food court’s promoter with a propane tank, taking him hostage and threatening to blow the place up by igniting the tank. Read more of this post

India’s struggling sugar mills seek solace in ethanol

India’s struggling sugar mills seek solace in ethanol

Tue, Oct 15 2013

* Govt wants oil companies to achieve 5 pct blending of ethanol in gasoline

* Hopes to reduce record current account deficit by cutting crude imports

* Demand for ethanol will give sugar mills a shot in the arm

* Oil firms float tender for 1.33 bln litres of ethanol

* With Brazil as inspiration, ethanol blending could keep growing

By Rajendra Jadhav

MUMBAI, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Struggling sugar mills in India are seeking solace in producing ethanol from crushing sugarcane, as the government ramps up pressure on oil retailers to cut fossil fuel imports by blending gasoline with the biofuel. New Delhi, scrambling for ways to cut nearly $20 billion off its oil costs as it battles a record current account deficit, could save around $1 billion on annual imports of crude as it pushes oil firms to hit a goal of 5 percent blending of ethanol in gasoline. Read more of this post

People are drinking more Coca-Cola despite costs and a slow economy

Updated: Wednesday October 16, 2013 MYT 7:30:30 AM

People are drinking more Coca-Cola despite costs and a slow economy

NEW YORK: Coca-Cola Co on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings that met Wall Street’s expectations as it sold more of its namesake soft drinks, as well as teas and waters, despite a challenging economy. Morningstar analyst Tom Mullarkey said he was encouraged by Coke’s global volume growth, which reached 2 percent overall, as well as the popularity of the Coca-Cola brand in North America. Read more of this post

The Slow Death of a Former Breakfast Table Star; Americans bought just 563.2 million gallons of orange juice, the lowest since at least the 1998-99 season

Oct 14, 2013

The Slow Death of a Former Breakfast Table Star

By Alexandra Wexler

Picture an American family at the breakfast table. Now remove the pitcher of orange juice. Once a morning staple, orange juice is on the outs. Total U.S. retail sales of the juice fell to the lowest level in at least 15 years during the 2012-13 season, according to Nielsen data published by the Florida Department of Citrus on Monday. Americans bought just 563.2 million gallons of the beverage during the season that ended on Sept. 28, the lowest since at least the 1998-99 season, the oldest data available from the FDOC. Read more of this post

Regulators warn on rise of boom-era debt

October 15, 2013 5:27 pm

Regulators warn on rise of boom-era debt

By Sam Fleming and Philip Stafford

Global securities regulators have warned that the types of debt security that played a central role in the global financial crisis are again growing in popularity among investors. The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (Iosco) said on Tuesday that investors chasing higher yields were placing more money into leveraged investment products that could be vulnerable to a sharp change in financial market conditions. Read more of this post

Credit default swaps run out of road

October 15, 2013 9:35 am

Credit default swaps run out of road

By Tracy Alloway and Michael Mackenzie in New York

In 1994 bankers at JPMorgan Chase came up with the canny idea of selling off some of the risk of their loans by striking insurance-like deals with other banks and financial institutions. In return for paying some fees, JPMorgan was able in effect to unload much of its credit risk and save on capital costs. From that humble beginning the “single-name” credit default swap (CDS) was born. By 2008, Wall Street had manufactured trillions of dollars’ worth of the swaps, using the derivatives to increase or reduce their exposure to loans – with sometimes disastrous results. Read more of this post

A Push to End Securities Fraud Lawsuits Gains Momentum

OCTOBER 15, 2013, 4:35 PM

A Push to End Securities Fraud Lawsuits Gains Momentum

By STEVEN M. DAVIDOFF

A group of pro-corporate forces has begun a behind-the-scenes fight at the Supreme Court. You may not have heard about it, but it could just end shareholders’ ability to sue companies for securities fraud. Securities fraud litigation — suits against companies for disclosure violations of the federal securities laws — has been a big business over the years. From 1997 to 2012, more than 3,050 securities litigation cases were brought, according to Cornerstone Research, a financial and economic consulting firm. Companies and their insurers paid $73.1 billion in judgments and settlements, and plaintiffs’ lawyers alone collected almost $17 billion in fees, Cornerstone’s research shows. Read more of this post

Power-Starved Iraqis Know Amps From Watts

Power-Starved Iraqis Know Amps From Watts

By Francis Curta on 3:13 pm October 14, 2013.
Baghdad. In electricity-starved Iraq, just about everyone knows his amperes from his watts, and juggling electrical appliances to run them off a generator is by now second-nature. Power cuts and shortages have gone on for so long that most Iraqis turned to generators to make up for the lack of national grid electricity. “In Iraq, there isn’t a single home without a generator… from the most simple abode to the most remote tent,” says Abu Karar al-Quraishi, who sells small generators in central Baghdad. Read more of this post