AP An ex-executive at a New York investment bank has admitted to defrauding investors of more than US$38 million, blaming it on his gambling addiction. Andrew Caspersen pleaded guilty to securities and wire fraud in federal court in Manhattan. Prosecutors say he scammed clients of PJT Partners Inc into investing millions of dollars in sham private equity investments. They ...

  AP The president of Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank is resigning less than a week after the federal government passed measures to aid the US territory’s dire finances. Melba Acosta said she’ll step down July 31 to focus on her professional career. She directs a bank that issues loans to government agencies and is responsible for overseeing Puerto Rico’s ...

  AFP Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco said that public intervention in the country’s banks was not to be ruled out amid growing fears the sector’s 360 billion euros (US$398 billion) in bad debt would trigger a potentially contagious banking crisis. “Given the risk that, in a context of high uncertainty, limited problems could undermine the trust in the ...

  Bloomberg The 16.9 million people receiving welfare payments from South Africa’s government into bank accounts should have the right to choose between financial services companies, according to the country’s central bank. A contract awarded by the South African Social Security Agency to Johannesburg-based Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc to pay grants electronically in 2012 has this year been dogged ...

  AFP The outlook for Britain’s property market darkened on mounting evidence that the country’s vote to exit the European Union is weighing on asset values. Aberdeen Asset Management became the latest of seven financial groups to order a temporary suspension on redemptions from UK property funds after companies and individuals rushed to withdraw investments in reaction to Brexit. Aberdeen ...

  AP Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level since May 2013, driven down by financial tumult in Europe. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 3.41 percent from 3.48 percent a week ago. A year ago, the 30-year rate stood at 4.04 percent. The 15-year mortgage rate dropped to ...

  Bloomberg Allianz SE’s Mohamed El-Erian said that the forced deleveraging of U.K. commercial properties after the Brexit vote may spur opportunities for investors. “If you’re a patient investor, with a stomach for mark-to-market volatility and quasi-permanent capital, that is going to be a very attractive area,” El-Erian said in an interview on Saturday with Bloomberg Television. “But wait, let ...

  AP A business group says the $17.55 million paid for a northwest Las Vegas home by Strip illusion show headliner David Copperfield set an area record. The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said Thursday the price eclipsed the $17.375 million paid in 2007 for a mansion at the Shadow Creek Golf Club in North Las Vegas. The broker, ...

  Bloomberg Regus Plc, the world’s largest provider of serviced offices, is speeding up expansion plans in Frankfurt ahead of an anticipated surge in inquiries from financial firms leaving London. In Amsterdam, demand for its workspaces is already rising. “It will be a big opportunity for us to give banks a temporary home,” said Daniel Grimm, head of German development ...

  Bloomberg The US government proposed eight airlines to begin scheduled passenger service to Havana, as carriers hustle to open regular flights to the Cuban capital for the first time in half a century. Flights may begin as early as this fall, the Department of Transportation said in a statement. The airlines winning approval for Havana service were American, Delta, ...