A one-year investigation into the collapse of Lehman Brothers has found evidence top executives including Dick Fuld approved misleading financial statements.
They failed to disclose the use of an accounting device, "Repo 105", which allowed them to hold $50bn off its balance sheet in Q1 and Q2 of 2008, reports the Financial Times.
However, the report also laid the blame for the bank's collapse in September 2008 on other participants in the crisis including auditors Ernst & Young, which it says failed to properly challenge inadequate disclosures in the firm's results.
The 2,200 page report also found evidence JPMorgan Chase and Citi Group may have contributed to the bank's collapse by demanding collateral in the run-up to its failure.
According to the Financial Times, the report could pave the way for legal action against the Lehman Estate and class action lawsuits by investors.
Weekly interest payments on Britain's national debt could hit £1.5bn by the middle of the decade, according to Standard & Poor's.
A three percentage-point increase in the rates paid by the Treasury would add £35bn to the government's annual interest bill by 2015, The Daily Mail reports.
That would push interest payments to a huge £81bn a year or over £1.5bn a week - two times the current Ministry of Defence budget.
The forecast will intensify pressure on Chancellor Alistair Darling to take more aggressive measures to slash the budget deficit and shore up investor confidence.
A note from BNP Paribas also warned a Labour minority government would be the 'worst case scenario' for the UK gilt market and a 'big negative' for the pound. For full story.
Pension pay-outs to many workers in the public sector could more than triple in the next 50 years, according to the National Audit Office.
Its report on unfunded public sector schemes says they will pay out £79bn by 2060, compared with £25bn this year, reports the BBC.
The rise will be due to increased longevity and increases in the real earnings of public sector workers but the NAO warns annual pension payments will be much higher if the public sector workforce increases.
"The Treasury has not assessed the impact of different assumptions about the size of the public service workforce, despite it being a critical driver of pension costs," it says.
For full story.
