Allied Irish Bank

Allied Irish Banks sued Bank of America Corp. and Citibank, alleging they helped a former currency trader from an AIB unit hide more than $691 million in investment losses. Allied Irish is seeking $500 million in compensatory damages as well as punitive damages, according to its complaint filed in federal court in New York. The case concerns BofA's and Citibank's alleged involvement with John Rusnak, a trader at Allfirst Bank.

Allied Irish Banks sued Bank of America Corp. and Citibank, alleging they helped a former currency trader from an AIB unit hide more than $691 million in investment losses. Allied Irish is seeking $500 million in compensatory damages as well as punitive damages, according to its complaint filed in federal court in New York. The case concerns BofA's and Citibank's alleged involvement with John Rusnak, a trader at Allfirst Bank.

M&T Bank Corp., whose largest shareholder is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., agreed to pay $3.1 billion for Allied Irish Banks' 262-branch unit in the U.S. The stock and cash transaction would follow $691 million in currency losses at the Allfirst Financial Inc. subsidiary this year.

M&T Bank Corp., whose largest shareholder is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., agreed to pay $3.1 billion for Allied Irish Banks' 262-branch unit in the U.S. The stock and cash transaction would follow $691 million in currency losses at the Allfirst Financial Inc. subsidiary this year.

Ireland's biggest bank said Wednesday that a rogue employee involved in currency trading secretly lost $750 million at its U.S. subsidiary, jolting the European markets and triggering a federal criminal investigation into another financial debacle. The suspected fraud at Allied Irish Banks' Baltimore-based subsidiary, Allfirst Bank, would be one of the biggest trading scandals since Singapore dealer Nick Leeson brought down Britain's Barings Bank in 1995 after piling up $1.

Allied Irish Banks is expected to dismiss senior managers this week at its scandal-hit U.S. unit Allfirst, where rogue trader John Rusnak ran up losses of nearly $700 million, it was reported. The Business newspaper of London said Allfirst Chairman Frank Bramble as well as the Maryland bank's chief executive, Susan Keating, would resign. Rusnak's immediate bosses, Bob Wray and David Cronin, the head of Allfirst's treasury team, also were expected to be fired.

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States has provided the requisite quota of breathlessly televised pageantry. But the most dramatic moment in his brief visit surely was his meeting with three Catholics who, as children, suffered sexual abuse at the hands of priests. Benedict called for the church to do more for the thousands who endured similar outrages. Los Angeles' Cardinal Roger M. Mahony echoed that sentiment following the meeting.

How a low-level currency trader for Allied Irish Banks was able to bury $750 million in losses without detection is a mystery to bank analysts and those who make their living in the trade. With more than a trillion dollars changing hands every day, major financial institutions have multilayered systems in place to track profits and losses, as well as suspicious trading activity. What insiders don't catch, auditors are supposed to discover during routine checks of every trader's books.

Despite a wobbly euro, heftier oil prices and political uncertainty, the trends in the world economy are positive over the next three to five years. In Europe, companies are reforming their operations and changing industrial patterns of half a century. In Asia, economies are growing again and China is booming. The force of information technology that has changed U.S. business is spreading to the rest of the world. This is not an easy time to remain confident, to be sure.

If we could see ourselves as others see us, as the poet Robert Burns put it, we might make sense of the contradictions swirling around the U.S. economy. In Washington, President Bush and Congressional leaders began emergency talks on the federal budget deficit Tuesday, even as the stock market hit yet another historic high. Experts say the stock market is rising because U.S.

Allied Irish Banks is expected to dismiss senior managers this week at its scandal-hit U.S. unit Allfirst, where rogue trader John Rusnak ran up losses of nearly $700 million, it was reported. The Business newspaper of London said Allfirst Chairman Frank Bramble as well as the Maryland bank's chief executive, Susan Keating, would resign. Rusnak's immediate bosses, Bob Wray and David Cronin, the head of Allfirst's treasury team, also were expected to be fired.

Ireland's biggest bank said Wednesday that a rogue employee involved in currency trading secretly lost $750 million at its U.S. subsidiary, jolting the European markets and triggering a federal criminal investigation into another financial debacle. The suspected fraud at Allied Irish Banks' Baltimore-based subsidiary, Allfirst Bank, would be one of the biggest trading scandals since Singapore dealer Nick Leeson brought down Britain's Barings Bank in 1995 after piling up $1.

Blessed with a nest egg of nearly $1.5 million, a Woodland Hills parish donated almost all of it, leaving just $1,000 in its savings account. An Encino church offered a $100,000 interest-free loan. And a Boyle Heights parish decided it could spare $500 after ruling out the idea of raising money with tamale sales. With gifts large and small, parishes across the sprawling Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles are answering an appeal from Cardinal Roger M.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney divested from companies doing business in Iran, but he still holds stock in an oil company that does business in Sudan -- where the government is accused of sponsoring genocide -- his financial disclosure report filed Monday shows. Romney, the wealthiest presidential contender, is worth $190 million to $250 million, with investments spread among stocks, treasuries and high-end funds. R.