The spectre of the PPI scandal continued to haunt Barclays into the half year, after the banking group took at £400m charge to its balance sheet in the first quarter . The group was also hit with a charge for its £1.4bn legal settlement with US authorities, over its sale of mortgage-backed securities in the lead-up to the financial crisis.Barclays reported a 29% fall in group pre-tax profit to £1.7bn for the six months to 30 June, having been knocked by charges in the first quarter.Excluding those costs, Barclays half-year group pre-tax profits rose 20% to £3.7bn.Total income for the six months was flat at £10.9bn.Barclays said the second quarter was its most profitable in more than three years, having taken no material litigation and conduct charges, PPI provisions or exceptional adjustments this period.Statutory pre-tax profits for the period came in at £1.9bn, up from just £659m during the same period last year.Total group income for the … [Read more...] about PPI and US legal charges bite Barclays profits
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Turkish minister mocks US sanctions against him
Updated 3:08 am CDT, Thursday, August 2, 2018 Photo: Emre Tazegul, AP Image 1of/1 CaptionClose Image 1 of 1 In this July 25, 2018 photo, Andrew Craig Brunson, an evangelical pastor from Black Mountain, North Carolina, arrives at his house in Izmir, Turkey. Brunson, who had been jailed in Turkey for more than one and a half years on terror and espionage charges was released and will be put under house arrest as his trial continues. The White House is announcing that the Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on two Turkish officials over a detained American pastor who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges. less In this July 25, 2018 photo, Andrew Craig Brunson, an evangelical pastor from Black Mountain, North Carolina, arrives at his house in Izmir, Turkey. Brunson, who had been jailed in Turkey for more than one ... more … [Read more...] about Turkish minister mocks US sanctions against him
Asian markets extend losses on China-US trade jitters
Elaine Kurtenbach, Ap Business Writer Updated 2:25 am CDT, Thursday, August 2, 2018 window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-4', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 4', target_type: 'mix' }); _taboola.push({flush: true}); Photo: Kin Cheung, AP Image 1of/4 CaptionClose Image 1 of 4 People walk past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a bank in Hong Kong, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Share benchmarks in Asia are sliding, tracking losses overnight on Wall Street, where investors sold industrial stocks following reports that the Trump administration is considering a higher tax rate on Chinese imports. less People walk past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a bank in Hong Kong, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Share benchmarks in Asia are sliding, tracking losses … [Read more...] about Asian markets extend losses on China-US trade jitters
Shareholders deserve better: ICICI Bank’s US disclosures expose Indian stock market’s low standards
For close to five months, ICICI Bank has been in the eye of the storm on account of corporate governance issues. Stakeholders in the bank have had to learn about some of the details through media reports as the bank management has been sparse in disclosures. This week, finally, stakeholders got an official account of the challenges when ICICI Bank filed a report with the US capital market regulator to meet its listing requirements there. The essence of the filing is that the some of the bank’s operational aspects are being studied independently by Sebi and CBI. According to the bank these investigations could impact the efficacy of its operations. Read: ICICI warns of risk to reputation in report to SEC The highlight of the US filing is that ICICI Bank’s governance challenges can be deemed to be price sensitive as they impinge on its operations. For shareholders in India, it needed a filing in the US to learn about details that could influence the value of their … [Read more...] about Shareholders deserve better: ICICI Bank’s US disclosures expose Indian stock market’s low standards
Luy says he transferred money to US accounts of Napoles
MANILA - Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam whistleblower Benhur Luy on Thursday said he sent government funds to US accounts of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, who was recently indicted in California for international and domestic money laundering. Luy made the statement during the graft trial of Napoles and former Senator Bong Revilla at the Sandiganbayan 1st Division in connection with the fund diversion scheme. Luy narrated that public funds from Revilla's PDAF supposedly went to implementing agencies while some were sent to the US. "Pinapa-telegraphic po namin sa US sa kaniyang accounts," Luy said during his testimony. (We have [the money] wired to her accounts in the US.) Napoles, as well as her 3 children, brother and sister-in-law, were indicted Tuesday by the US Attorney’s Office in California for supposedly funneling in and out of the US approximately $20 million through a multi-year bribery and fraud scheme in connection with the PDAF scam. … [Read more...] about Luy says he transferred money to US accounts of Napoles