UBS pays up: The Swiss group will pay a total of CHF1.4bn ($1.5bn) - or, more than three Barclays - in fines and profit disgorgements related to Libor and Euribor claims. The payments will go to US, UK and Swiss regulators. The bank has also warned of losses totalling about CHF2 to 2.5bn for the fourth quarter, largely due to the settlements and provisioning, although CHF500m related to its restructuring. Kate's post has statement from UBS. And here's the FT's take, which notes that as part of the settlement, UBS's Japanese unit agreed to enter a plea of one count of wire fraud related to the rigging of various rates. The three "muscateers," captain "caos" and SUPERMAN Assemble (at UBS): The competition is on! Sure, UBS is already ahead of Barclays in the FSA fine stakes, but will the inevitable embarrassing communiques beat "done for you, big boy"? We'll let you be the judge... Lisa's post has the foul-mouthed pleadings of UBS traders trying to fix Libor rates to suit them. What China really wants: Why has Beijing removed the $1bn limit for foreign SWFs, cbanks and monetary authorities investing in Chinese assets? It's not altruism, says Izzy's post, but an admission that it needs to encourage counter flows into the country. Whereas for many years it suited China to support what can only be described as a massive industrial strength dam against prospective capital inflows - using the pent up energy to freely power up the Chinese economy - it now suits them to bring that dam down. Spotlight swings to interdealer brokers: The UBS Libor settlement swings the spotlight on to the role of interdealer brokers in the burgeoning scandal, alleging that employees at these institutions actively "colluded" with rate-fixing efforts - and were handsomely rewarded for it. The watchdog says the traders made more than 1,000 requests to 11 employees at six interdealer broker firms, reports the FT. German business confidence rises again in December: The Ifo institute's business climate index rose for the second consecutive month, climbing to 102.4 from 101.4 in November. Analysts predicted a rise to 102, according to the median forecast of 43 economists, reports Bloomberg. Greek bond bet pays off for hedge fund: One of the world's most prominent hedge funds is sitting on a $500m profit after making a bet that Greece would not be forced to leave the eurozone, bucking the trend in a difficult year for the industry. Third Point, headed by the billionaire US investor Dan Loeb, tendered the majority of a $1bn position in Greek government bonds, built up only months earlier, as part of a landmark debt buyback deal by Athens on Monday, according to people familiar with the firm, the FT reports. Lloyds expects Sandy hit of up to $2.5bn: The insurance group said it would be able to pay out without suffering financial stress, reports Reuters. "The Lloyd's insurance market remains financially strong and, while claims from this storm could still evolve over time, the market's total exposure is well within the worst case scenarios we model and prepare for," Chief Executive Richard Ward said. US party leaders test fiscal cliff plans: White House officials and Republican leaders in the House of Representatives huddled with members of their parties in Congress, testing their willingness to make the final compromises needed for a fiscal cliff deal in the coming days. John Boehner, Republican speaker, held two meetings with rank-and-file conservatives on Tuesday in an attempt to shore up internal support for his recent proposal to allow tax rates to increase on those earning more than $1m. This concession has drawn scepticism from many House Republicans, though not enough outright opposition to scuttle any deal, reports the FT. Sants secures £3m package at Barclays: Hector Sants will receive a total remuneration package worth as much as £3m as part of his move to Barclays next month, according to people familiar with the deal. The package will make the former chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, who is set to become Barclays" head of compliance and government relations at the end of January, one of the 10 best-paid executives at the UK lender, reports the FT. Sants is to be paid a base salary in line with the £700,000 earned by other top executives, though the annual bonus will be lower, at less than £1m, depending on performance, according to people briefed on the package. China dispute hits Japanese exports: Japan suffered another sharp decline in exports to China in November, reflecting a slowdown in Chinese growth and the lingering damage of a territorial dispute. The trade deficit for this year is on course to be an annual record, given that the cumulative deficit in the year to date is Y6.8tn. The record trade deficit so far was the Y2.6tn posted in 1980, the FT reports. Markets: Global stocks are trading near 17-month highs as optimism builds that Washington will reach a deal in US budget talks, while Japan's Nikkei index topped 10,000 for the first time since April on expectations of aggressive monetary easing, reports the FT's global markets overview. The FTSE All-World equity index is up 0.3 per cent to 226, its loftiest level since July 2011, after the Asia-Pacific region added 1.1 per cent and as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 opens the session in good form. The Europe-wide barometer is gaining 0.3 per cent as Germany's Dax index flirts with five-year highs.