FDIC sues 16 banks, accuses them of fraud, conspiracy

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued 16 big banks that set a key global interest rate, accusing them of fraud and conspiring to keep the rate low to enrich themselves.

The banks, which include Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase in the U.S., are among the world’s largest.

The FDIC alleges that the banks rigged the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, from August 2007 to at least mid-2011. The LIBOR affects trillions of dollars in contracts around the world, including mortgages, bonds and consumer loans. 

Quiznos files for Chapter 11, expects quick reorganization

Quiznos has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reduce its debt by more than $400 million after the chain lost ground to competitors.

The toasted sandwich company, based in Denver, said Friday that it voluntarily filed to reorganize to implement a prepackaged restructuring plan.

Quiznos said the move won’t affect its customers. The company only owns and operates seven of the nearly 2,100 Quiznos restaurants. The rest are owned and operated by franchisees and aren’t part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

The company said the restructuring plan has been approved by its creditors so it expects to emerge from reorganization quickly.

Japanese fishermen trying to come back from disaster

A number of businessmen are trying to bring the fishing industry back to Japan’s northeastern coast, three years after a disastrous tsunami hit.

The government says nearly two-thirds of damaged land has been salvaged and 78 percent of fishery processing restarted in the region. But for the majority, sales are well below predisaster levels. They face an array of obstacles to setting up shop. And most damaged stores and other businesses are operating from temporary quarters such as shipping containers and prefabricated huts.

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster that contaminated chunks of the coast with radiation and killed 18,520 people.

For-profit college industry to oppose proposed rules

The for-profit college industry says it will vigorously oppose proposed regulations by the Obama administration designed to protect students at for-profit colleges from amassing huge debt they can’t pay off.

The regulations would penalize career-oriented programs that produce graduates without the training needed to find a job with a salary that will allow them to pay off their debt. If finalized, the regulations would take effect in 2016.

Schools, for-profit or not, that don’t comply would lose access to the federal student aid programs. 

— From news service reports

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