Treasury Committee Publishes Report On Northern Rock
The Treasury Committee of the House of Commons has issued a report detailing developments in the Northern Rock crisis, entitled "The Run on the Rock". The report, which gives an overview of the crisis and the handling of it stated that: "The period from Friday 14 September 2007 to Monday 17 September saw the first run on the retail deposits of a United Kingdom bank since Victorian times."
Asian, European Markets Slip Ahead of U.S. Market Reports
Asian markets fell sharply on Monday, reflecting a deepening worry about exporters dependent on the health of the U.S. economy, and Europe indexes were trading lower as well. Investors were pessimistic ahead of a slew of economic data announcements expected in the United States this week: new home sales, GDP numbers, the latest reading on unemployment and, perhaps most importantly, an announcement by the Federal Reserve on whether it would continue to cut interest rates or not.
Societe General Uncovers Massive Rogue Trader Fraud
Societe Generale, France's second-largest bank, has confirmed that a rogue futures trader has racked up losses of almost EUR5 billion on stock index bets that went spectacularly wrong. In a case with echoes of the Nick Leeson affair in 1995, Societe General has revealed that a single trader in his thirties used his "in-depth knowledge" of trade accounting systems and controls procedures from previous employment in the bank's middle office to hide huge positions in European stock index futures markets that massively exceeded his permitted limits as a relatively junior trader.
Joint Swiss-US Panel Discusses Trade Liberalization
A US-Switzerland panel discussion on the theme of global trade liberalization took place on January 24 as part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) program in Davos, Switzerland. Panellists discussed the current status of the Doha Round and different perspectives for advancing the negotiations. They also paid particular attention to preferential trade agreements and the elimination of non-tariff barriers. Private sector panellists addressed key issues linked with international trade and cross-border investment, and expressed their expectations for trade liberalization.
Central Bank cleans up Russia’s banking system
104 banks, from which the Central Bank of Russia revoked licenses in 2006 and 2007, accounted for 26 percent of all suspicious operations in Russia’s banking system, Viktor Melnikov, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, told reporters on Thursday. He said the Bank had withdrawn 53 licenses in 2006, including 51 in accordance with a law against money laundering. In 2007, 51 licenses were revoked, including 44 in accordance with the anti-money laundering bill.
Switzerland Yields No Ground In Tax Dispute With EU
Representatives from Switzerland and the European Commission on Wednesday resumed a dialogue on the EU's assessment of certain cantonal company tax arrangements. The meeting, which took place in Brussels, was the second round of talks on a tax dispute which erupted last year when the European Commission threatened to launch legal proceedings against Switzerland, ostensibly in an attempt to bring it into compliance with the 1972 Free Trade Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation.
Lords Decision Leaves HMRC Facing GBP1bn In VAT Claims
Businesses in the UK are being urged to examine their records, possibly as far back as 1973, to see if they have a case to reclaim overpaid value-added tax after a landmark decision by the House of Lords on Wednesday. The dismissal of an appeal brought by HM Revenue & Customs against VAT claims made by Condé Nast Publications Ltd (CNP) and Michael Fleming means that businesses can now claim back under-recovered VAT which they failed to fileclaims for before the Government introduced a new and much shorter time limit for reclaiming overpaid VAT in late 1996.
Asian Stocks Rise on China's Economic Growth; Banks Lead Gains
Asian stocks rose for a second day, led by banks and securities companies, as China grew more than 11 percent and U.S. lawmakers said they were close to agreement on an economic stimulus package. Macquarie Group Ltd. paced gains among financial companies after New York regulators met with U.S. banks to consider bailing out bond insurers. Kookmin Bank led an advance in South Korea, where the government asked pension funds to buy more shares. ASX Ltd., the operator of Australia's stock exchange, surged. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has recouped more than half of the two- day, 10 percent loss earlier this week.
