LOS ANGELES – Serena Williams experienced one of the worst losses in her career as the 23-time Grand Slam champion was crushed 6-1, 6-0 by Johanna Konta in the first round of the WTA San Jose tournament on Tuesday.

The American won only one serve in the 52-minute match which drew a large crowd but saw a lopsided defeat.
The last time Williams lost so quickly was at the 2014 WTA finals in Singapore, when she lost 6-0, 6-2 to Simona Halep.In another first-round match, China’s seventh-seeded Zhang Shuai was upset by Belarus’ Vera Lapko, 7-6 (2), 6-0.

Top 10 conglomerates suffer drop in market caps as stocks tumble SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) — The market value of firms affiliated with South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates has fallen off this year as their stocks were affected by bearish market conditions, data showed Wednesday.
The combined market value of listed firms belonging to the 10 leading business groups came to 913.2 trillion won (US$814 billion) as of Tuesday, down 6 percent or 58.3 trillion won, from Jan. 2 this year, according to corporate tracker Chaebul.com.

The numbers accounted for 50.93 percent of the total value of companies traded on the main stock market, down 0.24 percentage point over the cited period.
Top conglomerate Samsung Group suffered a 7 percent drop in market value, with the figure for No. 2 Hyundai Motor Group posting a 6.7 percent decline.
The market cap of the third-largest conglomerate SK Group rose 2.2 percent during the period, while that of LG Group fell 12.8 percent, Chaebul.com said.
Market watchers painted a gloomy picture of large firms’ share prices in the second half, citing an escalating trade row between the United States and China, the world’s top two economies and big markets for South Korean firms.
Food prices surge amid unprecedented heat wave Prices of agricultural products in South Korea have spiked as the country grapples with a record-breaking heat wave, the government said Wednesday.
The wholesale price of agricultural products is 6.5 percent higher than average as of late last month, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Vegetables grown outdoors, such as cabbage and radish, among others, led the increase, with the wholesale price of a head of cabbage jumping from 1,630 won (US$1.45) to 3,500 won from early July to the end of the month, the ministry said. The latest price is 50 percent higher than the usual rate.
The price of radish also rose from 1,128 won to 2,026 won during the cited period, with the latest figure 66 percent higher than usual, it said.
The government attributed the hike to the prolonged heat wave in the country. Hongcheon, 102 kilometers east of Seoul, logged the country’s highest-ever temperature on record of 40.3 C on Wednesday.

The average maximum temperature of major producers of cabbage and radish in Gangwon Province came to 32.5 C in mid to end-July, higher than the usual 28 C. The precipitation in the area also stood at 15 millimeters, 12 percent of the usual 117 mm, it added. The prices are expected to remain high for the time being as the heat has shown no signs of diminishing, industry watchers said.   (AFP)