Goldman to be paid $1bn if CIT fails, US will lose $2.3 billion

Goldman Sachs to be paid more than $1bn if CIT fails, and US taxpayers would lose $2.3bn. Republican robber barons. Welfare for the bankrupt banks, for a war machine. The agreement with Goldman states that if CIT defaults or goes bankrupt, it “would be required to pay a make-whole amount” that totals $1bn, .. Goldman extended to CIT $3 bn, US gov $2.3 billion. Goldman will get $1 billion back, US gov nothing. good deals between good boys. lets milk the US Treasury.

FT.com / Companies / Financial Services - Goldman to be paid $1bn if CIT fails:

UN wants new global currency to replace dollar

The dollar should be replaced with a global currency, the United Nations has said, proposing the biggest overhaul of the world's monetary system since the Second World War.

Although a number of countries, including China and Russia, have suggested replacing the dollar as the world's reserve currency, the UNCTAD report is the first time a major multinational institution has posited such a suggestion

UN wants new global currency to replace dollar - Telegraph

US Banks make $38.5 bn from overdraft fees in 09. Fees nearly doubled since 2000. Median fee is $26. These fees accounted for 75% of service fees

The most cash-strapped customers are the hardest hit by such fees, with 90 % of overdraft revenues coming from 10 % of the 130m checking accounts in the US..

Fed is working on rules for fees.

FT.com / Companies / Banks - Banks make $38bn from overdraft fees

3800 billion francs in assets managed by Swiss banks in total.

About 1.4 trillion francs in assets from foreign institutional investors, about 133 billion francs from foreign corporations, and about 670 billion Swiss francs (about $570 billion) (18% of total) on behalf of foreign private investors, according to Swiss National Bank data.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638939161158787.html

USA Swiss cross border battle. US is trying to get the names of 52 000 wealthy US secret customers of UBS

UBS maintains that turning over the account names would violate Swiss privacy law and jeopardize UBS' license to stay in business.

UBS on Feb. 18, 2009 agreed to pay $780 million in fines and restitution for conspiring to help American citizens violate their country's tax laws by hiding assets-estimated to be worth at least $14.8 billion-from the U.S. government.
The bank says it has shut down the improper foreign-account business, and taken corrective measures to tighten its compliance and internal control systems.

Offshore tax abuse is estimated to cost the U.S. $100 billion a year in lost tax revenue.

http://cbs2.com/national/ubs.swiss.bank.2.950439.html
http://cbs2.com/national/UBS.AG.swiss.2.939843.html

UBS closing U.S. clients' offshore accounts

The Swiss bank UBS decided in July 08 to stop offering offshore accounts to U.S. citizens after it was targeted by a U.S. tax investigation which challenges Switzerland's famous banking secrecy laws, as it came under pressure from U.S. tax authorities.

U.S. prosecutors have alleged UBS helped clients hide $18 billion of untaxed American money in undeclared accounts. This amounts to around $300 million of annual unpaid taxes.

UBS spokesman said the decision to close offshore accounts for U.S. domiciled clients was taken in November 2007. The bank started 08 to close cash accounts of U.S. clients holding less than 50,000 Swiss francs.

As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities indicted UBS's wealth management chief last year.
The DOJ is looking into whether a group of 19,000 UBS clients evaded U.S. tax-reporting requirements through Swiss bank accounts.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20090109/tbs-business-us-ubs-7318940.html


German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has denounced Switzerland’s tax information sharing policies, claiming that Germany should be entitled to similar information exchange agreements as the US now holds with Liechtenstein.

The comment follows the conclusion of a tax information exchange agreement between Liechtenstein and the US on December 8, 2009 after years of negotiations.

Experts estimate that around EUR 300 bill is held in Swiss accounts by German taxpayers.

Steinbrueck is leading calls from a group of OECD countries, including France, that Switzerland should be placed on some sort of new "blacklist" of 'uncooperative' and 'secretive' financial jurisdictions, which are shouldering much of the blame for the meltdown in the global financial markets and subsequent economic downturn.
http://www.investorsoffshore.com/asp/story/storyinv.asp?storyname=34463

Conference on the future of capitalism

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, leading a two-day conference with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on the future of capitalism.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the system "cannot continue as it is" and called for better-regulated financial markets.

A US Congressional Budget Office report estimates that the U.S. federal budget deficit will hit an unparalleled $1.2 trillion for the 2009 budget year — and that is before President-elect Barack Obama's sweeping stimulus package is calculated.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Thursday that Paris is planning to inject a second tranche of euro10.5 billion into some of the nation's largest banks in an effort to spur lending.

Sarkozy blamed financial speculators for encouraging a system fueled on debt. He called financial capitalism based on speculation "an immoral system" that has "perverted the logic of capitalism."
"It's a system where wealth goes to the wealthy, where work is devalued, where production is devalued, where entrepreneurial spirit is devalued," he said.
But no more: "In capitalism of the 21st century, there is room for the state," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090108/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_france_new_capitalism