U.S. Senate to grill bankers, prosecutors over Swiss tax spat

U.S. senators will grill both sides in a five-year-old conflict over Swiss bankers helping Americans dodge taxes, questioning U.S. law enforcers and Swiss bankers in a hearing on Wednesday. In what may set the tone for the session, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday alleged new misdeeds by Switzerland's Credit Suisse and accused the U.S. Justice Department of dragging its feet. The Justice Department is probing 14 Swiss banks five years after UBS, the Alpine nation's largest bank, admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide money from the tax man, and agreed to provide client information. Chaired by Democrat Carl Levin, one of Capitol Hill's toughest questioners, the panel said in a report on Tuesday that Credit Suisse opened Swiss accounts for more than 22,000 U.S. customers, with combined assets of as much as $12 billion. Bankers secretly traveled to the United States, sometimes on tourist visas, to recruit clients, the report said. One former customer said he once met a Credit Suisse banker at a hotel over breakfast, and was handed bank statements tucked into the pages of an issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. Four top Credit Suisse executives, including Chief Executive Brady Dougan, are scheduled to testify, along with two top Justice Department officials. The bank's officials are expected to stress that only a small group of Swiss-based private bankers had helped clients evade taxes and that it was not a widespread practice, according to a person familiar with the bank's thinking. Credit Suisse last week settled charges levied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, admitting to wrongdoing and paying $196 million in fines. But a settlement with the Justice Department is not imminent, a person familiar with the matter has told Reuters. Switzerland has amassed assets worth trillions of dollars from foreigners over the past decades, aided by its tight bank secrecy laws. However, two small banks, Frey & Co and Bank Wegelin, have folded after U.S. authorities started targeting the country's banks over tax evasion.

News Source : www.reuters.com

China Stocks Fall for Fifth Day While Yuan Stabilizes After Drop

Chinese stocks fell for a fifth day amid concern that a weakening property market will weigh on developers and consumer companies. The yuan was little changed after tumbling the most since 2010 yesterday. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) lost 0.6 percent to 2,022.48 at 1:50 p.m. local time, with declines in property and consumer stocks overshadowing gains in energy producers. The Chinese currency slipped 0.04 percent to 6.1288 per dollar, after tumbling 0.46 percent yesterday. Benchmark money-market rates fell to a seven-month low as central bank efforts to weaken the yuan boosted the supply of cash in the banking system. The Shanghai Composite has led declines among global equity indexes during the past five days, dragging down its valuation to within 3 percent of an all-time low, as slower property-price gains spurred concern that consumers will curb housing-related purchases. Volatility in the yuan has increased amid speculation policy makers in the world’s second-largest economy are trying to discourage one-way bets on appreciation.
“Investors are afraid the property bubble may burst and stocks will tumble,” said Du Liang, an analyst at Shanxi Securities Co. in Beijing. “Still, I don’t think the central government will let the yuan depreciate much further so that will limit any drop.” The Shanghai Composite dropped to 10.2 times reported earnings yesterday, near its low of 10 times reached last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The MSCI All-Country World Index has a multiple of 16.6. “We have fallen a lot so the negative news has been priced in,” said Zhang Gang, a strategist at Central China Securities in Shanghai. “Looking forward, we need to focus on the policy meeting in March as the leaders may give some direction on reforms,” he said, referring to the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress that begins March 5.

News Source: www.businessweek.com

Former CNN correspondent Miles O'Brien has arm amputated after accident

Miles O'Brien, award-winning science journalist and former CNN correspondent and anchor, revealed in a blog post that his left arm was amputated recently after an accident. "I wish I had a better story to tell you about why I am typing this with one hand (and some help from Dragon Dictate)," he wrote. The story is not, he wrote with bittersweet humor, as "entertaining" as an "out-of-control quad copter that turns on its master," or perhaps a shark attack or assassination attempt. On February 12, he was stacking cases onto a cart after a reporting trip to Japan and the Philippines, and one of them fell on his left forearm. "It hurt, but I wasn't all '911' about it. It was painful and swollen but I figured it would be okay without any medical intervention. Maybe a little bit of denial?" O'Brien wrote. His arm seemed sore and swollen the next day, but didn't appear worse. That night, though, he experienced greater pain and swelling, and the next day asked the hotel where he was to refer him to a doctor. The doctor told O'Brien he may be experiencing acute compartment syndrome. This condition involves increased pressure in a muscle compartment, according to the National Institutes of Health. Muscles in the arms and legs are separated from each other by thick layers of tissue called fascia, and each fascia has space in it, called a compartment, with muscle tissue, nerves and blood vessels. When there is swelling in a compartment, pressure in that area will increase and press on the muscles, blood vessels and nerves. "If this pressure is high enough, blood flow to the compartment will be blocked," according to the NIH's MedlinePlus resource. "This can lead to permanent injury to the muscle and nerves. If the pressure lasts long enough, the muscles may die and the arm or leg will not work any more. It may need to be amputated." Symptoms of severe cases of compartment syndrome include skin paleness, numbness, tingling, decreased sensation, weakness and severe worsening pain. Early diagnosis and treatment are key for a good recovery. Patients need immediate surgery, which involves making long cuts through the muscle tissue to relieve pressure. O'Brien's doctor recommended this procedure, also known as a fasciotomy. After entering surgery, O'Brien woke up to learn that his blood pressure had dropped during the procedure. To save him, the doctor had made the decision to amputate just above the elbow. "He later told me it all boiled down to a choice...between a life and a limb," O'Brien wrote. Since then, O'Brien has dealt with "phantom pain, the vicissitudes of daily life with one hand and the worries about what lies ahead," he wrote. But he says he is grateful to be alive and urged readers not to

News Source : www.edition.cnn.com

Seth Meyers starts new show

The monologue jokes were mostly thin and the host seemed stiff delivering them early Tuesday. But Seth Meyers seemed to soon gain control of his inaugural edition of "Late Night." Part of his subsequent comfort level stemmed from his savvy choice of guests. Amy Poehler, his longtime pal and former "Weekend Update" deskmate on "Saturday Night Live" was the first guest of NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers." His other guest: Vice President Joe Biden, who's a talk show all by himself. Poehler joked that she and Biden now plan to make a film together called "Snakes on a Train." Then she declared that she was running for president in two years. But when Meyers asked Biden what his own 2016 political plans might be, he sidestepped the question. He said he had meant to make a major announcement on the show, but changed his mind. As he explained to Meyers, "Tonight's YOUR night. So I hope you'll invite me back." Lloyd Webber's show to close after brief run It's curtains for Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical in London's West End. Producers say "Stephen Ward," a tale of sex and scandal based on a real Cold War episode, will close March 29 after run of less than four months.

News Source : www.goerie.com

Holder calls for Congress to pass national data breach alert requirement for retailers

Attorney General Eric Holder has called on Congress to require retailers to immediately report data breaches to customers and law enforcement. Holder's push comes in the wake of a massive data breach suffered by Target during the holiday shopping season late last year. The retailer and investigators estimated that approximately 40 million people had their debit and credit card information stolen, while as many as 70 million people had their personal information accessed. As we’ve seen – especially in recent years – these crimes are becoming all too common," Holder said in a video message posted on the Justice Department's website Monday. "And they have the potential to impact millions of Americans every year. Target was criticized for not informing customers of the issue sooner. The retailer disclosed the breach on December 23, but the data was accessed and stolen between November 27 and December 15. This [standard] would empower the American people to protect themselves if they are at risk of identity theft," Holder said. "It would enable law enforcement to better investigate these crimes – and hold compromised entities accountable when they fail to keep sensitive information safe." Shortly after the Target breach was reported, upscale retailer Neiman Marcus confirmed that it had been hit by similar data breaches dating back to July of last year, but had waited until this past January to notify customers. Executives from both stores were called before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month to give testimony on their response to the data breaches.

News Source : www.foxnews.com

US general calls for more China-Japan

US Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno on Saturday said Beijing and Tokyo must enhance communication to avoid "miscalculations" amid a simmering territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea. Odierno, a four star general, spoke during a visit to China, where he has held talks with military officials aimed at establishing a formal high-level dialogue between the US and Chinese armies in the coming months. "We reinforced the importance of dialogue and discussion between the Japanese and the Chinese regarding this issue," Odierno told reporters. "We have to be careful and ensure that there are no miscalculations along the way." Tensions between the two nations dramatically intensified after Japan "nationalized" Diaoyu Islands in September 2012, with ships and aircraft from both countries regularly patrolling waters around the contested territory. "We do have a treaty with Japan, a defense treaty, but the most important piece is that we in fact emphasize the importance of this continued dialogue to solve this problem," Odierno said. Dialogue between China and Japan, however, has come to a virtual standstill as the island dispute has intensified. China's President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have never held a formal bilateral summit, only short encounters at global and regional meetings. "For me, we had frank, honest, important discussions about security, stability in the Asia-Pacific region" as well as beyond, Odierno said of the discussions in Beijing. But Odierno emphasized the talks centered on establishing "army-to-army dialogue" and were spurred by meetings held between Xi and President Barack Obama last year. The comments come as a source said Sunday that Japan has drafted new guidelines that would reverse a decades-old ban on weapons exports, a move by Abe's government that could further strain ties with China and South Korea. The Japanese government is aiming to bolster the self-reliance of the military. Under the new guidelines, arms exports would be approved upon "rigorous review" if they were to serve peaceful missions or if joint development of a weapon was deemed to enhance national security, the source told Reuters.