Audits reveal deutsche banks links to tax trade scandal

FRANKFURT: Deutsche Bank swung to a small annual profit in 2020, its first since 2014, on the back of strong gains at its investment banking division, the German lender said on Thursday (Feb 4). The return to profit is a victory for Chief Executive Christian Sewing, who was promoted in 2018 to turn around Germany's largest lender after years of losses and steep fines over money laundering failings and its role in the mortgage crisis. Over the past 10 years, Deutsche has lost a total €8.2 billion (US$9.84 billion). Analysts believe the bank is set to post another profit in 2021, according to a consensus forecast. "We have built firm foundations for sustainable profitability and are confident that this overall positive trend will continue in 2021, despite these challenging times," Sewing said. The net profit attributable to shareholders of €113 million (US$135.69 million) compares with a 2019 loss of €5.7 billion. Analysts had expected a loss of about €300 million for 2020. … [Read more...] about Deutsche Bank swings to first net profit since 2014

Kindly Share This Story: New York prosecutors investigating former president Donald Trump’s finances have received his tax returns following a marathon legal battle, a spokesman said Thursday. “Our office obtained the records on Monday,” Danny Frost, a spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, told AFP. Vance’s office obtained the returns after the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a last-ditch bid by Trump’s lawyers to block the release of the records. The prosecutor is investigating hush payments made to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump and possible fraud. Vance, a Democrat, fought for over a year to obtain the eight years of returns. He issued a subpoena to Trump’s accountants Mazars USA in August 2019 ordering the company to furnish documents stretching back to 2011. Vance’s probe was initially focused on payments made before the 2016 presidential election to two women who claim they had affairs with Trump, … [Read more...] about New York prosecutors obtain Trump’s tax records ― Spokesman

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump may be best remembered for his use of Twitter as a bully pulpit to stoke controversy or browbeat opponents, but the noise his tweets generated often distracted from the big policy changes he made over his four-year term. During his rollercoaster presidency, the focus was often on what Trump was saying and not what on he was doing as he careened from one self-induced crisis to another. But a review of his policies shows that he had a real effect on people's lives in the areas of energy and environment, immigration, the judiciary, business and the economy, trade, and foreign policy, among others. CHINA The Trump administration put China’s rise in the spotlight and helped forge a bipartisan and increasingly adversarial US view of the world’s second-largest economy. From a raft of tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese imports to sanctions against top officials and a muscular use of penalties against top Chinese companies like Huawei, ZTE, … [Read more...] about Trump’s legacy: Big policy changes that often got lost amid the din and scandal

ZURICH: Credit Suisse on Thursday said it plans to up lending volumes and capitalise on a boom in share listings to shore up revenue, after low interest rates and legal charges tipped the bank into the red in the fourth quarter. Switzerland's second-largest lender posted a 353 million Swiss franc (US$392.8 million) net loss for the last quarter after booking 757 million francs in legal charges, beating analysts' forecasts for a 566 million franc loss but leaving annual profit down 22per cent. The bank is now looking to boost its wealth management business by building up its China onshore presence and expanding elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Chief Financial Officer David Mathers told Reuters in an interview. It is also looking to allocate more capital to its international wealth management division outside Asia to ramp up lending, and said it saw net interest income beginning to steady after interest rates put pressure on the business last year. The bank's shares were down … [Read more...] about Credit Suisse plans lending drive after smaller-than-expected fourth quarter loss

SINGAPORE: After working as a tour guide for 10 years, Ms Jessie Seah’s professional life took a drastic turn when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Singapore’s shores last year. Unable to serve tourists anymore due to global travel restrictions that have halted most forms of tourism, Ms Seah, 48, has been working as a safe distancing ambassador in the past year. "At first, of course it hit me. I thought, ‘Wow I am not going to be in tourism for the next few years?’ It saddens me emotionally, mentally," she said. Apart from the psychological impact, Ms Seah’s income has also been reduced by 30 per cent. Fortunately, the impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods has been less devastating on some other Singaporeans, such as Mr Johnston Seah (no relation to Ms Seah). As far as Mr Seah is concerned, his job security is not under threat, and apart from the nationwide rules to curb the spread of the pandemic, it has been more or less business as usual for him. Mr Seah, 32, works in the finance … [Read more...] about The Big Read: Pummelled by COVID-19, Singapore’s economy to begin K-shaped recovery with Budget 2021