my timesThe Korea Times

Economy

PolicyCryptocurrencyOthers
  • Others

    KOSPI plunges 8% on concerns over end of chip earnings cycle, interest rate hike

    Korean stocks tumbled Monday, as a broad-based correction in global semiconductor shares triggered heavy selling across the market, prompting the activation of both sidecar trading curbs and circuit breakers on the KOSPI and Kosdaq markets. Attention is centered on whether KOSPI, which has staged a record-breaking rally this year, can resume its upward trajectory after a short-term correction or whether market volatility will intensify further. The benchmark KOSPI opened 112.50 points, or 1.38 percent, lower at 8,048.09 before extending its losses throughout the session to close at 7,484.41, down 676.18 points, or 8.29 percent. The index reached an all-time intraday high of 8,933.62 on June 2. After plunging 5.54 percent on Friday, the KOSPI posted losses for a second consecutive session, underscoring growing concerns over a pullback in semiconductor stocks that had fueled the market's recent rally. Amid heavy selling pressure, trading restrictions kicked in shortly after the market opened, with a Level 1 circuit breaker triggered at 9:03 a.m. and a sell-side sidecar activated at 9:34 a.

    3 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    KOSPI plunges 8% on concerns over end of chip earnings cycle, interest rate hike
  • Economy

    Lee attributes weakening won to foreign investors' portfolio rebalancing

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Lee attributes weakening won to foreign investors' portfolio rebalancing
  • Economy

    Financial authorities vow stern action against excessive volatility, one-sided FX market moves

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Financial authorities vow stern action against excessive volatility, one-sided FX market moves
  • Economy

    Corporate lending grows at fastest pace in 3 1/2 years in Q1: BOK

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Corporate lending grows at fastest pace in 3 1/2 years in Q1: BOK
  • Economy

    Economy continues 'gradual improvement' on strong chip exports: KDI

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Economy continues 'gradual improvement' on strong chip exports: KDI
Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Read more

Economy

Finance chief calls for corporate restraint on 'excessive' wage increases amid inflation woes

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho speaks during a meeting with members of the Korea Enterprises Federation in Seoul, June 28. YonhapFinance Minister Choo Kyung-ho asked companies Tuesday to refrain from excessively raising wages for employees as the move could further accelerate inflation.Choo made the request during a meeting with members of the Korea Enterprises Federation, including its chief and CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, and Rhee In-yong, president of Samsung Electronics."We're concerned that some IT companies and large conglomerates have recently jacked up wages, and such a trend has shown signs of spreading to other industries and companies," Choo said."Excessive wage increases not only worsen the inflation situation but also expand the wage gap between large companies and small to midsized firms, which make workers at SMEs feel a sense of deprivation," he added.How to tame surging inflation has been Korea's No. 1 policy priority ― the country's consumer prices jumped 5.4 percent year-on-year in May, the fastest rise in almost 14 years."The government has gone all out to

Jun 28, 2022
Finance chief calls for corporate restraint on 'excessive' wage increases amid inflation woes
Economy

Korean currency rises by most in 1 month amid eased recession fears

Movements of Seoul's stocks and currency are shown on a screen at a Hana Bank dealing room in Seoul, June 27. Yonhap The Korean currency rose by the most against the U.S. dollar in about a month Monday as expectations that the Federal Reserve may slow its aggressive monetary tightening eased concerns about a global economic recession.The local currency closed at 1,286.50 won against the greenback, up 11.70 won from the previous session.It marked the highest daily increase since May 30, when the won rose 17.60 won per the dollar.Financial market volatility has recently heightened over fears of the U.S. central bank's aggressive rate hikes and a resulting global recession. The Korean currency slid below 1,300 per dollar Thursday for the first time in nearly 13 years.But it rose for the second straight session Monday, as appetite for riskier assets revived on eased fears about a recession, analysts said.U.S. consumer sentiment dipped to a record low in June, which prom

Jun 27, 2022
Korean currency rises by most in 1 month amid eased recession fears
Economy

Gov't pressure on banks contrasts with Yoon's pledge to limit market intervention

A signboard directs customers to the personal loan service section at a commercial bank in Seoul, June 22. YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooThe recent calls from President Yoon Suk-yeol and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun for commercial banks to ease the burden on borrowers over fast-growing interest rates is raising questions over whether the Yoon administration is contradicting one of its objectives of facilitating a market-driven economy. The calls are being perceived by lenders as pressure to lower their lending rates to protect financial customers who are struggling with repayments amid soaring inflation, contrary to one of Yoon's goals, which has been to minimize government intervention on the path to economic recovery.This move of the Yoon administration comes in response to public sentiment critical of banks for reaping huge profits over the widening gap between the interest rates for loans and deposits.“We fully respect the president and the FSS governor in their intention to protect the vulnerable, but still, we can't put aside concerns that their demands

Jun 27, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Gov't pressure on banks contrasts with Yoon's pledge to limit market intervention
Economy

Korea's inflation may rise 6% in June-August period: finance chief

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho / YonhapKorea's consumer inflation will likely rise by 6 percent during the June to August period on a global surge in oil, food and material costs, the country's finance minister said Sunday. "A decline in international oil prices could offer a breather to rising inflation, given the surge in consumer prices is mainly driven by external factors. But we expect high inflation will continue for a certain period of time," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said in a televised economic panel discussion. The minister said the government puts stabilizing volatile consumer prices before anything else and will take all possible measures to keep inflation under control. Rising consumer prices are cementing the case for further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The central bank raised the policy rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.75 percent in May, the fifth rate increase since August last year. It has warned of more increases to fight inflation. As for the falling won against the U.S. dollar, the minister said the won is not the only currency whos

Jun 26, 2022
Korea's inflation may rise 6% in June-August period: finance chief
Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin, Ethereum extend poor performance on fears of Celsius bankruptcy

Seen above is Bitcoin's real-time price fluctuation between May 27 and June 26. Screenshot from CoinMarketCapBy Lee Min-hyungMajor cryptocurrencies continue to show lukewarm performance on growing fears over crypto lending platform Celsius Network's possible bankruptcy and global monetary tightening.Bitcoin and Ethereum, the world's two most valuable cryptocurrencies, failed to achieve an outstanding rebound in their prices after suffering big losses for the past month amid escalating skepticism across the industry, according to data from CoinMarketCap.After the collapse of the once-promising Terra ecosystem in May, multiple indexes show investors' fear sentiment in the crypto market is on the sharp rise. But with another controversy hitting investors surrounding the recent bank run of Celsius, the market is not displaying any detectable signs of a rebound without any massive capital inflow. Celsius attracted more than 1.7 million investors with a high annual yield of 18 percent in case they deposit their cryptocurrency holdings. Data from the cryptocurrency price tracker also showed

Jun 26, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bitcoin, Ethereum extend poor performance on fears of Celsius bankruptcy
Economy

Korean economy pushed closer toward 'perfect storm'

First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun, second from left, presides over an emergency meeting of economy-related vice ministers at Government Complex in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap By Yi Whan-wooKorea is feared to be on the brink of a “perfect economic storm” that financial authorities have been warning about repeatedly for months, with the economy becoming more vulnerable amid the depreciation of the Korean won, plummeting stocks and soaring inflation.Authorities and economists warn the serious nature of the Korean economy in 2022 is conjuring up deja vu of the worldwide oil crisis in the 1970s and the 2008-09 global financial crisis.For instance, the Korean currency on Thursday fell below 1,300 won per U.S. dollar ― the weakest level since July 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis.The won-dollar exchange rate complicates problems associated with the triple whammy of a strengthening dollar, rising prices and interest rate hikes.Among the problems are a sharpe

Jun 24, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Korean economy pushed closer toward 'perfect storm'
Economy

S. Korea logs record current account surplus with US in 2021

Container ships are seen loaded with cargo at Busan Port, Tuesday. YonhapSouth Korea posted a record current account surplus with the United States and Southeast Asia in 2021 on brisk demand for semiconductors and other key products, but its shortfall with the Middle East widened sharply on soaring oil prices, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus with the U.S. totaled $44.96 billion last year, compared with a $32.8 billion surplus the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK), surpassing the previous record of $41.5 billion in 2014.The country's overall current account surplus rose to $88.3 billion in 2021 from $75.9 billion a year earlier.South Korea also registered a record current account surplus of $102.5 billion with Southeast Asian nations last year, up sharply from the previous year's $79.2 billion.Seoul's current account surplus with China, its top export market, expanded to $23.61 billion in 2021 from $17.25 billion.The current account balance with the European Union swung to a $1.27 billion surplus from a $5.9 billion shortfall thanks to brisk

Jun 24, 2022
S. Korea logs record current account surplus with US in 2021
Economy

Powell: Fed must convince public it can tame inflation

U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., June 23. Reuters-Yonhap As if their job weren't hard enough at a time of raging inflation, Chair Jerome Powell and his Federal Reserve colleagues have to do more these days than decide just how much to raise interest rates without triggering a recession.They also have a sales job on their hands: Convincing the public that they will succeed in reducing inflation ― now at 8.6 percent, a four decade high ― to the central bank's goal of 2 percent a year.On Thursday, Powell told Congress that Americans do seem reassured, at least for now: Measures of consumer sentiment show that people generally think inflation will eventually subside.“People do expect inflation to come back down to levels that are consistent with our price stability mandate,” Powell told the House Financial Services Committee on the second of two days of testimony as part of

Jun 24, 2022
Powell: Fed must convince public it can tame inflation
Economy

US Treasury's Yellen expected to visit S. Korea next month

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks to the Atlantic Council, in Washington, D.C., in this April 13, file photo. Yellen plans to visit South Korea next month for meetings with her counterpart, Choo Kyung-ho, and other officials, a government source said Friday. AP-YonhapU.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to visit South Korea next month for meetings with her counterpart, Choo Kyung-ho, and other officials, a government source said Friday.During what would be her first trip here since assuming the post in January last year, the secretary is expected to focus consultations on economic policy coordination under South Korea's new Yoon Suk-yeol administration amid growing concerns about inflation.She may also discuss a push for additional sanctions against North Korea in case it presses ahead with another nuclear weapon test or other major strategic provocations.Seoul and Washington have not announced whether or when Yellen will travel to South Korea. (Yonhap)

Jun 24, 2022
US Treasury's Yellen expected to visit S. Korea next month
Economy

Korean currency weakens to 1,300 won level for 1st time in nearly 13 years

Electronic signboards at Hana Bank in Seoul show the benchmark Kospi fell 1.22 percent to 2,314.32 points while the Korean currency closed at 1,301.8 per dollar, weakening by 4.5 won from the previous close, Thursday. YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooThe Korean won weakened to the 1,300 level against the U.S. dollar for the first time in nearly 13 years, Thursday, heightening concerns over an accelerated hike in the benchmark interest rate, widening trade deficit and other problems linked to the won's rapid depreciation that can further slow the Korean economy.Analysts expect the local currency to continue to lose ground against the greenback and hit the 1,350 won level. They noted that the 1,300 won level has been a psychological threshold and breaching such a level could prompt more investors to sell the Korean currency in exchange for safe-haven assets.On Thursday, the won closed at 1,301.8 per dollar, depreciating by 4.5 won from Wednesday's close _ the weakest level since July 14, 2009 when it ended at 1,303.0 won in the midst of the 2008-09 global financial crisis.The currency opened at 1,2

Jun 23, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Korean currency weakens to 1,300 won level for 1st time in nearly 13 years
previous page
671672673674675
next page

Most Read in Economy