UK regulator seeks to deflate financial sector with global tax

The head of Britain’s top banking watchdog supports the idea of new global taxes on financial transactions, warning that a "swollen" financial sector paying excessive salaries has grown too big for society.

Panasonic posts $4 billion loss

Panasonic, one of the world’s largest makers of electronic devices, announced it lost nearly $4 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. The loss wasn’t surprising, but the size was — analysts had predicted the Osaka-based company would lose about $1 billion.

Singapore’s economy shrinks

Singapore’s economy shrank by 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said Thursday, as it forecast the economy would contract between 2 and 5 percent this year. Compared to a robust growth of 7.8 percent a year earlier, the economy grew by 1.1 percent for the whole of 2008, the ministry added