Chief Officers News

Business Strategies: what do you do with an incalculable surplus of cash?

There are estimates of just how much surplus China has in US dollars. There is little doubt that it's enough to cause lasting and long-term harm to the US currency if China dumped it. So when it's got no real growth potential sitting in a bank, what would you do with it? China's answer? It's becoming the lender to the world, adopting the Kennedy policy of the early 1960s in relation to South America, but without a regional restriction.

Travel Warnings: more countries warn of risks in Bangkok

Last month, the Thai authorities warned travellers to Bangkok to be cautious due to the threat of disturbances from supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin. Now some 30 countries are warning their citizens to be cautious as widespread demonstrations are planned for the Thai Capital today.

Business crime: UK Insolvency service closes businesses for misleading sales practices

Three companies based in Bolton in the north of England which used misleading sales practices to solicit sponsorship from businesses have been wound up in the High Court following an investigation by Company Investigations of the Insolvency Service.

Legal Professional : "estate planning advisers" were running a ponzi scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an emergency court order to shut down a Ponzi scheme targeting retirees in California and Illinois by inviting them to estate planning seminars and later coaxing them to buy promissory notes for purported Turkish investments.

The Legal Professional: US bankruptcies rise in 2009

The USA lumps all kinds of insolvency proceedings under the single heading of "bankruptcy" and so its headline figures are misleading. But behind the headline figure - that there was a near-30% increase in 2009 as against 2008, there are some trends that indicate a deep malaise in the US economy - and signs that there's still a long way to go before bad debt has returned to actuarially acceptable levels.

Aviation : AUS starts action alleging price fixing by Korean Air Lines

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd.

F1: Teams ready for Bahrain

It was a momentous moment - Lotus packed their trucks with kit, people and (to the surprise of many) two cars and set off for the airport en route for Bahrain. Williams is chuffed for a different reason.

F1: Schumacher's return: will the bad boy of F1 behave himself this time around?

Silverstone, 1994. The British Grand Prix. Aiming for his first World Championship, Michael Schumacher in his Benetton, lines up behind Damon Hill and the cars set off on the warm-up lap. Schumacher started cheating - and continued for much of the rest of his career. Is there any reason to suspect that this time around it will be any different?

Business crime: former chairman of HK company convicted of conspiracy to defraud shareholders

A former chairman and a former executive director of publicly listed Grand Field Group Holdings Limited (Grand Field), charged by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption, have been convicted at the District Court of conspiracy to defraud shareholders of the company and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) in relation to a bogus joint venture in a gas pipeline project in Chongqing, Mainland China and of money laundering in relation to the proceeds.

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals adds membership class and training accreditation

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals, which coined the slogan "Beyond Compliance" has made it easier for juniors in the risk management and compliance fields to join the Society with a new class that has no annual membership fee, plus a scheme for accrediting training course providers.

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals: launch of Accredited Training Course Provider scheme

Hong Kong and London: 8 March 2010 (www.biznewsselect.com)

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals has today announced the launch of its Accredited Training Course Provider scheme.

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals launches new membership class

Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur: 8 March 2010 (www.biznewsselect.com). The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals has launched a new class of membership. For this class, there is no annual membership fee for 2010.

F1: final(ish) rule changes for 2010 season

The FIA recently released a series of amendments to the sporting and technical regulations including a re-think on the points to be awarded.

F1: Final entry list published - new names but no new teams

It's short and brutal, the news from the FIA. In a statement issued in Paris this morning, USF1 are out and "Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms that it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the Championship at this late stage." So there's no good news for Stefan GP.

Employment Law: Californian company charged for failing to pay minimum wage on contracts with State

California's Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has commenced action against Country Builders, Inc. alleging that the company entered into contracts with the State that required that employees be paid a minimum wage and bid on that basis but failed to pay as required, pocketing the difference.

Taxation: UK Treasury to publish names of tax evaders

Any individual or business that wilfully evades tax faces finding their name, address and the amount of tax HM Revenue and Customs says they have evaded published. They call it naming and shaming.

Numbers: what to call 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000?

Apparently, there's a lot of fuss going around over what to call a number with 27 zeros. It's easy if you've got a decent education.

Quick To Learn More expands and updates content units

London, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong 3 March 2010 (www.biznewsselect.com) Quick To Learn More, the leading AML / CFT e-learning programme has expanded and updated several of its market segmentation modules.

F1: pre-season news pace is faster than some of the cars

Prepare to be rendered breathless by the sheer pace of Formula One. But it's not the cars that are making the running: it's the rumour mills and PR machines. It's hard to keep up.

Automotive: death of an icon: Hummer goes down

It was a car that generated lust or nausea: born as the road-going equivalent of a military vehicle, Hummer wanted to be the Jeep of the 21st Century. It was a car that, had the idea arisen today, would never have been born. And with its Tonka-toy styling, its ridiculous demand for real-estate in the middle of a busy road and a fuel consumption that only oil-rich show-offs could realistically afford, there is little doubt that it was doomed. Until Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company rode to the rescue - only to run into a quagmire of bureaucracy - and the Chinese government pointing out that building it would hardly improve the country's green credentials.