Tax havens are big news in the U.S., but a recent study shows that, when it comes to offshoring cash to dodge taxes, Americans are amateurs. Globally, tax havens are used to hide an estimated $21 trillion, more than the entire U.S. GDP.
Newspaper Al-Anba published a story saying BP's outgoing CEO Tony Hayward asked the Kuwait Investment Authority to up its stake to 3% to help protect the company from takeover bids. The authority says it received no such offer.
When the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority struck a deal with Citigroup in 2007 to buy $7.5 billion in equity shares in exchange for an 11 percent dividend, it agreed to convert those shares into common stock later. Now, with Citi's stock below $4, the $30-plus per share Abu Dhabi agreed to pay is looking like a really bad bargain.
Now that many of the biggest banks have repaid their bailout loans, the Obama administration plans to cut the projected cost of TARP by $200 billion. But one big bank itching to repay Uncle Sam is reportedly facing a major hurdle.
