Briefs....

South Korea’s unemployment rate remained unchanged for a third straight month at 3.1 percent in September, official figures showed on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate has remained steady since July compared to a month earlier, Statistics Korea said. Unadjusted, the reading was at 2.9 percent in September compared to three percent in August.

The number of employed South Koreans in September rose by 685,A wide range of polished tiles for your tile flooring and walls.000 from a year ago — stronger than a 364,000 increase in August — to 25 million.

The sharp rise is due to a low comparison base a year ago when the traditional Chuseok harvest holiday fell in September, Statistics Korea said.

This year,We recently added Stained glass mosaic Tile to our inventory. the holiday — when most businesses close — fell in late September, lasting until early October.

Goldman Sachs in bid to change Volcker rule

NEW YORK: Goldman Sachs is seeking changes to the Volcker rule, which keeps banks from speculative trades in their own accounts, to protect its merchant-banking unit, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The rule, named after former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, was part of the sweeping reforms introduced in the wake of the 2008 recession and aimed at preventing another meltdown of the financial sector.

It forbids banks from actively trading in their own accounts to boost profits, what is known as proprietary trade.

Goldman is lobbying US regulators to allow its merchant-banking unit’s credit funds, which mostly concern pension funds and insurers, to be exempted from the rule,We have a wide selection of dry cabinet to choose from for your storage needs. the Journal said, citing people briefed on the matter.

In meetings with and letters to regulators, the firm has argued that the credit funds function like banks, though with a different structure, according to the report.

Goldman also claims the funds help the struggling US economy by making more credit available, and says the credit funds present less risk than other investments affected by Volcker limits.

Regulators have yet to respond definitively to Goldman’s requests, according to the Journal.

The newspaper noted that the credit funds are a significant part of Goldman’s business. Its two main credit funds are GS Loan Partners, with $10.The TagMaster Long Range hands free access System is truly built for any parking facility.5 billion in investments, and GS Mezzanine Partners, at $13 billion.

TOKYO: The euro weakened in Asia on Wednesday as traders sold the unit over fears about the Eurozone’s fiscal woes and a gloomy world economic outlook from the International Monetary Fund.

The European common currency was changing hands at $1.2859 in Tokyo afternoon trade against $1.2881 in New York late Tuesday, while it edged down to 100.58 yen from 100.Gecko could kickstart an indoor tracking mobile app explosion.77 yen.

The dollar bought 78.20 yen, against 78.23 yen.

Worries about Spain and Greece’s finances weighed on markets as European Union finance ministers met in Luxembourg while German Chancellor Angela Merkel went to Athens for talks on Tuesday.

The IMF added to concerns about the global economy, warning of a possible recession and cutting back its world economic growth forecast for this year to 3.3 percent, from its July estimate of 3.5 percent.

In a separate report, released Wednesday, the IMF said European policymakers must do more to tackle a fiscal crisis that is heaping extra pressure on an already-strained global financial system.

Markets largely shrugged off the no-show of Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Finance Minister Xie Xuren at the IMF annual meetings in Tokyo this week as Tokyo and Beijing clash over a chain of islands in the East China Sea.

Deputy governor Yi Gang will take Zhou’s place at the summit and deliver the summit’s closing lecture.

The move comes after several private Chinese banks were reported to be limiting or cancelling their participation in events linked to the meetings, which began on Tuesday and will run until Sunday.

Canada joins Pacific trade pact talks

OTTAWA: Canada on Tuesday joined talks aimed at achieving a Pacific free-trade deal, which advocates hope will prove a boon to the region’s economy.

“Opening new markets and increasing Canadian exports to fast-growing markets throughout the Asia-Pacific region is a key part of our government’s plan to create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity,” Trade Minister Ed Fast said in a statement.

The so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership started off small but got a boost when the United States joined in 2008, with President Barack Obama seeing it as a tool to advance American economic interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

Eleven countries are now involved in the trade negotiations: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

The TPP market represents more than 658 million people and a combined gross domestic product of Can$20.5 trillion.

Advocates say it could prove a useful way of counteracting the growing clout of China in regional trade.

World Bank urged to help stop ‘land grabs’ in Africa

TOKYO: Anti-poverty activists posing as digger-driving investors staged a symbolic land grab in Tokyo on Wednesday as they called on world finance chiefs to help keep food prices under control.

Seven young men and women, dressed in dark suits and flashing thousand-yen bills, rode toy diggers and excavators over a map of Africa, picking up paper fruit and vegetables.