Citibank parent Citigroup is understood to be under investigation by the financial regulator of the United States with regard to some potential breaches of securities law.
The issue revolves around the marketing and selling of what are called auction rate securities. These are a type of bond, most commonly used by municipal authorities when looking to generate funds and the question being looked into is whether the actual risks were understated by Citibank.
No comments have been forthcoming from Citibank so far regarding their discussions with the regulators. Instead they have a statement that says they have worked closely with all parties to make everything go smoothly.
Sitting down and watching BBC programme The Apprentice is proving to be an inspiration to many viewers to set out on their own.
A poll carried out by Direct Line revealed that nearly 20 percent of people have thought about setting up a specific business whilst watching the programme, with a further 12 percent feeling that they should take the step of becoming their own boss in some form of enterprise.
One of the biggest things that inspired these people to believe in themselves was the feeling that they could just as well, or better, than the people on the programme. This is a very positive stance to take, though a Direct Line spokeswoman did want to advise people that setting up in business is more complex and testing than it can appear on television.
Any wannabe Apprentice looking for a business bank account can compare rates at Moneygossip.co.uk
The May Fundamentals report produced by Legal and General suggests that the economic outlook for the UK is a negative one.
There are some positive factors said the Legal and General, such as low unemployment, the weaker pond helping exports and the fact that consumer spending is still active. However they see more negative elements than positive ones which leads them to rating the economic forecast as poor.
Key pointers include the much more difficult lending conditions facing borrowers, higher levels of debt and also a rate of inflation that is rising much too quickly. All in all the Legal and General view is that, unless changes are seen in this factors the UK economy could face real difficulties.
