Chinese company denies bribery charge that led to arrest of Patrick Ho in US

CEFC China Energy calls charges ‘exaggerated’ and are a result of deepening ties between China and Russia.

US authorities have arrested former Hong Kong home affairs minister Patrick Ho Chi-ping and an ex-foreign minister of Senegal for allegedly masterminding a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme in Africa on behalf of a top Chinese energy firm, with some deals supposedly arranged in the halls of the United Nations. read more »

A Hacker Warning for Bitcoin

Saying Bitcoin is un-hackable is of small comfort to those who've lost money through cracks in its ecosystem of exchanges, intermediaries and money-raising schemes. The latest theft in cryptoland is a reminder that the promise of security and liquidity is only that -- a promise. This isn't a systemic shock in the same league as the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange collapse, but it's a warning that transparency and trust are rare commodities in this world. read more »

The Justice Department is suing AT&T to block its $85 billion bid for Time Warner

The Department of Justice sued Monday to block AT&T’s $85 billion bid for entertainment conglomerate Time Warner, setting the stage for one of the biggest antitrust cases to hit Washington in decades. read more »

UK accounting watchdog urged to impose tougher penalties on "Big Four"

Misdeeds by the world’s “Big Four” accounting firms should be punished with much bigger fines, Britain’s accounting watchdog was advised in a report released on Tuesday.

“Fines greater than those that have heretofore been imposed may be appropriate in really serious cases,” former judge Christopher Clarke said in the study published by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

The Big Four check the books of nearly all big, listed companies and the FRC has faced criticism for not going harder on them, given they are richer than many of their clients. read more »