Study finds flood of money leaving China is increasing

BEIJING – Chinese investors evaded government controls to move more than $600 billion out of the country last year and the outflow is increasing, fueling economic and political risks as communist leaders prepare for a handover of power, a Washington-based monitoring group says.

The study by Global Financial Integrity gives backing to anecdotal signs of huge, unreported movements of Chinese money out of the country. Experts say the outflows are driven by public frustration with a banking system that subsidizes state companies at the expense of savers and by businesses profiting from loopholes in the government’s pervasive economic controls.

Chinese companies are widely believed to move money abroad both to invest and to “round trip” back into the country disguised as foreign investment to win tax breaks and other incentives. Chinese families move money abroad to gain a better return than they can from state banks that pay low deposit rates.

Newell Rubbermaid plans to cut 1,900 jobs worldwide

NEW YORK – Newell Rubbermaid plans to cut more than 1,900 jobs, or about 10 percent of its worldwide workforce, over the next two and a half years.

The consumer products company, known for Sharpie pens and its namesake containers, said Friday that all savings from the job cuts will be reinvested into growing its brands globally and adding new sales capabilities in emerging markets.

Newell Rubbermaid also said that its business will be restructured under two groups, a development organization and a delivery organization.

British oil executive gunned down in Belgium

LONDON – A British oil executive was shot to death in front of his wife outside a restaurant in Brussels two weeks ago, Belgian authorities revealed Friday.

Belgian prosecutors Friday named the victim as Nicholas Mockford, 60, who worked for ExxonMobil.

He was attacked after leaving an Italian restaurant in the suburb of Neder-Over-Heembeek with his Belgian wife, who was also attacked.

The incident was not reported earlier due to a news blackout, the Belgian authorities said.

The Belgian news agency Belga said investigators were working on the theory that the attackers wanted to steal the couple’s luxury car or the valuables inside it.

Pennsylvania bank closure brings year’s total to 47

WASHINGTON – Regulators say they have closed a small bank in Pennsylvania, bringing to 47 the number of U.S. bank failures this year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday seized NOVA Bank, based in Berwyn, Pa.

The bank had about $483 million in assets and $432.2 million in deposits as of June 30.

The FDIC said it was unable to find a financial institution to take over the failed bank’s operations, so it will retain NOVA’s assets for later disposition.

Regulators did line up National Penn Bank to accept NOVA’s direct deposits from the federal government, including Social Security payments, through Jan. 25.

The failure of NOVA Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund $91.2 million.

The lender is the second FDIC-insured institution in Pennsylvania to fail this year.