BUSINESS UPDATE

Senate: Credit Suisse still helps rich Americans evade taxes

GENEVA (AP) — U.S. lawmakers say Credit Suisse has kept allowing wealthy Americans to dodge tax payments. The Senate Finance Committee said Wednesday that a two-year investigation found that the embattled Swiss bank violated a 2014 plea agreement for allowing tax evasion by its clients. The committee pointed to a possible criminal conspiracy tied to nearly $100 million in secret offshore accounts belonging to a family of American taxpayers that the bank didn’t disclose. The committee said its findings show that more than $700 million was concealed in violation of Credit Suisse’s 9-year-old plea deal.

UBS brings back Ermotti as CEO with Credit Suisse deal ahead

GENEVA (AP) — UBS says it’s bringing back former CEO Sergio Ermotti to lead the Swiss bank as it moves forward with a government-orchestrated plan to take over struggling rival Credit Suisse. The bank said Wednesday that Ermotti’s appointment takes effect in a week. Ermotti was the bank’s top executive for nine years and will take over from CEO Ralph Hamers. The bank says Hamers will remain at UBS during a transition period. The hastily arranged, $3.25 billion deal for Credit Suisse aimed to stem the upheaval in the global financial system after the collapse of two U.S. banks and jitters about long-running troubles at Credit Suisse led shares of Switzerland’s second-largest bank to tank and customers to pull out their money.

US futures follow world shares higher as bank anxiety wanes

Wall Street was pointing higher as anxiety about the global financial system began to fade following three high-profile bank failures. Futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index were up 0.9% before the bell on Wednesday and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7%. Fears that banks around the world might be cracking under the strain of interest rate hikes to cool inflation temporarily pushed aside unease about slowing economic growth. Some calm has returned after regulators announced measures to shore up the system. Shares in Asia closed higher and markets in Europe were showing gains in midday trading.

Paris trash strike ends, pension protest numbers shrink

PARIS (AP) — Paris authorities are cleaning up debris from the French capital’s streets following fresh anti-pension reform protests that appear to be winding down, as striking sanitation workers are set to return to work. The union representing Paris sanitation workers said its members will return to their jobs Wednesday, ending strike action that lasted from more than three weeks and resulted in heaps of uncollected trash that became a visual symbol of opposition to French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension bill. The dwindling number of protesters is seen by some as the beginning of the end of demonstrations against Macron’s raising of the retire age from 62 to 64.

Fed official: Bank rules under review in wake of SVB failure

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s bank supervisors warned Silicon Valley Bank’s management as early as the fall of 2021 of risks stemming from its unusual business model, a top Fed official said Tuesday, but its managers failed to take the steps necessary to fix the problems. The Fed official, Michael Barr, the nation’s top banking regulator, said during a Senate Banking Committee hearing that the Fed is considering whether stronger bank rules are needed to prevent a similar failure in the future. Silicon Valley Bank’s management was deficient, Barr said. In particular, he said, the interest rate model the bank used “was not at all aligned with reality.”

Poll: Cut federal spending — but not big-ticket programs

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the federal budget standoff, the majority of U.S. adults are asking lawmakers to pull off the impossible: Cut the overall size of government, but also devote more money to the most popular and expensive programs. Six in 10 U.S. adults say the government spends too much money, but majorities also favor more funding for things like infrastructure, health care and Social Security. The findings from a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggest efforts to shrink the government may be politically risky ahead of the 2024 elections.

Spain clean energy case shakes confidence in EU investment

MADRID (AP) — Renewable energy investors who lost subsidies promised by Spain are heading to a London court to try to claw back $125 million from the government. It’s a decadelong dispute with ramifications for clean energy financing across the European Union. The case will be closely watched by investors after the U.S. passed a new law offering incentives for homegrown green technology. Experts say the Inflation Reduction Act is already drawing clean energy investment away from EU countries like Spain, leaving the 27-nation bloc much less competitive globally. Investors have sued Spain after the government offered subsidies for renewable energy production, then slashed the payments without notice. Spain says the payments may contradict EU law.

WWE’s WrestleMania extravaganza draws sponsors to the ring

NEW YORK (AP) — WWE’s WrestleMania arrives this weekend to a massive audience and vastly larger sponsorship revenue as it seeks to establish itself as a serious contender for major dollars from such partnerships. Craig Stimmel, WWE’s senior vice president and head of global sales and partnerships, exclusively tells The Associated Press in an interview that sponsorship revenue for this year’s event has doubled to more than $20 million, a record for any WrestleMania ever. Those numbers are critical in light of the return in January of Vince McMahon, the founder and majority shareholder of WWE, who said WWE could be up for sale.

Small businesses weigh banking options amid bank turmoil

NEW YORK (AP) — The recent banking turmoil has been a jolt for small businesses of all stripes, spurring many to scrutinize their banking services and mull whether or not they should make changes. The turmoil added to the uncertainty already caused by stubborn inflation and higher interest rates. Experts say it’s probably a good idea for small businesses to diversify funds and make sure they’re in close contact with their banker, but emphasized that in the short term their bank accounts are safe because regulators have shown they’re willing to step in when needed.

Do Adani’s woes matter for India’s clean energy transition?

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Gautam Adani and his companies lost tens of billions of dollars and their stock plummeted after the businesses were accused of fraud and stock price manipulation. Despite Adani’s renewable energy targets accounting for 10% of India’s clean energy goals, some analysts say Adani’s woes are unlikely to hurt India’s energy transition. Analysts say that with a big government-favored player like Adani forced to scale down, companies that have been reluctant to bid for clean energy projects in India are likely to step up now. That can lead to a more competitive market that will lead to higher investments in green energy in India.