Money Speaks

The Justice Department and Swiss banking giant UBS have struck a tentative deal on IRS demands for the names of 52,000 wealthy American clients of the bank, lawyers for both sides said Friday.The United States government and Swiss bank UBS have reached an agreement in principle on the major issues in their tax evasion dispute, a U.S. Justice Department attorney said on Friday.

Days before a high-stakes trial with implications for bankers worldwide, the U.S.

— Merrill Lynch & Co.’s local wealth management unit has hired two high-powered money managers from rival Wall Street firms, another sign that turmoil in the financial markets appears to be benefiting some firms at the expense of others. Carla Lang, 52, formerly of Citigroup …

DUBLIN—-Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Building Blocks for a Successful Wealth Management Business for Commercial Banks: The Standard Chartered Model” report to their offering.

The sun has set on independent wealth man-agers, the small nimble outfits of brash money and stock market investment advisors who held significant sway during the high interest rate heydays of the 1990s and even until recently, according to Chris Williams, head of the NCB Capital Markets.

Citigroup Inc.’s plan to reposition its orphaned myFi service says a lot about the business challenges facing both the troubled banking giant and the wealth management business itself.

The personal wealth of Greece’s political leaders remained largely unchanged between 2006 and 2007, according to documents made public yesterday, although questions have been raised once again as to whether the checks on politicians’ finances are stringent enough.

In Rich, the author contends that the 20th century has seen the creation of a distinctly American wealth culture that is more diverse than anything the world has seen before, and consequently more resilient.

Finance Secretary John Swinney insisted yesterday that it was not too late for Scotland to create an oil fund to cushion the country’s future.

WASHINGTON _Congressional negotiators are divided over how to raise taxes to pay for overhauling the nation’s health care system, as key players disagree over whether to increase income taxes on wealthy people or find alternatives such as taxing insurers that sell high-end policies.