Former RBS banker stripped of knighthoodThe British government announced Tuesday that Frederick Goodwin, former chief executive of the now-nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland, would be stripped of the knighthood that he received in 2004 for his service to the British banking industry. The bank, based in Edinburgh, now is 82 percent owned by British taxpayers. Goodwin, who gained the nickname "Fred the Shred" for his cost-saving efforts, left the bank after the government took control of it during a multibillion-dollar bailout in 2008.
Former RBS banker stripped of knighthood
For Gupta, new insider trading chargesFederal prosecutors expanded their case against Rajat Gupta, filing a new indictment that broadens what they claim was an insider trading conspiracy between the former director of Goldman Sachs and Raj Rajaratnam. In a new charge, the government contends that Gupta called in to a Goldman board meeting in March 2007 from Rajaratnam's offices at the Galleon Group hedge fund. Minutes after the call, he leaked secret information about the bank to Rajaratnam, the government says. Gary Naftalis, a lawyer for Gupta, denied the new allegations.
Consumers in January less upbeatConsumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in January and a gauge of business activity fell, underscoring forecasts that the economy will cool after expanding at the fastest pace since the second quarter 2010. The New York-based Conference Board's confidence index decreased to 61.1 from a revised 64.8 reading the prior month. Readings above 50 signal growth.
Talks continue to forge new Greek bailoutThe European Central Bank may forgo future profits on its Greek bonds as efforts continue to fill a financial hole that has been obstructing a second bailout for Greece. Talks among senior European officials in Brussels ended Tuesday without any commitment from the central bank but with hopes still alive that the bank will agree to the deal. Because the European Central Bank bought Greek bonds, with an estimated face value of 50 billion euros, at a discount to their market price, it could enter into a deal that would cause it to give up future gains without taking a loss, said a European official, requesting anonymity.
Malaysian rare-earth refinery is advancingThe world's largest refinery for rare earth metals has risen in Kuantan, Malaysia, and could soon get permission to operate. That would help break China's near monopoly on rare earths but also worsen an emerging glut of some of these strategic minerals used in smartphones, wind turbines and other products. China's suspension of exports of rare earths to Japan in a territorial dispute in 2010 fed a bubble in the market that drove prices up 30-fold by last summer. But prices slumped by up to three-fifths since then for some of the 17 rare earth elements.
Pension agency files liens against AMRThe Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has filed liens against American Airlines property to cover about $91 million that AMR failed to contribute its four pension plans on Jan. 15, agency director Josh Gotbaum said. American was supposed to make a quarterly payment of about $100 million on Jan. 15, but only put in $6.5 million. American filed for bankruptcy Nov. 29.
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At the center of the potential post-pandemic rebound is the Kickernick Building and its new owner’s gallery.