Articles by Zachary R. Mider and Zeke Faux

Treasury Asked Why US P&I Club Insures Ships Carrying Iran Oil

A Republican congressman is asking the Treasury Department to explain its handling of a US insurance company that covered dozens of tanker ships suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. Representative Zach Nunn of Iowa, a member of the House Financial …

Cuomo Criticizes Predatory Lending Approach Involving New York Courts

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking to end his state’s role as the nation’s collections department for predatory loans to small businesses. Cuomo plans to submit legislation to curtail the use of confessions of judgment, he said Tuesday in …

New York Lawmakers Pledge to Change Laws That Enable Predatory Lending

New York legislators are pledging to change laws that have allowed predatory lenders to use the state court system to seize the assets of thousands of small businesses across the country. Brad Hoylman, incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, …

Senators Seek Ban on ‘Confessions’ Tactic Used by Predatory Small Business Lenders

Two U.S. senators are seeking to outlaw a legal tactic that predatory lenders have frequently used to seize money from small businesses. Senators Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said …

Paulson’s PaCRe Shuts Down After Investment Slump, Bermuda Tax Uncertainties

Billionaire John Paulson’s New York hedge fund firm has shut an operation in Bermuda that had been targeted by a Democratic lawmaker as a tax shelter. Paulson’s venture, a reinsurer named PaCRe Ltd., has stopped writing new coverage, and its …

IRS Weighs Rules on Hedge Fund Managers’ Use of Reinsurance

Hedge fund managers including billionaire John Paulson won’t immediately face new limits on their use of insurance in offshore tax havens, after the IRS proposed rules and chose not to make them effective now. The Internal Revenue Service rules, released …

Hedge Fund-Backed Bermuda Ventures Could Be at Risk From IRS

Investment vehicles set up by Paulson & Co. and Highbridge Capital Management in tax-friendly Bermuda may be under threat from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The IRS, in proposed rules published Thursday, said that the favorable treatment enjoyed by insurers …

How 10% of S&P Firms ‘Reform’ Taxes on Their Own

When it comes to taxes, corporate America is getting a bit less corporate. And a bit less American. Fueled by a wave of inversions, a record 54 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of leading U.S. firms are …