Swiss court stops handover of Credit Suisse employee's data to U.S.

GENEVA (Reuters) - A Swiss court has ordered an injunction halting the transfer of a former Credit Suisse employee's data to U.S. tax authorities, a lawyer involved in the case said on Tuesday.

The ruling highlights Switzerland's difficulties in balancing traditions of personal privacy against the United States' demands for data from roughly a dozen Swiss banks under formal investigation by U.S. prosecutors.

Those banks, including Zurich-based Credit Suisse, have been handing over information on their U.S. dealings for months now, part of efforts to avoid indictment and minimize fines for their role in helping wealthy Americans to evade taxes.

While these banks have clinched special Swiss governmentpermission to deliver business data - but no client files - parliament failed last week to back a draft law covering the wider Swiss banking industry.

Douglas Hornung, a Geneva-based lawyer acting for the former Credit Suisse employee in the case, said the court ruling was made on June 21, confirming a preliminary decision in January.

While the court ruling is for one person's data, "it will set a precedent and could be repeated for other employees who had access to U.S. clients," Hornung, who also represents other former bankers, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Credit Suisse spokesman Marc Dosch declined to comment.

The Swiss banks under formal U.S. investigation have already made several transfers of data on employees linked to accounts of its U.S. customers, the last of which was in June.

Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS , was forced to pay a $780 million fine in 2009 and deliver the names of more than 4,000 clients to avoid indictment.

However, a U.S. indictment felled Wegelin & Co this year. Switzerland's oldest private bank paid a $58 million fine and closed its doors for good after pleading guilty to helping Americans to evade taxes through secret accounts.

FBI probes missing $1.2 million in cash from NY-bound SWISS plane

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The FBI on Tuesday was investigating the disappearance of $1.2 million in cash from a SWISS International Airline's jet that landed a day earlier at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

An FBI spokeswoman declined to specify when the money was first determined to be missing. She said FBI agents were involved in an active investigation with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which runs the area airports.

SWISS runs three flights to JFK every day: two from Zurich and one from Geneva, according to an airline spokesperson.

Susanne Mühlemann, a spokeswoman for the airline, declined to specify on which flight the money was supposed to arrive and declined to comment further on the investigation.

"We do not have any indication of any item being removed from a SWISS airline's aircraft," Mühlemann said.

Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman had no comment.

JFK airport has been targeted by thieves in the past, including the notorious heist of $5 million in cash from the Lufthansa terminal, a crime that was portrayed in the 1990 movie "Goodfellas".

MARKET EYE- Indian shares on way to biggest single-day fall in nearly 16 months

* India's main BSE index falls 2.5 percent, while the

broader NSE index is 2.6 percent lower, heading towardstheir biggest single-day percentage fall since Feb. 27, 2012.* Bonds, shares and commodities fell sharply around the world onThursday and the dollar rose after the U.S. Federal Reserveexplicitly signalled an end to easy money and data showedChina's economy slowing.
* The Indian rupee slumped to a record low on Thursday, whilestocks and bonds were hit, after the Fed signalled a tapering ofits monetary stimulus, highlighting the country's dependence onforeign capital inflows to fund its current account deficit. * Shares of large-cap private banks fall as traders fear thathigh foreign holding in these stocks makes them more vulnerable,as a sell-off after the Federal Reserve signalled an eventualend to free money.
* ICICI Bank Ltd, with 37.94 percent FII holding,falls 4 percent, while HDFC Bank, where FIIs hold34.07 percent of total shares, is down 3.9 percent.
* Traders also worry an end to the U.S. monetary stimulus couldlead to portfolio outflows, pushing the rupee lowerand, in turn, delaying any rate cuts from the central bank.

Rupee at record low as India seen lacking options to brake fall

(Reuters) - A top official said the government has options to stem a fall in the rupee but did not offer any specifics, turning the focus on the RBI to stem a rout that sent the rupee to record lows and bond yields surging on Thursday.

The rupee, the worst Asian performer on Thursday in a global market sell-off, was instead supported by the Reserve Bank of India, which stepped in to sell dollars after it slumped to a record low of 59.9350 against the dollar, traders said.

Yet, traders said the RBI's firepower was likely to be limited given it has foreign exchange reserves of $290 billion, only enough to cover imports for seven months.

The mixed government messages and a cautious RBI are exacerbating the perceived vulnerability of a country suffering from a record-high current account deficit in the midst of a global downturn sparked by potential tapering in U.S. monetary stimulus and a weakening Chinese economy.

"Both the willingness and ability appear to be limited for the government," said Samiran Chakrabarty, head of research at Standard Chartered Bank in Mumbai.

"The RBI is also favouring relative free movement of the currency," he added.

The rupee has been among the top decliners in emerging currencies since May due to a current account deficit that hit a record 6.7 percent of gross domestic product in the October-December quarter. It was last trading at 59.82/81 from its 58.71/72 close on Wednesday.