Business this week

Amid the deepening euro-zone crisis, Moody’s downgraded the credit rating of both Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, two of France’s largest banks, over concerns that they hold insufficient capital to withstand a Greek default. BNP Paribas, France’s biggest bank, denied reports that it was having trouble raising funds in the markets. French officials insisted that the country’s financial sector was sound and did not need a further injection of capital from the government.

A strong response

Germany nominated Jörg Asmussen, the deputy finance minister, to be its highest-ranking official at the European Central Bank, after the sudden resignation of Jürgen Stark as the ECB’s chief economist. Mr Stark stepped down in apparent protest at the central bank’s increasingly interventionist role in shoring up weaker countries in the euro zone.

In an unprecedented move, the British government sought to sue the ECB over a new rule that requires clearing houses to be located in the euro zone if they handle more than 5% of the market in a euro-denominated product. The government thinks the rule hampers the free flow of capital. It could also eventually threaten the City’s predominant role in European financial markets.

The Federal Reserve came under more political pressure just ahead of a crucial meeting that will decide whether to launch a new round of bond buying. At their latest debate the Republican presidential candidates tore into the Fed for being too interventionist. But from the other side of the aisle, Barney Frank, a senior Democrat, criticised the Fed’s regional presidents for not doing enough to create jobs.

Bank of America continued its restructuring effort, and is to shed almost 10% of the workforce in its consumer-banking business, or 30,000 jobs, to save $5 billion from the $83 billion it spends each year. See article

The final report of the Vickers commission on British banking was given a cautious welcome by the City. The commission called for retail banking to be ring-fenced and to operate under a separate board of directors from a bank’s investment-banking division, and proposed that ring-fenced operations hold equity capital equal to at least 10% of risk-weighted assets. George Osborne, the chancellor, said that “a great deal of detailed work” would be needed before the proposals became law. See article

McGraw-Hill became the latest big company to announce that it is splitting in two, separating its markets business, which includes the Standard & Poor’s credit-ratings agency, from its education-services division to trade as two independent companies. The move was not entirely unexpected, given the pressure McGraw-Hill has come under from activist investors.

UBS said it had uncovered unauthorised dealings by a rogue trader in its investment-banking division, which could cost the Swiss bank $2 billion and may cause it to post a loss for the quarter.

Management decisions

Warren Buffett recruited a second hedge-fund manager to help run Berkshire Hathaway’s investment portfolio, as he prepares a new generation of leaders to take the reins. Ted Weschler manages a hedge fund based in Virginia; he joins Berkshire’s senior ranks alongside Todd Combs, whom Mr Buffett appointed last year.

News Corporation came under renewed pressure for decisions taken at some of its subsidiaries. A parliamentary committee recalled James Murdoch, who is in charge of News Corp’s British newspaper business, to question him about the veracity of testimony he gave in July relating to a phone-hacking scandal. And a group of American investors broadened the scope of a lawsuit against another subsidiary, in which it accuses News Corp’s board of ignoring “improper practices”.

Government loans to renewable-energy companies came under the spotlight when a congressional committee held a hearing on the fate of Solyndra, which made solar panels. Based in Silicon Valley, Solyndra received $528m from the public purse, only to file for bankruptcy. Some other solar-energy firms that have gone bust have blamed the subsidies China hands out to its solar industry, but Solyndra’s detractors claim it was never viable and should not have received government help.

Rock on

As expected, the European Union extended the copyright on musical recordings from 50 to 70 years. Many of the earlier songs recorded by bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles were due to go out of copyright over the next few years, which some said was unfair as performers should have their rights preserved for life. Musical artists are protected for 95 years in America.