Sarah Ferguson 'sorry' for bribe deal

Sarah Ferguson has been keeping a low profile while visiting Hollywood after a newspaper secretly filmed her trying to sell access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.

She's not normally camera-shy but a tired-looking Sarah Ferguson avoided reporters on her arrival at Los Angeles airport. And again later when she was due to be the star of a Hollywood red-carpet event, honoured by a childrens' charity for her humanitarian work. But her efforts to help others have been overshadowed by her attempts to help herself and Ms Ferguson sneaked in to collect her award.

She has said she's sorry after a newspaper secretly filmed her offering access to Prince Andrew for half a million pounds. There's no suggestion he knew of her plan.

In the past Sarah Ferguson has been an author, TV presenter and film producer. But her media company recently collapsed with large debts. She admitted money problems but said they were no excuse for a serious lapse in judgement. This attempted deal, though not illegal, may have gone too far.

· camera-shy

· someone who doesn't want photographers to take photographs of her

· red-carpet event

· an occasion when a long, red floor covering is put down for important guests to walk on when they visit somewhere and receive a special official welcome or a special prize

· humanitarian work

· projects which benefit people who are poor, sick, suffering or in need of help

· overshadowed by

· seen to be less important than something else

· to help herself

· to look after her own needs and desires (before considering the needs of others)

· sneaked in

· entered a building in a secretive way, in a way that would not attract attention

· collapsed with large debts

· failed and owed a lot of money

· admitted money problems

· said that she had difficulties because she didn't have enough money

· a serious lapse in judgement

· making a very bad decision

· have gone too far

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Pensioners accused of kidnapping

Four pensioners have appeared in court accused of kidnapping their financial advisor.

The pensioners allegedly blamed him for losing two and a half million euros of their money during the recent financial crisis.

In Germany, if you think your financial advisor has been giving you bad advice and messing up your investments, you can complain to the regulators, you can go to the police. But in Bavaria, one group of pensioners stands accused of employing a much more direct method of registering their dissatisfaction. They're on trial for kidnapping their financial advisor and holding him hostage.

Four senior citizens, aged between 63 and 79, had invested nearly three and a half million dollars in the US property market and lost it all in the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. They'd concluded that the man who'd handled the investment should now reimburse them.

According to prosecutors, last summer the pensioner posse plus one accomplice abducted the financial advisor outside his house, tied him, gagged him, put him in a box and transported him in the boot of a car 450 kilometres to a lakeside retreat.

He claims to have spent four days locked in the cellar there and to have been tortured. After agreeing to their demands, the prisoner was allowed to send a fax to Switzerland arranging payment. He concealed the phrase 'call the Police' in the text and the alarm was raised. Soon after a crack team of commandos came to the rescue.

On the opening day of the trial, the 74 year old alleged ringleader of the gang avoided using the word 'kidnap'. He said he and his co-defendants had only wanted to treat their guest to a couple of days holiday in Bavaria.

· messing up

· spoiling, causing problems for

· the regulators

· officially appointed people who make sure that rules are followed within an industry or organisation

· registering their dissatisfaction

· making it known how unhappy they are

· holding him hostage

· capturing and keeping him until they get what they want

· the sub-prime mortgage meltdown

· the financial crisis caused by too many unpaid home loans that are owed to banks around the world

· the pensioner posse

· the group or gang of retired people working together

· accomplice

· someone who helps another person to commit a crime

· abducted

· kidnapped, illegally took someone away

· gagged him

· tied a piece of cloth over his mouth or put it inside his mouth to stop him from speaking or calling for help

· a crack team of commandos

· a highly skilled team of soldiers, specially trained to carry out raids and rescue people who are being held hostage

· co-defendants

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'Junk' bonuses now worth billions

Bonuses, thought to be worthless and given to Credit Suisse bankers as punishment for their poor work, have now become much more valuable than many other 'safer' investments.

The five billion dollar pool of so-called 'Toxic Debt' was originally described as a way of forcing Credit Suisse investment bankers to "eat their own cooking".

The bank lost seven billion dollars last year, in large part because of the investment decisions of some of its best paid staff. They'd put money into complicated financial products linked to risky commercial debt secured, on among other things, a Japanese shopping centre, an American supermarket chain and other commercial property that had plunged in value.

At the height of the financial crisis, many people thought these investments were worthless. To Credit Suisse, it seemed right to share them out as annual bonuses among the people who had apparently got things so wrong. But as confidence has returned to the market, it's become clear that the toxic asset pool wasn't nearly as toxic as had been thought.

The toxic bonus fund has soared in value by 72 percent. That compares with a 60 percent increase in the value of Credit Suisse shares over the same period, or a mere 19 percent rise in America's Dow Jones index.

The bankers may well feel they've earned their money though. Credit Suisse is safely back in profit and unlike its rivals at UBS, Credit Suisse didn't take a bail out from the Swiss Government.

· toxic debt

· loans bought from other financial institutions which failed to make money becausepeople and organisatios were unable to pay them back; such loans are thought of as poisonous

· financial products

· services that financial companies offer to help them make money, such as bank loans, mortgages and insurance policies

· risky

· dangerous, likely to fail, may cause loss or harm

· secured

· guaranteed

· supermarket chain

· group of supermarkets in different areas which all have the same name and are owned by the same company

· plunged in value

· was suddenly worth a lot less money than before

· asset pool

· collection of investments which the owners believe will go up in value rather go down