Business this week

Print section Print Headline:  Business this week UK Only Article:  standard article Issue:  — Terror and the internet — Theresa May’s failed gamble Santander, Spain’s biggest lender, bought Banco Popular, a distressed rival, in the first test of a new scheme in Europe to bail out banks. The inability of Popular to reduce its pile of toxic debt led to a rapid decline in its share price. The Single Resolution Board, an independent agency of the European Central Bank, declared that Popular was about to fail, opening the way for a managed sale to Santander for €1 ($1.10). The new scheme is designed to prevent taxpayers from picking up the tab for a bank rescue. Instead, some of Popular’s bondholders have taken a hit and its shareholders have lost their shirts. In Italy, the government’s plan to bail out Monte dei Paschi di Siena was approved by the EU. See article. More than 60 countries signed an agreement to clamp down on companies’ tax-avoidance practices, such as shifting titular headquarters to low-tax jurisdictions. By some estimates the path-breaking pact, advanced by the G20 and OECD, could raise an extra 10% in tax ...