Washington / AFP JP Morgan Chase has agreed to pay $264 million to settle a foreign bribery case dubbed the “princelings case” in which the bank gave prized jobs to friends and relatives of Chinese officials, US officials announced. The multinational bank, now the world’s largest by market capitalization, admitted to taking in more than $100 million after hiring …

  Bloomberg A contentious reform of international bank capital standards is going down to the wire, as regulators including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank try to bridge a wide gap on key issues before the end of the year. At issue is the way banks measure the risk of mortgages, corporate loans and even the threat …

  Los Angeles / AFP The figure-hugging gown Marilyn Monroe wore to serenade President John F. Kennedy for his 45th birthday smashed its guide price to sell for $4.8 million at auction on Thursday. The flesh-colored dress, adorned with 2,500 hand-stitched crystals, had been expected to fetch between $2-3 million, Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills said. It went to Ripley’s …