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General Electric: Profits yes, taxes no

Despite reporting $14.2 billion in worldwide profits in 2010, General Electric paid no U.S. income taxes for that year, said David Kocieniewski in The New York Times. In fact, by keeping its profits offshore, and exploiting tax breaks here, it claimed a $3.2 billion refund from Uncle Sam. The U.S. corporate tax rate, at 35 percent, is among the highest in the world, but GE’s tax department is “often referred to as the world’s best tax law firm.” The company also benefits from “fierce lobbying for tax breaks.” And it is not alone: The corporate share of U.S. tax receipts has plunged from 30 percent in the mid-1950s to 6.6 percent in 2009.

Having spent $200 million on lobbying in the past decade, GE can count on a respectful hearing in Washington, said TheDailyBeast.com. Once, “when a generous tax break was about to expire, the head of GE’s tax team met with Rep. Charles Rangel, then chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and begged for an extension on one knee.” After that meeting, GE’s precious loophole was restored, “and Rangel got a $30 million gift for New York City schools.”

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Insider trading: Goldman’s chief takes the stand

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein testified last week at the insider-trading trial of hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, telling the jury that former Goldman board member Rajat Gupta “violated the firm’s confidentiality policies” when he fed Rajaratnam information about “the firm’s earnings and strategic plans,” including the possible acquisition of a commercial bank, said Patricia Hurtado in Bloomberg.com. Blankfein made his remarks after hearing a secretly recorded telephone call that Gupta, a former head of McKinsey & Co., made to Rajaratnam moments after a Goldman board meeting ended in 2008.

Banking: Bank of America’s dividend request denied

The Federal Reserve dealt Bank of America a setback last week, raising objections to the bank’s plan to raise its dividend in the second half of this year, said Samantha Bomkamp in the Associated Press. BofA’s shareholder payout has fallen to one cent a share in the past two years, after peaking at 64 cents a share in 2008. The Fed wants to see evidence that the bank’s capital cushion is “strong enough to weather another recession” before giving its blessing to a dividend increase.

Pharmaceuticals: Bristol-Myers gets the go-ahead

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Yervoy, a drug developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, to treat melanoma, said Scott Roberts in HealthDay.com. The drug “appears to block a molecule called CTLA-4 that is believed to slow or disable the immune system, hindering the body’s ability to fight cancer.” Last year, 68,130 cases of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, were diagnosed in the U.S., and about 8,700 people died from the ailment.

The Federal Reserve: Bernanke to lift the veil

Beginning April 27, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold news conferences four times a year, said Binyamin Appelbaum in The New York Times. The press briefings, which will be broadcast online, will be held after “selected meetings of the Fed’s policy-making committee.” The Fed has long operated with a high degree of secrecy, “but the heated, widespread criticism of its response to the financial crisis has forced the Fed to the recognition that it is ultimately a political institution” that must cultivate public support.