JP Morgan cuts its dividend 87%
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009JP Morgan Chase has cut its quarterly dividend by 87%, from 38 cents to 5 cents per share. The decision should save the bank $5bn (£3.5bn) over…
Archive for February, 2009
Zardari wants China to be arbitrator for India-Pakistan disputes
Tuesday, February 24th, 200923 Feb 2009, 1748 hrs IST, Saibal Dasgupta, TNN Text: BEIJING: Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has called on China to play the arbitrator for solving disputes between different countries in Asia. He did not specifically mention India, but it is apparent that the Pakistani president wants Beijing to help resolve Islamabad’s differences with New Delhi on a range of issues. India has sternly rejected suggestions of third party assistance in resolving bilateral…
Alistair Darling leads attack on Swiss secrecy
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009Swiss financial markets tumbled yesterday in response to a barrage of criticism over the country’s bank secrecy laws as European leaders met in Berlin to prepare for the G20 summit in April. Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, described Swiss bank secrecy as “intolerable”, but his comments, and a pledge from Europe’s G20 finance ministers to…
UBS claims US ignoring Swiss sovereignty over tax fraud probe
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009BANKING giant UBS has accused the United States government of ignoring Swiss sovereignty and forcing its employees to break the law, as lawyers seek to fend off an IRS fraud probe into the firm. The comments…
Will Sleiman help give the Lebanese the true democracy they seek?
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009By The Daily Star Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - Powered by Editorial President Michel Sleiman was literally handed an opportunity on Monday to dramatically improve Lebanon’s troubled situation. Representatives of the Civil Center for National Initiative gave Sleiman a letter detailing ways that he can reverse the deterioration of the political process in this country. Among the proposals included in the letter was a call for the…
Northern Rock reports loss of £1.4bn - and plans to reward top executives
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009A fresh dispute over rewards for banker failure erupted yesterday as Northern Rock said that it was planning to pay bonuses to senior executives even as it reported a £1.4 billion loss. The controversial pay scheme emerged as the nationalised bank - with the backing of the Treasury - announced a spectacular strategic U-turn, abandoning its drastic slimdown policy in favour of a new £14 billion mortgage lending splurge. The bank said that 100 senior executives were eligible for the 2008 bonus scheme, which was necessary to ensure that it could continue to recruit and retain good people. Gary…
Four US soldiers wounded in Iraq police-station shooting (AFP)
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
AFP - Four US soldiers were wounded and a local interpreter killed in a shooting at an Iraqi police station in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, the US military said.