Bernard Madoff, the U.S. financier accused of a $50 billion fraud, was charged on Mar. 10 with 11 criminal counts that could land him in prison for the rest of his life. According to his lawyer, Madoff, a former Nasdaq stock market chairman, is expected to plead guilty to the charges on Mar. 12. In court documents, the U.S. prosecutors said they want Madoff to forfeit all of the money and property that can be traced back to the alleged fraud — a figure estimated at more than $170.8 billion.

No plea agreement has been made with Madoff, who remains under house arrest in New York City. According to prosecutors, Madoff’s investment business had about 4,800 client accounts as of Nov. 30, 2008, and issued statements for that month reporting client accounts held a total balance of almost $65 billion.

Source: Reuters

Chinese Exports Fall 25.7%

Chinese exports dropped 25.7% in February compared with a year ago, much higher than analysts had expected. The figure, though, probably masks an even steeper decline due to the shorter number of working days in February 2008 because the Chinese New Year holiday took place during the month.

Source: Financial Times

Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific Report Mixed Results

Germany’s Lufthansa — the second largest airline in Europe — on Mar. 11 said profit fell 64% in 2008, and predicted earnings will drop again in 2009. The news came as Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong’s biggest carrier, reported a better-than-expected 15% jump in annual sales.

Source: Bloomberg

Chrysler Rebound: Too Good to be True?

Chrysler, the struggling U.S. automaker, is talking up a rebound in the company’s fortunes. But even if it partners with Italian counterpart Fiat, the automaker’s high debt load and brutal cuts could leave any recovery flat.

Source: BusinessWeek

AOL to Cut Workforce by 10%

Internet giant AOL announced on Mar. 10 that it’s shedding 10% of its workforce by the end of March. Officials would not comment on the matter, but AOL has said that it plans to reduce its U.S. headcount by 700 people.

Source: Washington Post

Advertisers Target Smartphones

Smartphones, like the iPhone and BlackBerry Curve, are the latest and potentially most lucrative way for advertisers to aim ads at specific consumers. That’s because the gadgets have a high potential for personalized advertising, especially as some phone applications identify a person’s location right down to the street corner where he/she is standing.

Source: New York Times

Toshiba Could Post Profit

Japanese tech company Toshiba could post an operating profit of about $1 billion during the next business year, according to local media reports. The country’s Nikkei newspaper said lower fixed costs and growth in its infrastructure business could boost Toshiba’s bottom-line despite persistent weakness in the company’s chip and consumer electronics sectors.

Source: Reuters

Prosecutors Probe Merrill Bonuses

New York prosecutors are investigating whether the early payment of bonuses at Merrill Lynch in 2008 gave traders an incentive to mark down the value of their positions in the last days of December, according to people familiar with the probe. In particular, prosecutors are considering whether traders marked down their portfolios to make it easier for them to post gains at the start of 2009.

Source: Financial Times

Wall Street Heavy-Hitters Clock Out

Prominent investment bankers are fleeing major Wall Street institutions as increased public scrutiny of their pay and mounting turmoil in their own offices takes its toll. The past week has seen the announcement of several high-profile departures: Jean Manas, head of Americas M&A for Deutsche Bank; Deutsche Bank media banker Fehmi Zeko; Goldman Sachs Group partner Joseph Ravitch; and UBS managing director Jeff Sine.

Source: Wall Street Journal

EPA Plans Carbon Monitoring

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Mar. 10 proposed a rule that would require a number of industries to record and report their greenhouse gas emissions. The plan would require about 13,000 factories, power plants, and other facilities to report their emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other gases that climate scientists link to global warming.

Source: New York Times

Fed Considers Next Step

U.S. Federal Reserve officials are considering whether to pump more money into the economy by expanding their lending and securities-purchase programs. With the domestic economy continuing to falter, Fed officials are likely to assess what success they have had with existing efforts and what more they can do to ease financial strains and prop up the economy.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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