In case you missed these stories:
- Austria takes control of Bank Medici
Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50bn fraud on Friday claimed its biggest victim to date as the Austrian government was forced to take control of Bank Medici, which might have lost $3bn-plus in the scandal.
- FDIC poised for IndyMac sell-off
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp has signed a letter of intent to sell IndyMac Bancorp to a group of investors led by Steven Mnuchin of Dune Capital Management and including JC Flowers, Paulson and Co, and four other investment funds for $13.9bn.
- HBOS pension trustees challenge merger
Lloyds TSB’s high profile rescue of HBOS faces a potential delay after the trustees of HBOS’s pension scheme decided to press ahead with a legal challenge to the deal.
- Starwood shares surge on takeover speculation
Speculation that Sam Zell, the Chicago property tycoon, may be positioning himself for a takeover bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s largest hotel operators with 897 properties, pushed the company’s shares up by more than 16% in trading in New York on Friday.
- Buffett’s Berkshire sees worst performance in 30 years
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway slumped 32% last year, the worst performance in more than three decades, as the US recession forced down the value of the firm’s equity holdings and derivative bets, reports Bloomberg.