HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Susan Stanford, the estranged wife of accused Ponzi scheme mastermind, Allen Stanford, is suing her former divorce lawyer for failing to tell her of a verbal offer to settle her divorce for $200 million last year. Stanford is asking for “$200 million plus’’ in damages. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- The Internal Revenue Service told its auditors in Manhattan to develop cases against offshore hedge funds and foreign companies it said are trying to avoid taxes on income from loans they make in the US. Most hedge funds set up offshore corporations in the Cayman Islands. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Reuters) -- The receiver in charge of Allen Stanford's assets has asked a federal judge for permission to sell the alleged swindler's luxurious 112-foot motor yacht, the Sea Eagle. Ralph Janvey, the receiver in the case, filed a motion asking US District Judge David Godbey to approve the sale of the vessel. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- The US brokerage regulator’s board is debating whether to release an internal report of its examinations of firms run by Bernard Madoff and Allen Stanford. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority board may determine the report’s fate this week. read more...

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TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The foremost non-profit trade and investment promotion organization in Taiwan, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) has been entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Taiwan to organize and lead a trade mission to Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent and St Lucia. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- The Internal Revenue Service is moving to bolster enforcement of a 2004 law that bars companies from avoiding US taxes by moving their headquarters offshore to Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The action is the IRS’s latest effort to stop practices that let US companies avoid taxes. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters) - UBS AG has formally warned wealthy American clients that their secret Swiss accounts may be revealed to US tax authorities after next Wednesday's expiration of a US amnesty program. A UBS letter obtained by Reuters tells clients their accounts fall under a deal signed in August. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Thomas Raffanello, Stanford Financial Group’s global security director, pleaded not guilty to shredding documents in violation of a court order to preserve them for a federal investigation. Raffanello, 61, entered the plea Friday before US Magistrate Robin Rosenbaum in federal court. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of leading a $7 billion fraud, will be defended by some of Houston’s most talented lawyers at taxpayer expense. US District Judge David Hittner in Houston assigned Stanford’s case to the local Federal Public Defender on September 15. read more...

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- The Oversight Committee appointed by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, David Thompson earlier this year to oversee the sale and functioning of CLICO's entities, has received offers for two of those regulated assets. Word of this has come from the Prime Minister. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- The receiver for Allen Stanford’s businesses asked a US appeals court for permission to sue investors for gains they realized before a suspected $7 billion Ponzi scheme collapsed. Receiver Ralph Janvey was blocked by a court order from pursuing so-called clawbacks. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Reuters) -- Former billionaire Allen Stanford, accused of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, will be represented by a public defender for now after telling a court he had no money to pay for an attorney. Michael Sokolow from the Federal Public Defender's Office in Houston will be Stanford's lead attorney. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters) -- Rich Americans who have evaded taxes by hiding foreign holdings in tax havens such as Switzerland and the Cayman Islands have about a week to turn themselves in to an Internal Revenue Service amnesty program or gamble they will not be caught. read more...

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FORT LAUDERDALE, USA (Reuters) -- The security chief accused of illegally shredding documents at Stanford Financial Group was simply "taking out the garbage" and committed no crime, his lawyer said in a court filing. Texas billionaire Allen Stanford is currently in jail awaiting trail. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters) -- A security director for the shuttered Stanford Financial Group, and a deputy, were indicted for their alleged role in obstructing the probe of group's alleged $7 billion fraud, court documents unsealed on Thursday showed. Thomas Raffanello was charged with three counts. read more...

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DALLAS, USA (Reuters) -- A federal judge in Texas on Thursday did not grant the full $27 million in fees requested by the receiver in charge of alleged swindler Allen Stanford's estate, saying more details were needed on some expenses. He said it may be paid at a later date. read more...

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SANTIAGO, Chile -- The Latin America and Caribbean economy grew an average 4.1% from 1950-2008, while its average annual inflation rate from 1970-2008 reached 15.4%, according to the Statistical Booklet N° 37. “Latin America and the Caribbean: Historical series of economic statistics, 1950-2008”. read more...

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CASTRIES, St Lucia -- The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) is encouraging tourism industry stakeholders to view the current economic crisis as an opportunity to be at the forefront of the recovery when it comes. Speaking ahead of the FCCA's annual cruise convention and trade show to be held in... read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Peter Kaltman, a retired accountant, says he was reassured by the Securities Investor Protection Corp. logo on the stationery of the brokerage that sold him $550,000 in Stanford International Bank certificates of deposit. Under US law, SIPC repays up to $500,000 in custodial losses. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) -- Jamaica's St Ann Bauxite Partners Ltd plans to return to nearly full production within three months, its principals said. The company now operates at 64 percent of capacity, producing 3 million tonnes of bauxite annually at its mine on Jamaica's northeast coast. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver for Allen Stanford’s businesses, defended his request for $27.5 million in fees after the US Securities and Exchange Commission said he was using too much of the estate. Janvey was appointed in February. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Reuters) -- A swanky casino on the Las Vegas strip is suing accused swindler Allen Stanford for repayment of a gambling debt of more than a quarter million dollars, according to court papers. Bellagio LLC seeks to recover the $258,480 debt Stanford accrued in January 2009. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg) -- Bermuda-based insurers Argus Group Holdings Ltd. and Tremont International Insurance Ltd. reached a partial settlement of a lawsuit on behalf of policyholders over the companies’ investment with Bernard Madoff, court records show. read more...

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MIAMI, USA (Reuters) -- Antigua and Barbuda has appointed an experienced banker to head the tiny Caribbean nation's financial regulatory body, replacing Leroy King, who faces US charges of abetting accused swindler Allen Stanford. US prosecutors say King received regular bribes from Stanford. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Reuters) -- Accused swindler Allen Stanford is back to a federal detention center after doctors diagnosed an aneurysm in his left leg that is not life-threatening, his lawyer's office said on Tuesday. Stanford, 59, was taken to the hospital on Thursday after experiencing a racing pulse. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- Carib Brewery (St Kitts & Nevis) Limited is reporting a pretax profit of just over EC$5.3 million in 2008, compared to EC$5.8 million in 2007. According to the Annual Report sales in 2008 increased by 5.6 percent to EC$32 million compared to EC$30.3 million in 2007. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Reuters) -- Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of a $7 billion fraud, is still hospitalized and will undergo tests to determine if there is blockage of veins or arteries in his heart, his lawyer's office, said on Monday. Stanford, 59, was hospitalized in Conroe, Texas with a racing pulse on Thursday. read more...

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CHICAGO, USA (Bloomberg) -- Three people who say they invested with Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of running a $7 billion fraud, have sued New York law firm Proskauer Rose LLP and attorney Thomas Sjoblom, accusing them of aiding the deception. The investors claim that the firm... read more...

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) -- The global economic downturn has had some positive spinoffs for the International Business sector, despite a noticeable decline in the number of new entrants. Word of this came from Director of International Business, Francoise Hendy, who has described the impact as "quite ironic". read more...

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SANTIAGO, Chile -- Strengthening relations and cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean is a priority for Australia, said its Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith during a conference at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile. ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena welcomed the Foreign Minister. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver for businesses owned by Allen Stanford, is spending so much money while recovering so few assets that nothing may be left for defrauded customers, an investors’ advocate said. Janvey claims to have recovered $81.1 million during 23 weeks. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Allen Stanford, who was rushed to the hospital with an elevated pulse shortly before he was to appear in court on Thursday, must remain hospitalized several days for observation, his lawyer said. Stanford was transported by ambulance after he registered a pulse rate of 300. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Reuters) -- A plea agreement signed by Allen Stanford's former top aide signals that more people in the wide-ranging $7 billion fraud case may face charges, a lawyer involved in the case said on Thursday. "Read the plea agreement language very, very carefully," lawyer David Finn said. read more...

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SANTIAGO, Chili -- Although pressure mounts for protectionist measures in times of crisis, there has not been a general trend towards trade restrictions in the region, states an ECLAC report released this week. Contrary to what is occurring in several industrialized nations that have adopted restrictive measures... read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Allen Stanford’s investments in an Israeli development fund and a luxury Houston hotel can be sold immediately, over objections from the financier that he hasn’t been convicted of any wrongdoing, a federal judge ruled. Court-appointed receiver Ralph Janvey won approval to sell... read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) -- US financier and cricket mogul Allen Stanford, held without bail in Texas on charges of a multi-billion-dollar fraud, has been hospitalized, federal law enforcement officials said on Thursday. Stanford was taken by ambulance to the Conroe Regional Hospital Center in Texas. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) -- The chief financial officer of the investment company owned by Texas cricket mogul Allen Stanford on Thursday pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a complex seven-billion-dollar fraud. James Davis, 60, pleaded guilty to fraud and obstruction charges, the Department of Justice said. read more...

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SANTIAGO, Chile -- The volume of trade in Latin America and the Caribbean will drop 13% in 2009, surpassing the 10% decline in world trade expected this year, stated ECLAC in its most recent report. This confirms that the sector most affected by the global economic crisis in the region is trade. read more...

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HOUSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Allen Stanford, accused of swindling investors in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, must remain jailed until trial, which could be a year away, a federal appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Monday denied an appeal by the Texas financier. read more...

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HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) -- Texas financier and cricket mogul Allen Stanford is so broke he is struggling to find a lawyer while he sees his Caribbean islands, mansions and a fleet of jets sold off to pay victims of an alleged seven-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Stanford has already lost one defense attorney for not paying his bills. read more...

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