Business_Finance

20121211-192128-pic-662942850.jpg

Sen. Jeff Bingaman reported the Dec. 3 sale of between $250,001 and $500,000 in HSBC stock on forms he filed with the Senate on Dec. 8. Three days later, HSBC announced it agreed to the record settlement. (Associated Press)

Fiscal Cliff Ghosts P_Star.jpg

FILE - This Dec. 5, 2012 file photo shows President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the fiscal cliff at the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers, in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

APTOPIX Fiscal Cliff_Star.jpg

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio leaves his office and walks to the House floor to deliver remarks about negotiations with President Obama on the fiscal cliff, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Exxon Energy_Live.jpg

**FILE** Steam rises from towers at an Exxon Mobil refinery in Baytown, Texas, on April 16, 2010. (Associated Press)

Wall Street_Live(1).jpg

Trader George Ettinger works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 11, 2012. (Associated Press)

Fiscal Cliff_Live.jpg

House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, leaves his office Dec. 11, 2012, and walks to the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington to deliver remarks about negotiations with President Obama on the "fiscal cliff." (Associated Press)

A123_WEB_20121211_0006

**FILE** President Obama, accompanied by business people, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on April 30, 2010. (Associated Press)

A123_WEB_20121211_0005

**FILE** A123 Systems Inc. high power Nanophospate Lithium Ion Cell for Hybrid Electric Vehicles batteries are shown Aug. 6, 2009 in Livonia, Mich. (Associated Press)

A123_WEB_20121211_0003

**FILE** President Bush (center) listens to Dave Vieau (right), president and CEO of A123 Systems, as he is shown a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid car utilizing a lithium power battery during a demonstration of alternative fuel automobiles on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Feb. 23, 2007. At left is Energy Secretary Sam Bodman. (Associated Press)

A123_WEB_20121211_0002

**FILE** A123 Systems President and CEO David Vieau addresses the media July 18, 2011, in Romulus, Mich. (Associated Press)

Hong Kong Britain Ban_Lea.jpg

In this file photo, pedestrians pass a sign with the HSBC logo in Hong Kong on Monday, July 30, 2012. On Jan. 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that HSBC Holdings has agreed to pay $101.5 million to settle claims it defrauded two of its clients. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)