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This article discusses the activities of Wall Street stock broker Ross H. Mandell. Reportedly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating his company Sky Capital Holdings Ltd. The authors claim that Mandell was temporarily suspended from the New York Stock Exchange in 1995. He was allegedly blocked from obtaining a securities license by Ohio security regulators in 2002.

The article reports on recent personnel appointments by Lehman Brothers in Europe. The article reports that while Lehman Brothers has increased its personnel in Europe, the investment bank still lags behind leaders J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup in terms of its size. According to the article, Lehman Brothers ranked 13th behind a number of U.S. and European investment banks.

The article explores how an increase in consumer participation in Great Britain's debt repayment program is impacting credit card companies' ability to profit. It is asserted that banks may benefit because the Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) will limit the number of consumers who need to file for bankruptcy. However, the vast numbers of people participating in IVAs is still unsettling to them. Various speculations are made on the potential for impact on the lending industry as a whole.

This article discusses the struggles of HSBC Holdings PLC to become a top global competitor. John Studzinski had warned the bank in 2004 that it was urgent that the bank increase efforts to make big deals. Two years later, Studzinski and many of his hires are gone and HSBC is stuck on the lower tier of investment banking. Mergers and the high-risk culture of Wall Street investors has forced banks to seek better income-producing sources than the usual consumer and corporate loans.

The article reports that Citigroup's Tribeca Global Management hedge fund manager Tanya Styblo Beder resigned after months of poor performance. Beder was supposed to help Citigroup enter the lucrative and competitive world of hedge funds, and her failure underscores the difficulty in running an informal fund through an established business like Citigroup.

The article discusses home grown terrorist groups in London neighborhoods and the failure of British authorities to suppress extremism among minority populations. The alleged conspirators of a plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights which was discovered by British intelligence agencies in august 2006 are primarily of Pakistani descent and U.K. residents.

The article reports that British officials are investigating links between the British suspects in the plot to blow up ten airliners mid-flight and Pakistani friends and relations. Rashid Rauf was arrested in Pakistan on charges of killing his uncle and is now suspected of helping his brother Tayib, who lives in England and is one of the terrorist suspects, obtain Al Qaeda funding. Pakistani links could explain how the British-born militants made connections to help them pull off such a plot.

This article reports that British police arrested a number of men in connection with what authorities call a bold attempt to destroy trans-Atlantic airliners with explosives. The Islamic terrorists are said to have been born or raised in the West but have links to the al Qaeda terror network. The suspects are believed to have concocted a plan to smuggle liquid explosives disguised as beverages aboard U.S.-bound aircraft.

This article reports on Great Britain's police community-support officer program. The officers cannot arrest or search suspects, nor do they carry any weapons, but the program has been instituted to help confront and find would-be terrorists. The community-support officers would patrol neighborhoods searching for suspicious activity, and build trust in the British government. Criticism of the program is also given.

The article looks at how to get a ticket to the 2006 World Cup soccer championship final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany. The article discusses ticket sells on an eBay auction and by a London Internet broker, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, personal identification systems set up for the games, RazorGator Interactive Group, On Point Holdings LLC, and TicketLiquidator.com.

This article looks at the collapse of commodities broker Refco Inc. as billions of dollars worth of assets at the company's Bermuda unit were frozen. As part of bankruptcy court proceedings, it has been revealed that Refco's Bermuda unit was unregulated and client and company money was all placed into a single unsegregated pool. Brokerage firms in the U.S. must keep separate accounts for clients.

This article discusses the proposal of a deal between Wachovia Corp. and Golden West Financial Corp. Wachovia is offering $26 billion in cash and stocks to purchase Golden West, which is the second largest savings and loan in the U.S. This deal reflects a rapid consolidation trend in American banking and also marks a potential decrease in the real estate market.

The article discusses Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and the potential conflicts it could encounter by promoting its investment arm as heavily as it does. Because of the investment arm's prominence, the author suggests that clients could view Goldman Sachs as a hostile bidder. This, in turn, could damage the firm's reputation as a corporate adviser. Chief executive officer Henry Paulson Jr. states that his firm will not engage in hostile bids, but will make unsolicited bids.

The article reports that investigators into the demise of the brokerage firm Refco are looking at the company's unregulated Bermuda unit. The Bermuda offices were used to fund wealthy clients' investments in emerging market debt while Refco provided loans and played the part of an exchange. Investigators think that Refco used some of its clients' money to fund its own expansion.

The article reports that Citigroup is in the final stages of bidding to acquire the Turkish bank Finansbank. The deal would be Citigroup's first acquisition since the Federal Reserve Board told the company it could not pursue any mergers until it better followed regulations. The deal is being presided over by Charles Prince, the Citigroup CEO who cleaned up the banks regulatory abuses.

The article reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the financial records of Refco. The company closed weeks after its IPO in August of 2005 amid reports that former CEO Phillip Bennet had hidden bad debts. The SEC will examine the records of PlusFunds Group, a firm opened by former Refco employee Christopher Sugrue.

The article reports that students of math professor Nicole El Karoui are in high demand in financial circles. El Karoui teaches the math required to calculate derivatives at the Ecole Polytechnique in France. Her students have gone on to work for governments, international organizations, and the world's most prominent investment banks. Investments banks are making more of their profits from derivatives and require employees with extensive mathematical training.

This article discusses cooperation between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Britain's Financial Services Authority to simulate large moves in markets to see how well a firm's risk management systems hold up. Rather than react to problems as in the past, the group is taking a pre-emptive approach. The three entities tackle industrywide issues instead of conducting joint examinations of specific firms.

The article discusses whether or not British banks are a poor investment choice. The British economy has been doing well, but a recent study reported that the British have a huge percentage of household debt. Housing prices are also high and employment is down. These factors could lead to a recession as the British begin saving, depriving their economy of valuable household spending.

The article reports that New York is considering adopting London's security approach called "the ring of steel." The system, which surrounds the City of London, consists of a series of closed circuit cameras and narrowed streets that allow police to easily observe and control the area. New York would use the closed circuit technology and introduce controlled entrances and exits to lower Manhattan.

The article profiles the big British banking company Barclays PLC, which announced plans in 2005 to expand in the U.S., India, China and South Africa. It suggests that investors should remember that the company's U.K. retail banking business is a poor performer, rating near the bottom of customer-service surveys. The article discusses the performance of Barclays stock, which still is not cheaper than many of its peers. However, a depressed stock will continue to fuel speculation that the bank is a takeover target.

The article discusses the financial performance and expansion of Sovereign Bancorp under Chief executive Jay S. Sidhu. His strategy for developing the Pennsylvania savings and loan into a regional bank is detailed. Sovereign's largest shareholder, Relational Investors LLC, started a proxy fight to gain two seats on the board. Data shows the number of offices and employees, as well as the amount of assets in 1995, 2000, and 2005. A deal involving Sovereign, Independence Community Bank Corp., and Banco Santander Central Hispano SA is mentioned.

The article reports on a ruling by the New York Stock Exchange that, as a result of amendments, the stock sale deal between Sovereign Bancorp Inc. of Philadelphia and Banco Santander Central Hispano SA will not require a shareholder vote. This represents a victory over dissident shareholders. Some viewed the ruling as a test of the NYSE's regulatory power in the facing of increasing shareholder activism. The NYSE will shortly cease being a not-for-profit cooperative and become a for-profit publicly traded company. Some investor advocates are concerned that this decision will weaken the regulatory arm of the NYSE.

The article discusses a lawsuit in New York state court against Phillip R. Bennett, former chief executive at the brokerage firm, Refco Inc. The federal investigation is probing the role of Bennett and Santo C. Maggio in hiding bad debts. Thomas H. Lee Partners LP filed a lawsuit against three former Refco executives yesterday. Information is given concerning tactics used by Refco to recruit customers, which was highlighted in a case filed by Bhagwan Mirchandani in 1998.

The article reports on a possible investigation by the New York Stock Exchange into Banco Santander SA's bid to buy a stake in Sovereign Bancorp. There is a question as to whether the two banks avoided a shareholder vote that might have derailed the deal - although a shareholder vote is not required under current rules. The investigation may be initiated by Relational Investors, which is a large Sovereign shareholder. Reference is made to uncertainty over whether the sale to Santander, which is described as one of Europe's largest banks, will be a success. The article considers the reasons that Relational may request an investigation by the NYSE and why this particular sale may benefit from a shareholder vote.

The article reports that Refco Inc. faced "life threatening" financial and regulatory problems around the time in the late 1990s that its customers began racking up trade losses at the heart of the scandal now engulfing the company, according to a fax sent to its former chairman by a business associate who had evaluated the firm. The article provides details of a dispute between Refco's former chairman, Thomas Dittmer, and Texas businessman Edwin L. Cox Jr., investing partners who were fighting over how to divide $85 million that Mr. Dittmer received when a majority stake in Refco was sold in 2004. If the description of Refco's problems in the final years of Dittmer's tenure are accurate, that may explain why his successor Phillip R. Bennet allegedly tried to cover up hundreds of millions of dollars in Refco customers' bad debts.

Focuses on the scandal at Refco Inc. which is in bankruptcy court. Indication that the ousted chief executive, Phillip R. Bennett is being charged with securities fraud related to Refco's initial public offering; The commodities-and-futures brokerage firm's ties with a small Austrian bank, Bawag P.S.K. Group and with Thomas Hackl; The Bawag supervisory board indicating there are adequate reserves at the bank to cover debt; Background on the Flottl family and Austrian financier Wolfgang Flottl; Comment from Arvind Krishnamurthy about Ross Capital, which is Flottl's Bermuda-based investment firm.

Reports that the $430 million in bad debts at the heart of Refco Inc.'s meltdown stemmed from losses by multiple customers, including money manager Victor Niederhoffer, whose hedge fund suffered heavy losses during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Denial by Messrs. Niederhoffer and Ross Capital that they owe Refco any money; Highlights of the financial crisis at Refco, which this week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection; Accusation of securities fraud by federal prosecutors against chief executive Phillip R. Bennett, claiming that he hid his ties to the bad debt to improve the company's bottom line and mislead investors in advance of Refco's initial public stock offering; Denial of wrongdoing by Mr. Bennett.

Profiles Robin Saunders, the Florida State University graduate who moved to London in 1992 and quickly became one of the most prominent deal makers in the financial world. Description of her successful efforts to turn Germany's WestLB AG bank into a leading provider of financings that totaled $25 billion; Impact of the failure of a big deal that she and her team helped finance that forced WestLB to record record losses of at least several hundred million euros; Her efforts to make a comeback from a small office in London's Mayfair district; Attempt to line up investors to help finance her private-equity firm, Clearbrook Capital Partners LLP; Details of her plans; Challenges to her efforts, including rebuilding trust.

Focuses on the economic conditions in Eastern Europe. Concerns about consumer credit in Eastern Europe as foreign banks invest in the region; Examples of foreign banks controlling a majority of the assets in Bulgaria's and Poland's banking system; Reasons behind the merger of UniCredito Italiano SpA and HVB Group, suggesting the merged bank wants to expand into Eastern Europe; Percentage increase in consumer loans in Bulgaria, noting that Eastern European banks were short of capital just a few years ago; Speculation about consumer credit undermining the economic growth in the region; Importance of the Eastern European economies for the European Union.

Reports on a class action lawsuit brought against eight of America's biggest credit card issuers for violations of the federal anti-trust law when the companies met secretly to plan arbitration agreements for its credit cards. How Bank of America Corp., Capital One Financial Corp., and others had more than 20 meetings; Involvement of prominent law firms such as Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr in the meetings; Description of the advertisement of one arbitrator, National Arbitration Forum; Details of the consumer complaint filed in a federal court in New York City.

Profiles Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of four suicide bombers in the July 7, 2005 London subway bombings. Details of the bombings, which killed 56, including Khan and three accomplices, and wounded 700 in London's transit system; Description of Khan's life and work in Leeds, England; Role of Khan as a respected teacher's aide who worked with young school children; Reaction of friends and acquaintances to Khan's role in the bombings; Efforts of investigators to trace Khan's involvement in radical Islam and terrorist activities.

Focuses on the four Britons of Pakistani descent that are considered suspects in the London terrorist bombings. Review of how the four suspects in the bombings, including Shahzad Tanweer, were school classmates and good friends; Comments from a neighbor of one of the suspects who states he believed the suspect to be an average person; Author's view that the environment that the suspects were raised in was a volatile one, where members of radical Islamic groups based in Pakistan and elsewhere have actively recruited among young middle-class men. INSETS: Cell Blocks;Ordinary Lives.

Focuses on the Muslims living in Great Britain. Indications that the Muslim community in Great Britain is working with investigators at Scotland Yard in an effort to track the terrorists responsible for the London subway attacks; Comments from Sir Ian Blair, the London Metropolitan Police Commissioner, regarding the investigation when he met with community and religious leaders; Comments from Abdurahman Jafar, a spokesman for the Muslim Safety Forum, regarding the Forum's communications with investigators; Statistics indicating the number of Muslims living in Great Britain, suggesting an existing network of Muslims ready to help police; Networks established by the London Metropolitan Police with the Muslim communities.

Focuses on American executive Bob Diamond, who was recently named president and given a seat on the board of British bank Barclays PLC. Diamond's influence and power; How Diamond has turned Barclays Capital, the Barclays investment-banking unit that he runs, from a struggling business into a key part of Barclays' operations; Perception of Barclays as a potential merger partner; Suggestion that Diamond's role in an merger has come up with two potential partners; Comments of Diamond; Career background; Financial performance of Barclays Capital; Outlook for Diamond.

Focuses on the proposed merger between Italy's Unicredito Italiano SpA and Germany's HVB Group AG. Details of Unicredito's bid, which is being led by Alessandro Profumo; Profumo's previous experience in cross-border bank mergers; Questions arising from the proposed deal, noting potential opposition from labor unions and employee representatives; Comments from Hanna-Peter Kreuser, an employee representative on the supervisory board, regarding employee input in the terms of the merger; Appointment of investment banks J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. to advise on the negotiations. INSET: Pushing and Pushing for a Deal.

Looks at the role of the investment bank HSBC Holdings PLC in the bidding war over British spirits giant Allied Domecq PLC. Report on how, unlike other investment banks such Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., HSBC does not have a major role advising either Allied Domecq or any of the companies interested in acquiring a piece of it; Comments from investment banker John Studzinski regarding the bank's involvement; Potential for investor impatience.

Reports that with the merger between the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and electronic trader Archipelago Holdings Inc., the U.S. has moved towards the system employed by Europe, where stock exchanges have replaced human traders with computers. Advanced nature of trading at European stock exchanges; Benefits of electronic trading, including increased trading volume and lower costs for investors; Implications of the merger on competition among stock markets in the U.S.

Discusses how European banks are using more sophisticated security methods than the U.S. to protect consumers from data theft. Description of European security methods, such as issuing customers a device that generates random codes for accessing their accounts online; Vulnerability of security methods used by U.S. banks; Reasons for lagging security methods in the U.S., including the large volume of customers compared to European banks.

Focuses on a lawsuit by Italian Banca Popolare di Intra against the Bank of America Corporation. Claim that the bank improperly sold and managed Intra's investment; Intra's alleged losses; How Intra's resolve to get its money back casts a new light on credit derivatives; Rise of the credit-derivatives market, including collateralized debt obligations; Highlights of the case; Why disputes between issuers and financial institutions that invest in the credit derivatives rarely become public; How credit derivatives have provided an important cushion to the global economy, and to the world's biggest banks that provide much of the corporate lending; Issue of public disclosure.

Reports on a U.S. Department of Justice inquiry into HealthSouth Corp. on possible violations of antibribery laws as of January 29, 2004.

Reports that the investigation into Parmalat SpA finances is growing wider. Amount of money Calisto Tanzi, the company's founder, is suspecting of misappropriating; Charges being investigated at Parmalat's auditor, Grant Thornton, related to false statements; Amount of money that is unaccounted for at Parmalat, making it one of Europe's largest cases of corporate fraud; Number of workers employed by Parmalat around the world; Well-known brands, including Sunnydale Farms milk and Archway cookies; Value of investment-portfolio holdings of Parmalat-related securities held by U.S. insurers; Other charges being considered, including the destruction of documents to sidetrack investigators.

Focuses on the integration of FleetBoston Financial Corp. into Bank of America Corp.'s organizational structure. Role of Liam McGee, Bank of America's consumer-banking chief, in the integration process; Duties of McGee at Bank of America; Importance of consumer-banking and small-business banking to the total revenue of Bank of America and FleetBoston when they are combined; Comments from Robert Maneri, an analyst at Victory Capital Management Inc., regarding Bank of America's retail services; Percentage of future U.S. growth Bank of America expects to generate from the Hispanic, African-American, and Asian populations; Role of Barbara Desoer, Bank of America's president of consumer products, in the integration.

Reports that Massachusetts regulators and United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigators plan to file civil securities fraud charges against five former employees of Prudential Securities' downtown office in Boston (Mass.). Details of the allegations against the brokers for their involvement in a scheme to rapidly trade in and out of funds, hurting the profits of long-term investors; Amount of withdrawals from Putnam Investments by public pension funds after charges were filed against them by the state of Massachusetts and the SEC.

Focuses on the continued devaluation of Bank of America Corp.'s stock. Percentage decline in Bank of America's share price since its acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp. was announced; View of analysts that the swoon in stock price could linger; Speculation that the price paid by Bank of America for FleetBoston; Comment from Frank Barkocy, director of research at Keefe Managers Inc., regarding the bank's plan to cut costs while not cutting many jobs; Reaction of Bank of America to the criticism they are receiving for the price paid to acquire Fleet.

Assesses Bank of America Corp.'s all-stock acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp. Size of the combined company, indicating that it will be the second largest U.S. bank overall and a market share in every region of the country except for the upper Midwest; View of author that Bank of America feels the consumer will continue to drive the U.S. economy; Number of branches and automatic teller machines Bank of America will be acquiring in the New England market, which is considered a wealthy region; Plans of several U.S. banks to add more branches, indicating an industry focus on the consumer.

Focuses on the efforts of HealthSouth Corp. to remain a profitable company despite being the subject of a fraud investigation by the federal government. Share value of HealthSouth, indicating the efforts of the acting chairman Joel Gordon and entrepreneur Bryan Marsal, who specializes in salvaging troubled companies, has turned the company around; Chronology of events after federal agents raided the company; Profiles of Gordon and Marsal.

Reports that attorney for Richard M. Scrushy, the former HealthSouth chairman who is under investigation by a Birmingham (Ala.) grand jury, has charged that the lead federal agent in the investigation of HealthSouth has a special relationship with the government's witness. Details of a meeting Scrushy had with a former friend of the witness, which was taped legally under Alabama law; Allegations made by Amy Crumpton about the relationship between Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Gerry Kelly and the witness, Hope Launius; Comments from Launius, regarding her relationship with Kelly; Reaction from the FBI.

Reports that New York (State) Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, in conjunction with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has charged a former Bank of America broker, Theodore Sihpol III, with grand larceny and securities fraud; Accompanying charges filed by the SEC against Sihpol for his role in arranging after hours trading for Canary Capital Partners LLC; Speculation as to whether there will be more charges stemming from the arrangement between mutual-fund companies and the hedge fund operating by Canary and its managing principal Edward J. Stern.

Reports that an internal investigation at Bank of America Corp. has led to a shake-up of their New York (N.Y.) office that caters to wealthy clients. Total number of employees who have left the bank as a result of the inquiry; Job responsibilities of Mike Tierney and Kathy Tubiolo, who are no longer employed at Bank of America's New York office; Speculation about the future of Richard DeMartini, the head of Bank of America's money-management unit.