The US Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board said on Friday that they will jointly look at ways to align the key aspects of their models as part of separate reviews into their standards.

The IASB will consider aligning its standards as part of a “limited-scope” review of IFRS 9, while the FASB will consider changes as part of its ongoing re-deliberation of its own financial instruments standard, which was issued in May 2010.

While the President did not elaborate on the proposed tax measures, they are expected to form part of the 2013 federal budget blueprint, which is due to be sent to Congress during the first week in February.

The third offshore program comes as the IRS continues working on a wide range of international tax issues, particularly in the area of compliance, and will remain open for an indefinite period until otherwise announced.

Opinion is divided on whether such amnesty schemes achieve higher rates of tax compliance among those with offshore financial arrangements.

According to a report in “The Financial Times” today [Jan. 3] exposures in Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam have all seen big premium rises during the key January 1 policy renewal negotiations on reinsurance contracts that escaped losses from natural catastrophes in 2011.

BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank both had their long-term issuer default rating downgraded by one notch to A plus, while Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs were downgraded from A plus to A.

Barclays and Credit Suisse were downgraded by two notches to A, Fitch announced on Thursday evening.

The WEF’s study ranks 60 of the world’s leading financial systems and capital markets, analysing the drivers of financial system development that support economic growth. The seven pillars assessed are: institutional environment, business environment, financial stability, banking financial services, non-banking financial services, financial markets and financial access.

To achieve the ambitious objectives, the heads of state called for a renewed contract between eurozone member states.

In the letter, the Franco-German heads of state underscored the need for measures to be urgently implemented to overcome the crisis and to substantially strengthen the architecture of the economic and monetary union.

The report, from the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, says that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) led to policymakers ‘misdiagnosing’ the problem as one of liquidity rather than solvency.

The agreement, concluded on November 1, for approximately USD300m in funding from French bank Compagnie Francaise D’Assurance Pour Le Commerce Extérieur (Coface) for part of a metro line, was pulled on November 27 by Panama’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Frank De Lima, with the minister citing the political damage that had been caused by Pecresse’s comments.

Stock markets around the world roared their approval. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up more than 400 points. The stock market rose more than 5 percent in Germany and more than 4 percent in France.

The action represented the most extraordinary coordinated effort by the central banks since they cut interest rates together in October 2008, at the depths of the financial crisis.

The proposals come as the government faces public pressure to curb tax avoidance.

The report has tried to overcome business objections to a general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR). The Treasury will consider the recommendations before reporting back at the time of the next Budget.

Writing in the London Evening Standard, Osborne stressed that stability must be restored, and that only once this immediate danger has been overcome can the eurozone contemplate the gradual pooling of resources and greater mutual control of tax and spending decisions.

He argued that both the UK and the European Union (EU) should be removing the obstacles to job creation and economic growth.

Speaking to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Flaherty emphasized the government’s ongoing work in implementing “a bold tax reduction plan to brand Canada as a low business tax jurisdiction”. He noted that Canada now enjoys an overall tax rate on new business investment that is substantially lower than the rest of the G7, and below the average of the member countries of the OECD. In January, 2012, the federal business tax rate is set to fall by a further 1.5% to reach 15%.

The consultation proposes what captives calculation of minimum capital requirements should be, which differs for life insurance, reinsurance and non-life insurance.

The paper proposes an absolute minimum floor of €3,200,000 for life insurance undertakings, including captive insurance undertakings.