Mainstream News

JPMorgan Bribe Probe Said to Expand in Asia as Spreadsheet Is Found

"The Justice Department has joined the SEC in examining whether JPMorgan hired people so that their family members in government and elsewhere would steer business to the firm, possibly violating bribery laws. The scrutiny began in Hong Kong and has now expanded to countries across Asia, looking at interns as well as full-time workers, two people said. The employees include influential politicians’ family members who worked in JPMorgan’s investment bank, as well as relatives of asset-management clients, the people said. Wall Street firms have long enlisted people whose pedigree and connections can win business, a practice that doesn’t necessarily violate the law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJPMorgan Bribe Probe Said to Expand in Asia as Spreadsheet Is Found

JP Morgan fines may hit $600 million

"JP Morgan's penalties to resolve various probes of the 'London whale' trading fiasco are expected to total $500 million to $600 million, according to people close to the situation. US and UK officials for months have been considering the possibility of a global settlement that would resolve all the probes at once, said another person familiar with the matter. Exact terms aren't known and no final decisions have been reached. Any settlement might include the filing of civil charges alleging that JP Morgan failed to supervise adequately former traders responsible for the bets and lacked sufficient controls to prevent an alleged cover-up of the losses, people close to the investigations said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJP Morgan fines may hit $600 million

Delta and Virgin Atlantic venture gets tentative immunity from antitrust laws

"Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways on Friday won tentative US approval for antitrust immunity for their proposed transatlantic joint venture, officials said. The Department of Transportation said it had recommended approving a request by the two airlines for protection from prosecution over antitrust issues, saying the tie-up would likely increase competition. The antitrust immunity 'would allow the airlines to operate a joint venture on flights between the United States and the United Kingdom,' the department said on its website." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDelta and Virgin Atlantic venture gets tentative immunity from antitrust laws

Lengthy, costly trail to Bay Bridge’s eastern span

"The $6.4 billion eastern span of the bridge costs roughly five times its original estimate and took at least seven years longer than expected. It took Caltrans officials 7 1/2 years and $1 million in research before they decided to replace the eastern span rather than retrofit it. In March, as contractors were tightening huge bolts attaching seismic safety devices to the bridge deck, the rods cracked. The surprising discovery of the cracked rods, some as long as 17 feet, led to an intensive investigation into how and why it happened and who was responsible, how the embarrassing problem could be fixed and whether - and when - it would be safe to open the bridge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLengthy, costly trail to Bay Bridge’s eastern span

A Finicky Thief of the Finest Silver Is Arrested Again

"Even before someone carefully removed a windowpane from a secluded Buckhead home here one rainy June night and slipped away with a 1734 silver mug that had belonged to George II, it was clear to detectives that a meticulous thief with a singular obsession was stealing the great silver pieces of the Old South. For months, exquisite sterling silver collections had been disappearing, taken in the dead of night from historic homes in Charleston and Belle Meade, Tenn. The police did not at first connect the thefts, some of which initially went unnoticed even by the owners. But as the burglaries piled up, a retired New Jersey detective watching reports on the Internet recognized a familiar pattern." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Finicky Thief of the Finest Silver Is Arrested Again

Japan’s debt-funding costs to hit $257 billion next year

"Japan expects to spend a record $257 billion to service its debt during the next fiscal year, a document obtained by Reuters showed, underscoring the huge burden created by the government's borrowings. That will be up 13.7 percent from the amount set aside for the current fiscal year, reflecting the ministry's plan to guard against any future rise in long-term interest rates. Years of fiscal stimulus to revive a stagnant economy and surging social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have led to Japan running a record 1,000 trillion yen ($10 trillion) in public debt, double the size of its economy and the biggest among major industrialized nations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan’s debt-funding costs to hit $257 billion next year

Argentina rejects court order to pay ‘vulture fund’

"Argentina has said it will continue to pay back debt on its own terms, after a US appeals court ordered the South American country to hand $1.47 billion (1.1 billion euros) to two hedge funds holding its defaulted bonds. Buenos Aires’ defiant stance is just the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute over government bonds it defaulted on in 2001. Facing bankruptcy at the time, the country struck a deal with almost all of its creditors to restructure its debt at a discount of nearly 70 percent. Argentina has claimed that the court’s decision would spur the other 93% of creditors who previously agreed to a deal to also demand full repayment, thus forcing the country back to bankruptcy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina rejects court order to pay ‘vulture fund’

As prices soar, Indians exchange gold for cash

"Jewellery associations in Hyderabad said with the single day surge of Rs 2,500, customers were coming in droves from early morning to take back cash in exchange for their gold jewellery. Already reeling under protests and strikes over the bifurcation issue, the sudden increase in gold price has come as a death blow to the jeweler shops in Seemandhra areas. Jeweler shop owners in Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada said their existence would be doubtful if the present stalemate continued any further. With gold prices increasing, enquiries for gold loans are also on the rise, said Nagaraju Rao, a manager with one of the outlets of Muthoot finance group." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAs prices soar, Indians exchange gold for cash

Guarding Kerala’s Great Temple Treasures

"How much is the treasure, which has been estimated at up to one trillion rupees ($19 billion), actually worth? 'We have no idea because the digital inventory is going on,' he says before giving a mini inventory of his own, listing the items he has seen in the vaults. Mr. Harikumar estimates that the inventory of Vault A will take another year to complete – it began in February, with 3D images taken of each artifact with equipment provided by state-owned Keltron, an electronics specialist. Five of the six chambers have been opened but Vault B remains closed after a submission to the Supreme Court from the Travancore royal family that said opening it could unleash a curse." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGuarding Kerala’s Great Temple Treasures

Can Indian Temple Gold Help the Rupee?

"At a time when nothing seems to be able to stem the Indian rupee’s decline, a novel idea to boost the currency is doing the rounds: use the tons of gold stashed away in people’s homes and in temples. There is no firm estimate of how much gold is held by Indian temples, but it is believed to be several thousand tons. Jamal Mecklai said banks could pay interest for gold, and then sell a large portion of the stock in the domestic market. London Bullion Market Association Chairman David Gornall told The Hindu Business Line newspaper that the Reserve Bank of India could swap the 200 tons of gold that it had bought from the International Monetary fund in 2009, for dollars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCan Indian Temple Gold Help the Rupee?