Vatican Bank Chief Ousted After Money-Laundering Scandal By Flavia Krause-Jackson - 2012-05-24T21:40:01Z Enlarge image Vatican Bank Chief Forced Out After Money-Laundering Scandal Andrew Medichini/AP Photo Head of the Vatican bank Ettore Gotti Tedeschi. Head of the Vatican bank Ettore Gotti Tedeschi. Photographer: Andrew Medichini/AP Photo The Vatican bank, whose reputation took a blow last year over an investigation into money laundering, has fired Chairman Ettore Gotti Tedeschi after a tenure stained by a financial scandal. In a vote of no-confidence, the board of directors unanimously agreed to remove Tedeschi, a Banco Santander SA (SAN) banker who took the job in 2009, from his post for failing “to carry out various duties of primary importance,” according to a statement by Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi. “I would ... Continue reading →

Louis Burgdorf | Morning JoeFormer Secretary of State Colin Powell on the set of Morning JoeThis morning Colin Powell joined us to discuss his new book "It Worked for Me," which focuses, in part, on his role in the run up to the Iraq war.In the book and in our interview Powell reflects on his now infamous speech to the U.N. Security Council on Iraq, calling it in the book something that "...will earn a prominent paragraph in my obituary."Joe Scarborough also asked the former Secretary of State his thoughts about Mitt Romney's foreign policy advisors and if he thinks Romney is "...top-heavy when it comes to the neoconservatives around him.""I've noticed that," Powell said.Powell then said he feels many of Romney's advisors are "quite ... Continue reading →

Bank of Japan Keeps Key Overnight Rate at 0-0.1% as Expected Germans Afraid of Greek Anger Avoid Vacations in Blow to Economy By Alex Webb, Joseph de Weck and Eleni Chrepa - 2012-05-22T22:01:39Z German taxi driver Rudolf Kugel, who says he’s visited Greece more times than he can count, won’t be going again anytime soon to the Mediterranean sunspot because he’s concerned about the reaction of local people. “They hold Germans responsible for all their misery,” said the 62-year-old from near Stuttgart. “You want to go on holiday to have a comfortable break, not to be lynched.” It’s thinking like Kugel’s which has contributed to declines of as much as a third in bookings from Germans planning their summer break in Greece, according to Air ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Greek Euro Exit Kostas Tsironis/Bloomberg A customer withdraws cash from an ATM operated by the National Bank of Greece SA in Athens. A customer withdraws cash from an ATM operated by the National Bank of Greece SA in Athens. Photographer: Kostas Tsironis/Bloomberg Greece may have only a 46-hour window of opportunity should it need to plot a route out of the euro. That’s how much time the country’s leaders would probably have to enact any departure from the single currency while global markets are largely closed, from the end of trading in New York on a Friday to Monday’s market opening in Wellington, New Zealand, based on a synthesis of euro-exit scenarios from 21 economists, analysts and academics. Over the two days, leaders ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Obama Officials Offered bin Laden Raid Insights to Filmmakers Aamir Qureshi via AFP/GettyImages This photograph taken on April 25, 2012, shows a Pakistani man walking past the demolished compound of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in northern Abbottabad ahead of bin Laden's first death anniversary. This photograph taken on April 25, 2012, shows a Pakistani man walking past the demolished compound of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in northern Abbottabad ahead of bin Laden's first death anniversary. Photographer: Aamir Qureshi via AFP/GettyImages The Obama administration promised a Hollywood filmmaker unprecedented access to the top-secret Navy unit that killed Osama bin Laden to help her make a feature film on the operation at the same time it was publicly ordering officials to ... Continue reading →

Iran Navy Helps U.S. Ship Attacked by Pirates in Middle East By Michelle Wiese Bockmann - 2012-05-23T16:43:09Z Iran’s navy helped a U.S.-flagged cargo ship that was attacked by pirates off the United Arab Emirates, according to the vessel’s owner, Maersk Line Ltd. The Iranian navy was the first to respond to the initial distress call from the Maersk Texas, Kevin Speers, senior director of marketing at Maersk Line, said by phone today. The vessel was attacked by several skiffs and armed guards on board returned fire, the company said in an earlier statement. The incident happened at about noon local time northeast of Fujairah, the biggest port in the Middle East for refueling oil tankers, Maersk said. Iran’s navy provided guidance to the crew of ... Continue reading →