The Traderszone Network

France’s finance minister said on Sunday that talks between BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) and U.S. authorities over a potential fine for the bank for breaching U.S. sanctions had progressed towards a “more equitable” level. U.S. authorities – five of them in all, including the New York financial regulator – are investigating whether BNP evaded U.S. sanctions against Iran and other countries between 2002 and 2009. BNP may have to pay a fine of about $10 billion and face other penalties such as being suspended from clearing clients’ dollar transactions, sources close to the situation have said.

read more

Investors will look to the Federal Reserve for reassurance in the coming week, with little economic data to assuage their concerns over the strength of the global recovery, amid signs Iraq may be sliding into civil war. The Fed, which wraps up a policy meeting on Wednesday, is expected to keep steadily reducing its massive bond-buying stimulus by $10 billion per month. Financial markets will be listening out for any hints on when the U.S. central bank might begin raising interest rates. “The Federal Reserve is preparing to move to the second step of the monetary policy exit.

The deal, which would allow Medtronic to be domiciled in Ireland, where Covidien is based, and thus take advantage of lower tax rates, could come as soon as Monday, one person said, asking not to be named because the matter is not public. Minneapolis-based Medtronic, the world’s largest stand-alone medical device maker, with an array of products ranging from heart defibrillators and stents to insulin pumps and spinal implants, has a market value of about $61 billion. Covidien, a maker of devices used in surgery, is valued at about $32 billion.

read more

China is attempting to end the last in a series of labor disputes involving some of the world’s most powerful companies. The FT reports.

An offensive by insurgents that threatens to dismember Iraq seems to slow after days of lightning advances.