AFP – Leading shares in London slipped lower on Thursday, giving up early gains as Wall Street reversed direction despite a series of strong company results and economic data, dealers said.

Yahoo! News: Business – European Economy

(CNS): While the tourist industry worldwide may still have some way to go before it recovers from the impact of the global recession, passenger arrivals in the Cayman Islands are at the 2010 halfway mark showing improvement on 2009. More passengers arrived on the islands both by air and by boat this year than last. According to the latest statistics from the Department of Tourism at the end of June well over 126,000 cruise passengers had visited Grand Cayman in the first six months of the year compared to last and over 30,000 more passengers had passed through Owen Roberts International Airport. 

read more

Cayman News Service – Cayman Islands Premier Online News Service – Business

SEC's New Powers Affect Hedge Fund and Private Equity Advisors Investment Advisor In addition, the manual should clearly state anti-money laundering and know-your-customer policies. In the same article, Morris wrote that firms should … and more »

“anti-money laundering” compliance – Google News

Reuters Africa

Rand Slips From 3 1/2-Month High as Stocks Erase Earlier Gains BusinessWeek South Africa's currency rallied earlier today as government bonds gained on bets the central bank may lower its benchmark rate and on speculation a foreign … South African PPI Surges, Credit Rises, Reducing Chances of More Rate CutsBloomberg South Africa Credit Gains for Second Straight Month as Spending ReboundsBloomberg South Africa Bond Yields Decline to 2 1/2-Year Low on Rate-Cut SpeculationBloomberg Reuters Africa -Director of Finance online all 69 news articles »

central bank interest rate – Google News

Brazil Inflation Surprise Shifts Central Bank Rate Stance Wall Street Journal At the July 21 meeting, the rate committee raised the reference Selic interest rate half a percentage point to 10.75% annually. It was the bank's third rate … Brazil's Central Bank:Risks To Inflation Outlook Have DiminishedWall Street Journal Brazilian Growth May Have Slowed to `Sustainable' Level, Central Bank SaysBloomberg Brazil Stocks Open Higher On Metals, Inflation OutlookWall Street Journal Wall Street Journal -IMarketnews.com all 8 news articles »

central bank interest rate – Google News

New York Times (blog)

Federal Reserve official warns US at risk of 'Japanese-style' deflation Globe and Mail A member of the Federal Reserve committee that sets interest rates warned today that the central bank's own policies threaten a Japanese-style bout of … Fed Should Resume Treasury Purchases if Deflation Risk Grows, Bullard SaysBloomberg Fed Member's Deflation Warning Hints at Policy ShiftNew York Times Fed's Bullard Raises Policy ConcernsWall Street Journal (blog) Asia Times Online -RTT News all 126 news articles »

central bank interest rate – Google News

As the August 6th bailout deadline approaches, when the federal government must either give ShoreBank million or take it over entirely, new evidence is emerging about ShoreBank’s connections to Chicago politicians.

The latest revelations raise new questions about the possible role of Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who is also the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in the upcoming November election.

Alexi Giannoulias (D) – Source: Crain's Chicago Business

Shortly after Giannoulias took office in 2007, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), a state-run college fund, invested .7 million in ShoreBank. Some of ISAC’s funds came from parents who invested in Bright Start, a program to help them save for their children’s college tuition.

As of this week, according to Crain’s Chicago Business, ISAC’s ShoreBank stake has lost over 80% of its value–which not even a bailout will restore.

The .7 million investment was ISAC’s “first and only direct investment in a privately held company,” according to Daniels. Furthermore, ISAC’s investment made the tuition program the single largest shareholder in ShoreBank.

That same year, 2007, marked the beginning of ShoreBank’s financial decline, which we now know resulted from investments far outside the bank’s “traditional” market in poor communities on Chicago’s South Side.

As state treasurer, Giannoulias was responsible for ISAC, even though the decision to invest in ShoreBank was taken by ISAC’s executive director. His role in Bright Start, in particular, has been questioned before. On Giannoulias’s watch, Bright Start lost 0 million in a fund that invested in sub-prime mortgages. Giannoulias also bought an SUV for his office using ,000 of Bright Start’s management fees.

Giannoulias has spun his record as a success. But there is no way to spin ISAC’s ShoreBank investment. No reasonable investor–not even one working for the government–would choose to buy the largest stake in a business specializing in risky loans as their first investment in a privately held company.

The only reasonable conclusion is that ISAC invested in ShoreBank for political, not financial, reasons.

The timing is especially suspicious. ISAC only invested in ShoreBank in 2007, after Giannoulias arrived in Springfield, and at a time when Giannoulias was actively involved in management changes at Bright Start.

Giannoulias should be asked about why ISAC chose to invest in ShoreBank, and about his role in the decision. He should also be asked whether the state participated in ShoreBank’s management decisions through ISAC.

There is much more to the ShoreBank story. Its patrons are running out of excuses, and running out of time.

Big Government

UK FS Welcomes Virgin Islands on OECD `White List´ Platinum News Online Earlier in the debate, Mr. Pritchard explained, "Offshore centres like the British Virgin Islands, who are on the OECD White List and the OECD Peer Review …

“british virgin islands” tax – Google News

Calls African-Americans a 'mongrel people'...

(First headline, 2nd story, link)

Drudge Report Feed

Aquino gov't files 2nd tax evasion case vs construction firm ABS CBN News This is the second tax evasion case filed by the country's main revenue agency in line with the Aquino government's promise to crack down on cheats and … BIR files tax evasion case vs construction firmGMA news.tv Gov't casts wider net in bid to raise revenuesBusinessWorld Online BIR files raps vs. construction firmInquirer.net all 4 news articles »

tax evasion – Google News

US Hospitals to Discuss Inbound and Domestic Medical Tourism at Los Angeles … Marketwire (press release) … Healthcare Congress includes two additional conferences which are the Expatriate Healthcare, Travel Insurance and Global Health Insurance Conference, … and more »

expat health insurance – Google News

China's Offshore Currency Experiment Wall Street Journal Offshore currency markets operate essentially in the same way as shadow or parallel banking systems, with which they share the three common elements … and more »

offshore banking – Google News

Moneycontrol.com

Dollar Declines as Company Earnings Boost Stocks, Buoying Riskier Assets Bloomberg New Zealand's dollar fell for a third day versus the greenback after the central bank said deteriorating growth will slow the pace of future interest-rate … FOREX-Euro dips vs yen on Japan exporter sellingReuters RBNZ Set to Hike Benchmark RateForex Hound Euro Strengthens Against Yen on Risk Appetite; Aussie SlidesBusinessWeek One Financial all 730 news articles »

central bank interest rate – Google News

New York Times (blog)

Fed Should Resume Treasury Purchases if Deflation Risk Grows, Bullard Says Bloomberg The central bank cut the benchmark interest rate almost to zero in December 2008 and turned to purchases of Treasury, housing-agency and mortgage- backed … Fed Member's Deflation Warning Hints at Policy ShiftNew York Times Fed's Bullard Raises Policy ConcernsWall Street Journal (blog) The Volcker-Bernanke puzzleAsia Times Online Sacramento Bee all 82 news articles »

central bank interest rate – Google News