US President Barack Obama signed an order Monday for new sanctions on all Iranian financial institutions, including its central bank. The measure allows US institutions to freeze Iranian state assets instead of simply rejecting the funds.
The Independent attacks the "moralising hypocrisy" of the super rich, but the Economist says the corporate elite are not as powerful as we think they are. And as the Keystone XL pipeline deal from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico is dropped, the papers wonder if Barack Obama is standing up to Big Oil, or simply putting a controversial plan on hold until the electoral winds blow over.
This week, Pope Benedict XVI was in Spain for World Youth Day, but not everyone was pleased to see him - we take a look at the Catholic and secular aspects of Spanish life. Also, it has been 20 years since the coup attempt that led to the fall of the Soviet Union, but some in Moscow say it is not an event to celebrate. And finally, Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling finds some French magic in her family history.
The Swiss government blocked nearly $6 million belonging to former Haitian president Jean-Claude Duvalier on Tuesday under a new law targeting suspect funds. Duvalier has waged a 25-year legal battle to reclaim his millions.
The list of disgraced dictators to see their assets frozen by Switzerland grew by two names this week. For the world's corrupt, the secretive Alpine nation has long been considered a perfect place to stash their ill-gotten gains. But now, the country is keen to change that image.
Could Swiss banking secrecy become another victim of the global economic downturn? Foreign governments are seen to be gunning for it, saying they want to track down tax cheaters. Some Swiss people, however, say there's an ulterior motive. In Beyond Business, find out why they're accusing the United States and the UK of playing a game of dirty tricks.
Switzerland's parliament rejected by 104-76 votes on Tuesday a landmark 2009 out-of-court settlement that the government had reached with banking giant UBS and the United States to reveal 4,450 American bank clients' names.
Swiss bank Credit Suisse has reached a deal with the US Treasury to pay 536 million dollars in compensation for illegal financial dealing with countries such as Iran.
French authorities have tens of thousand of names of potential tax cheats. Thanks to stolen files, three thousand of clients of the British bank HSBC are now suspected of using Swiss banking secrecy to avoid paying taxes.
But, should authorities rely on stolen files?
On Thursday, French Finance and Economy Minister Christine Lagarde (photo), signed a double taxation deal with Swiss Finance Minister and President Hans-Rudolf Merz to allow an exchange of information to help catch tax dodgers.
