10- and 30-year bond yields trading at 24-year highs

Two dozen luxury houses at One Stanley have been sold since Hong Kong authorities launched an investigation into alleged structural defects in March, with buyers including local and international businesspeople. The transactions have prompted experts to call for stronger homebuyer protections, including implementing a mandatory period for buyers to rescind contracts when statutory violations are discovered. The South China Morning Post learned that 24 transactions were recorded at One Stanley...

Brian J. Visalli, a veteran investigator of tax fraud, said in a lawsuit that the agency had sent his personal and tax information to federal prosecutors.

More than 300 people signed up for Hong Kong’s Election Committee poll as the nomination period opened on Wednesday, vying for seats on the body that chooses the city’s leader. The nomination period for committee subsectors for the November 22 election will run until October 20. The 1,500-member body will select Hong Kong’s next chief executive in March next year. The Registration and Electoral Office received 305 nominations for candidacy on Wednesday. It also received two nominations from...

General Motors (GM) Korea’s decision to bring to market its first Buick model — imported entirely from China — is putting its multi-brand strategy at odds with its commitment to local production, experts and industry officials said Tuesday. Last week, the carmaker unveiled Buick, positioning the premium brand as a key pillar of the strategy to offer consumers a wider range of products, along with its other brands, such as GMC, Cadillac and Chevrolet. But since Buick’s first model, the Electra E7 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), will be imported from China, the latest decision has also renewed questions about GM Korea’s long-term commitment to domestic production. In March, GM Korea announced a $600 million (806 billion won) investment plan to expand its production infrastructure. At a media briefing, GM Korea CEO Hector Villarreal highlighted the benefits of operating multiple brands and providing customers with greater choice. But when asked whether Buick or other new models could eventually be produced in Korea, Villarreal did not offer a specific commitment. Kim Pil-so

The following is a chronology of major events leading to the fifth launch of Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri from Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung on Wednesday. June 4, 1993 — Korea launches the homegrown one-stage solid propelled science observation rocket, called the Korea Space Rocket-I, after three years of development. July 9, 1997 — Korea launches the homegrown KSR-II two-stage solid propelled science observation rocket. It adopted such advanced technologies as guided control and stage separation compared with the previous version. March 26, 2001 — Korea joins the Missile Technology Control Regime, an informal international association that oversees the proliferation of unmanned delivery systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. August 2002 — Korea and Russia confirm plans to develop the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-I (KSLV-I) rocket, with a launch planned for 2005. 2005 — Korea and Russia complete work on critical designs for the KSLV-I. The original launch date was postponed until October 2007. June 11, 2009 — Kor

LS Electric said Wednesday it will set up a joint venture with two affiliates of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group to win power infrastructure projects in Taiwan, expanding beyond its current business of supplying electrical equipment there. The Korean maker of power equipment and automation systems signed the agreement Tuesday with Nan Ya Plastics and KHI at LS Yongsan Tower in Seoul. LS Electric will hold 50 percent of the venture, Nan Ya 40 percent and KHI 10 percent. Nan Ya is a core Formosa affiliate that makes petrochemicals, electronic materials and electronics. It has been building a power solutions business, moving from distribution products into extra-high-voltage transmission equipment and grid stabilization, according to LS Electric. KHI was set up last year with Formosa investment to commercialize technologies developed at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, a state-run research university. The venture will first build local capacity to handle bidding, design and technical support for Taiwanese power projects. It will combine LS Electric's manufacturing and

Paris Baguette, Korea’s largest bakery chain, is expanding its health-focused Paran Label line across all 28 of its Singapore stores — marking the global debut for the brand, named after the Korean word for blue, as local demand rises for breads that balance nutrition and taste. The bakery chain first introduced Paran Label at its Paragon store in Singapore in February before expanding it across its network after testing consumer response. The lineup now includes seven products, five breads and two sandwiches, with Multigrain Rye Bread, Smoked Salmon Ricotta Sandwich and Roasted Chicken Ricotta Sandwich among its best-selling items. After the expansion, average 30-day sales in the sliced-bread category rose 57 percent from the May-to-July average recorded before Paran Label reached all stores, while sales of sandwiches and salads increased 10 percent. Paris Baguette said the brand has drawn customers with products emphasizing dietary fiber, lower sugar, protein and probiotics while retaining varied textures and flavors. The company has also paired breads with sandwiches and salads des

Boston Dynamics has named Rohit Prasad, an artificial intelligence (AI) veteran who helped build Alexa and lead Amazon’s foundation-model efforts, as its new chief executive officer as it moves to fuse AI with advanced robotics. Prasad, who joins the company Wednesday, will lead Boston Dynamics’ push to commercialize intelligent robots and expand physical AI applications across industries, the company said. Before joining Boston Dynamics, Prasad spent 12 years at Amazon, where he served as senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa and artificial general intelligence. He joined Amazon in 2013 during Alexa’s early development and later led work on Amazon Nova, a family of foundation models developed for generative AI applications. Prasad previously spent nearly 14 years at Raytheon BBN Technologies, where he worked on machine-learning research and applications for government and commercial customers. Boston Dynamics said Prasad’s experience turning AI research into products, platforms and business ecosystems would help accelerate commercialization of intelligent robotic sys

Excess funds held by South Korean businesses hit an all-time high in the second quarter as strong semiconductor exports boosted corporate earnings, central bank data showed Wednesday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by non-financial corporations totaled 67.1 trillion won ($50.1 billion) at the end of June, sharply up from 20.8 trillion won three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the highest quarterly figure since the BOK began compiling the data in 2009. Households' net financial funds fell to 60.7 trillion won in the second quarter from 79.2 trillion won in the first quarter, partly due to a fall in incomes and more purchases of homes. Financial assets held by the country's households and nonprofit organizations totaled 6,930.2 trillion won at the end of June, up 513 trillion won from three months earlier. Their debts rose by 28.2 trillion won from three months earlier to 2,495.8 trillion won over the cited period. The ratio of financial assets to liabilities owned by households stood at 2

POSCO Holdings has completed the upstream process of its second brine lithium plant at the Hombre Muerto Salt Flat in Argentina, laying the groundwork for an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of lithium hydroxide, eight years after acquiring mining rights to the site. POSCO Holdings held a completion ceremony for the upstream process on Tuesday (local time) near the salt flat, located at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level. The ceremony was attended by POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa, POSCO Argentina President Park Hyun, Argentine presidential chief of staff Karina Milei and Korean Ambassador to Argentina Lee Chong-hwa, among others. "Since I became head of the new business division in 2014, I have personally visited sites to find salt flats suitable for lithium development. It is deeply moving to have overcome numerous challenges in the extreme environment at 4,000 meters above sea level and reach today's completion," Chang said. "We will continue to proactively secure competitive resources, turn them into production and profitability and stably supply the critical mi

LG Electronics reported solid earnings growth in the third quarter, driven largely by strong performance in its home appliance and vehicle component businesses, the company said Wednesday in a regulatory filing. The electronics maker posted an operating profit of 781.8 billion won ($583 million) for the July-September period, up 13.5 percent from a year earlier. Sales rose 8.9 percent to 23.82 trillion won. The company attributed the growth to robust sales of its core businesses and continued expansion of business-to-business (B2B) operations. Its home appliance and vehicle solutions businesses maintained solid profitability, while its TV business also improved profitability from a year earlier. For the first nine months, LG Electronics’ sales reached a record 71.38 trillion won, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit also hit a record 4.03 trillion won, up 55.9 percent. Despite unfavorable external business conditions, including conflicts in the Middle East, the company said it continued to grow sales by maintaining its strong market positions in its core businesses and

South Korea launched its homegrown Nuri rocket Wednesday on its fifth flight to place 15 satellites into orbit, including five that will form part of the country's first domestically launched microsatellite constellation. The 200-ton Nuri blasted off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, about 400 kilometers southwest of Seoul, at 12:25 p.m. The payload consists of five New-space Earth Observation Satellite Constellation for National Safety (NEONSAT) microsatellites and 10 CubeSats. Nuri's first and second stages will separate about 123 and 268 seconds after liftoff, respectively, with satellite deployment beginning between 810 and 960 seconds at an altitude of around 575 kilometers. The five NEONSATs, Nos. 2 through 6, will be deployed at intervals of 35 to 40 seconds, with Nuri's upper stage rotating by about 45 degrees between each separation to prevent collisions. The 10 CubeSats will then be deployed two at a time at 10-second intervals. After releasing all 15 satellites, Nuri will perform a collision-avoidance maneuver and vent its remaining fuel, completing its flight about 20 min