Stars React To Their Golden Globe Nominations

The 70th Annual Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning from Hollywood, recognizing the best in film and television. From Nicole Kidman to Tim Burton, read on below for the stars' reactions to their big honors!

Leonardo DiCaprio, nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Django Unchained:
"I'm truly honored to be nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association today. Django Unchained was a remarkable experience and I consider myself lucky to work with Quentin and the entire cast on the film. I'm particularly proud to be named alongside my fellow Django nominees."

Daniel Day-Lewis, nominated for Best Actor - Drama, Lincoln:
"Just so happy to have a really good reason to stop Christmas shopping for a day. Opening a bottle immediately to celebrate my Golden Globe nomination for Homeland. I'm thrilled that Claire and Mandy were also nominated for their performances, and look forward to celebrating with the whole cast in Los Angeles in January. Thank you HFPA!"

Taylor Swift, nominated for Best Original Song, Safe & Sound for The Hunger Games:
"What an amazing and unexpected present! I'm blown away by my first-ever Golden Globe nomination, and so honored to be nominated with T Bone Burnett and The Civil Wars. Writing music for The Hunger Games was a labor of love -- I was a fan of the stories and the characters, and we all wanted the music to have an authenticity that matched the tone of the movie and the emotions expressed in the book. This is a huge honor, and I'm really excited and so flattered. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association!"

Nicole Kidman, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The Paperboy and Best Actress Mini-Series or TV Movie, Hemingway & Gellhorn:
"As an actor you look for roles that are rich, complicated, and that stretch you and this year I was blessed to find two. To have the chance to play them was a gift in itself and to then be acknowledged this way is icing on the cake. Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press!"

Related: 2013 Golden Globes -- And the Nominees Are ...

Tim Burton, nominated for Best Animated Feature, Frankenweenie:
"I'm thrilled to be recognized by the HFPA. Frankenweenie is a very personal project for me and the nomination goes as much to the animators who labored frame by frame to bring this film to life."

Clive Owen, nominated for Best Actor, Mini-Series or TV Movie, Hemingway & Gellhorn:
"I'd like to say a big thank you to The Hollywood Foreign Press. I am really thrilled as this recognition is for a piece of work I'm very proud of and had such a good time on."

Amy Adams, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The Master:
"Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press for this nomination. I’m so appreciative to have been part of Paul Thomas Anderson’s extraordinary film and to have had the opportunity to star alongside such respected actors as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix who were nothing short of brilliant in their performances."

Bradley Cooper, nominated for Best Actor, Silver Linings Playbook:
"To see this film recognized by the HFPA is huge for us. And for me, personally, to be in a room with Bill Murray, Daniel Day-Lewis? Forget about it!," Cooper tells The Hollywood Reporter. "We released the film in limited theaters, so it's all been about word of mouth in a very positive way. These nominations bode well for more people being able to see it. At all these screenings and Q&As, so many people say they are very affected by it; that the family feels real and relatable…that's all [director] David O. Russell. That's the film he set out to make. A movie about real people."

Ewan McGregor, nominated for Best Actor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen:
"Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press for this nomination. It's wonderful that our movie left its mark. Emily Blunt is such a talent and a joy to work with, and I'm so happy the HFPA recognized her performance, as well as our film. I look forward to the Golden Globes, as they are always fun and send my congratulations to all those who believed and participated in Lasse's vision."

Emily Blunt, nominated for Best Actress, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen:
"I'm so incredibly thankful to the Hollywood Foreign Press for recognizing our little movie that could. Ewan and the entire cast and crew could not be more deserving of this honor, and I'm thrilled that I'm able to share this moment among such a fantastic group of nominees."

Jack Black, nominated for Best Actor - Comedy or Musical, Bernie:
"Ok...I'm only doing Richard Linklater movies from now on. I'm so proud of our little engine that could. Thank you HFPA!"

Hayden Panettiere, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Nashville:
"I'm the epitome of surprise and shocked!," Panettiere tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I didn't know whether to ball hysterically or jump up and down on the bed so I decided to do both. I feel like I'm going through the same struggles as Juliette: she wants to be respected in her craft, she knows how people perceive her and what they think she's capable of but she knows capable of more and I feel like I've been fighting the same battle and it's paid off. I'm so flattered and humbled."

Glenn Close, nominated for Best Actress - Drama, Damages:
"Damages was one of the greatest adventures of my career. I am deeply grateful to The Hollywood Foreign Press for their recognition of my work in our final season. I represent our entire Damages team in thanking them for their support over the past five years. Patty Hewes was the inspiration of a brilliant team of writers, honed by her interactions with a remarkable roster of guest stars. I couldn’t have had a better partner in the exquisite Rose Byrne. The relationship of Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons is unique storytelling. Their journey resulted in what I think is a great modern American tragedy that will stand the test of time."

Max Greenfield, nominated for Best Supporting Actor, New Girl:
"I got the phone call at 5:30 in the morning, and now the house is awake -- including my daughter, who is never up this early. She has demanded Dora The Explorer, so that is happening," Greenfield tells The Hollywood Reporter. "This is amazing, though. There was an email going around when it happened with my manager and my agent and a bunch of people, and my only response was 'Does this mean I'm as good of an actor as [fellow nominee] Ed Harris?' I can literally tell you what movie theater and where exactly I was sitting when I saw Pollock."

Lena Dunham, nominated for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical and Best Series - Musical or Comedy, Girls:
"This is an incredible honor and the most wonderful ending to an amazing year. Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press. I'm thrilled to share this with our amazing cast and crew."

Rachel Weisz, nominated for Best Actress - Drama, Deep Blue Sea:
"I am deeply grateful for this nomination, and in particular, for the HFPA's recognition of the hard work and passion that Terence Davies brought to this wonderful British indie. I am thrilled that this nomination might allow his beautiful work to reach a larger audience."

Alan Arkin, nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Argo:
"I am deeply grateful for this honor and particularly moved in being in the company of Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Tommy Lee Jones who I deeply admire. I am also thrilled that Ben is getting the attention he so much deserves, as is Argo."

Matt LeBlanc, nominated for Best Actor - Comedy or Musical, Best Series - Comedy or Musical, Episodes:
"It's an incredible honor to be nominated again for a show that I am so proud to be a part of. And I am thrilled that the show has been recognized as well because everyone involved works so hard. Thank you Hollywood Foreign Press."

Quentin Tarantino, nominated for Best Picture - Drama, Best Director and Best Screenplay, Django Unchained:
"It's very gratifying to get this many nominations from the HFPA for a film I worked so hard on and am so passionate about. I look forward to having fun at the Golden Globes with my cast mates and fellow nominees."

Steve Buscemi, nominated for Best Actor - Drama, Boardwalk Empire:
"I'm so grateful to be able to play Nucky, it never gets old."

Jeff Daniels, nominated for Best Actor, Drama and Best Series, Drama, The Newsroom:
"To me, being honored with a Golden Globe Nomination means even more because it's for THE NEWSROOM."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, nominated for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical, Veep:
"The reason that I do this job is to serve, not to receive accolades and trophies. That said, I'm freakin' stoked. God bless America and the Hollywood Foreign Press, specifically."

Don Cheadle, nominated for Best Actor - Comedy or Musical, House of Lies:
"I'm over the moon for the nom. This is a great show and a great cast and this is a recognition of all of us... But mostly me."

Mandy Patinkin, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Homeland:
"I am thrilled to be a part of this company. Working on HOMELAND has been one of the joys of my life. We have such gifted writers - I have to pinch myself every day that I get to be a part of this company. Still - the real big news we are all waiting for is Claire's baby. When I get that call, the fireworks will really start."

Kathryn Bigelow, nominated for Best Director and Best Picture - Drama, Zero Dark Thirty:
"It's an honor, sincerely, and very humbling to be singled out this way by the HFPA. We're grateful, and encouraged by their support, especially since our film has such a diverse, international cast, and as the HFPA represent so many countries across the globe. And a big congratulations to the amazing Jessica Chastain and my producing partner and screenwriter Mark Boal."

John Hawkes, nominated for Best Actor - Drama, The Sessions:
"I'm so honored by these nominations and excited that the film is receiving this recognition."

Homeland co-creator Howard Gordon, nominated for Best Drama Series:
"It's a been a great year for television and to be recognized by the HFPA in the company of such extraordinary nominees is an incredible thrill. We're grateful to all the other shows on television for raising the standards each year and to everyone involved with Homeland – from the cast and crew to Showtime and Fox 21 for their hard work, creativity and support."

Director Rich Moore, nominated for Best Animated Feature, Wreck-It Ralph:
"Wreck-It Ralph was a labor of love for our entire team at Walt Disney Animation. We are so proud of the hard work that went into making this film, and to see it be recognized with a nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is truly an honor for all of us."

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Best Buy founder expected to make fully-financed offer for electronics retailer by mid-December deadline: report

Best Buy Co Inc founder Richard Schulze is expected to make a fully financed offer to buy the consumer electronics retailer by a mid-December deadline, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, citing a source.

Schulze's bid would be at least $5 billion to $6 billion, the newspaper reported late Wednesday, citing the source.

Best Buy shares jumped 14.5 percent to $13.94 in early trading. At that price, the retailer has a market value of $4.71 billion.

Schulze's bid at that level would be well below his initial offer range in August, when he said could acquire Best Buy for $24 to $26 per share, or a total between $8.16 billion and $8.84 billion. Including debt, it would be as much as $10.9 billion.

AP

Richard Schulze

The size of such a deal, combined with Best Buy's weak performance in the last two years, has made many on Wall Street doubt it could get done.

"There was skepticism in the market that he could get financing for the deal," Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy said, and with better odds that a deal will get done, the share price has increased.

Still, he wasn't sure that Best Buy's board or investors would go for such an offer, which would come to about $15-$18 a share.

A representative for Schulze did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Best Buy declined to comment on the report.

Since August the shares have fallen, and last month Best Buy reported a decline in same-store sales for the ninth time in the last 10 quarters.

Schulze will meet with his top advisers, including Brad Anderson, a former Best Buy chief executive, and Al Lenzmeier, a former president, in Minnesota on Thursday and Friday, the Star Tribune reported.

Schulze, who founded Best Buy in 1966, has said he would fund any deal through a combination of private equity and debt financing, as well as the reinvestment of some of his own equity in the company. He is Best Buy's biggest shareholder, with 20 percent ownership.

Last month, sources told Reuters that at least three private equity firms - Apollo Global Management LLC, TPG Capital Management LP and Leonard Green & Partners LP - were considering joining Schulze in the bid.

Best Buy's dominance has faded in recent years as consumers increasingly use its big box stores to browse and try out products, then buy them online at Amazon.com Inc or other websites.

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Wynwood co-working center funded by Knight Foundation, angel investors

The LAB Miami announced Thursday it will open a 10,000-square-foot co-working center in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and local angel investors are investing $650,000.

As Miami’s startup community continues to grow, The LAB Miami said its “work-learn campus” will offer an in-house mentor network that will include investors and serial entrepreneurs, said Wifredo Fernandez, co-founder of The LAB Miami with Danny Lafuente and Elisa Rodriguez-Vila.

The LAB Miami, now in a 720-square-foot space in the same neighborhood, turned a Goldman building at 400 NW 26th Street into an artsy, modern space that can support 300 members, including tech startups, programmers, designers, investors, nonprofits, artists and academics.

In addition to offering space to work, the new co-working space plans to offer courses and workshops in business and technology — including a startup school and code school — as well as art, design and education, Fernandez said. It will be a welcoming space for traveling Latin Americans, too. “We want this to be a community center for entrepreneurs,” said Fernandez, explaining that the mix of activities and workshops will be structured by the needs of the LAB’s members.

While the Knight Foundation’s Miami office has sponsored many entrepreneurship events in the past four months, this is the foundation’s largest investment announced so far in its efforts to help accelerate entrepreneurship in Miami, said the Knight Foundation’s Miami program director, Matt Haggman. The Knight Foundation’s Miami office, which made accelerating entrepreneurship one of its key areas of focus this year, is investing $250,000 with the rest of the funding coming from a group of investors lead by Marco Giberti, Faquiry Diaz-Cala, Boris Hirmas Said and Daniel Echavarria.

“This is an important part of our strategy,” said Haggman. “Entrepreneurs need places to gather, connect and learn.”

The LAB Miami has already hosted several events, including HackDay and Wayra DemoDay earlier this week, and the co-working space plans to open for membership in January.

Co-working space will start at $200 a month to use the communal tables, and private offices that will accommodate up to six are also available. The LAB will also offer “Connect” memberships for $40 a month, which allows members who do not need co-working space to participate in events. In addition, there will be phone booths, classrooms, flexible meeting spaces, a lounge area, a kitchen, a “pop-up shop” for local fashion, art or technology products, a shower for those who bike to work and an outside garden with native landscaping.

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South Florida pols sticking to party lines on fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON --
Don’t expect South Florida’s congressional delegation to stray too far from party lines when it comes to dancing on the edge of the fiscal cliff, the end-of-the-year spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect if Congress and the president don’t address them.

Democrats are firmly with President Barack Obama, whose proposal seeks to raise $600 billion over a decade by eliminating tax deductions and $960 billion over the same period by raising tax rates for the top 2 percent of income earners. Many Democrats sounded as though the highly charged presidential campaign was still under way.

Republicans are just as committed to their party.

There’s been "no evidence thus far" that Republicans are truly interested in the middle class, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Weston, who the president just asked again to head the Democratic National Committee.

"We need to continue to focus on rebuilding our economy from the middle class out," she said during an appearance on MSNBC.

"President Obama talked eloquently and passionately during the campaign about making sure that we can get a handle on this deficit, that we can rebuild our economy from the middle class out, that we can focus on creating jobs and getting the economy turned around," she added.

Equally firm: South Florida Democratic Reps. Alcee Hastings, of Miramar and Frederica Wilson, of Miami. Both are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which released a statement of principles this week calling for the Bush-era tax cuts to expire on the wealthiest Americans.

Social Security should be completely off the table, the caucus warned, and it said it would oppose any plans that change the eligibility for Medicare or cut Medicaid, the statement said.

Some Democrats made conciliatory moves, however. Sen. Bill Nelson said that during his campaign, voters told him they want consensus and an end to partisan gridlock.

"They want bipartisanship," he said in a video message. "They want to stop the ideological rigidity."

It’s the only way to rebuild the economy and reduce the federal deficit, while preserving Social Security and Medicare, he said. He called on people of both political parties "to reach across the aisle and work together so America doesn’t go over the cliff."

That’s unlikely to come from his Republican counterpart, Sen. Marco Rubio, who along with former vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was featured in a speech this week in Washington.

Rubio blamed the "complicated and uncertain tax code" for "hindering the creation of middle-class jobs." He gave no hint he would be interested in supporting the president’s tax proposal on the wealthiest Americans.

"You can’t open or grow a business if your taxes are too high or too uncertain. And that’s why I personally oppose the president’s plan to raise taxes," Rubio said. "This isn’t about a pledge. It isn’t about protecting millionaires and billionaires. For me, it’s about the fact that the tax increases he wants would fail to make even a small dent in the debt but it would hurt middle-class businesses and the people who work for them."

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Miami, was one of the few Republicans from South Florida to suggest she’d be open to tax reform, saying there needs to be a review of the tax code "to remove special interest tax loopholes used by the wealthy."

But she warned that the country’s debt exists "not because tax rates are too low, but because government spends too much."

Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, also of Miami, said he was less optimistic about a resolution now than he was right after the election.

He said he feels as though Republicans have moved closer to the president without getting credit for it.

"I’m very disappointed with the president’s response," he said in an interview.

"The speaker put forward a proposal, and whether you agree with it or not, there are a couple of things beyond debate: He’s gotten closer to the president’s position."

Even those on their way out of Congress made no move to cross party lines. Republican Rep. Allen West, of Plantation, who was ousted by Democrat Patrick Murphy, warned constituents in a letter that he didn’t think there was a true plan to reduce spending.

Rep. David Rivera, a Republican who lost his re-election bid and who will be replaced by Democrat Joe Garcia, did not respond to a request for comment.

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Fergie Dresses Up as 'Naughty Santa' For Josh Duhamel

Fergie revealed how she and husband Josh Duhamel keep things hot during the holiday season -- and it involves a sexy costume.

"One day every holiday season, he comes home and there's a naughty Mrs. Claus," the Black Eyed Peas front woman revealed to Ellen DeGeneres. "It depends how good he's being!"

A playful Fergie, 37, added, "It's a surprise. It's naughty and nice at the same time. It's super cute and fun."

Ellen also checked in on the thong she gifted Duhamel, 40, with the last time he was on her show. "It was too small," Fergie admitted. Ellen quipped back, "That's more information than we needed!"

RELATED: Stars In Their Best Holiday Gear

The Hollywood couple are known to send out holiday cards with a picture of themselves, but the singer confessed that they haven't mailed them out yet this year. "My husband orchestrates the whole thing and we're late this year because he's been filming a movie. He just finished Safe Haven with Julianne Hough and now he's doing You're Not You with Hilary Swank. I haven't been on the ball, so I'm waiting for him and we're going to have to do something last minute this year."

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Qns. thug brutally killed both parents within 15 months: officials

A Queens man will be arraigned tomorrow for murdering his two parents a mere 15 months apart, authorities said today.

On Aug. 20, Gregory Cucchiara, 36, allegedly killed his father Carmelo, 75, who was found smothered to death inside an Astoria apartment.

Investigators believe Cucchiara is also responsible for the death of his 66-year-old mother, Josephine, who was discovered drowned in a bathtub in her Bayside home on May 25, 2011.

In the August slay, blood was splattered on a pillow and the medical examiner ruled the cause of death as asphyxia from obstruction of the nose and mouth, according to court records.

During the autopsy, DNA evidence was removed from the dead man’s fingernails and a genetic profile match was made to Cucchiara, the court papers state.

Cucchiara was arrested Nov. 13 for murder and is being held without bail on Rikers Island, records show.

In the earlier murder, Cucchiara’s mom died from submersion of her head in water followed by blunt force trauma to the skull, according to the medical examiner’s office.

After Cucchiara was picked up for his father’s killing, he fought with detectives from the 114th Precinct, court records show. While swinging his arms, he hit a detective in his chest and injured a lieutenant’s shoulder, documents state.

For this incident, he was slapped with an additional assault rap.

He was most recently collared on April 12 for slashing tires on four cars, police sources said. He also has three other busts for felony assault, felony vehicular assault and DWI, sources added.

His rap sheet also boasts a bust in Sept. 2010 for possession of drug paraphernalia in Florida, records show.

He is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow on the two murder raps, said a spokeswoman for the Queens DA’s office.

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AutoNation: Back in the fast lane with expansion, higher sales

Despite an agonizingly slow economic recovery, the country’s largest auto retailer, Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, is thriving again as demand for vehicles expands.

The company, one of Florida’s largest, is posting increasingly strong profits and revenues. Just last week, in a sign of confidence, Autonation announced a major acquisition — buying six large auto stores in Texas — that will add about 700 employees to its national payroll of 19,400.

In announcing the deal Tuesday, which is expected to provide AutoNation with $575 million in additional revenues next year, the company’s CEO and chairman, Mike Jackson, expressed optimism about the prospects for continued growth in vehicle sales.

“You want to know what I’m thinking, look at what I do,” Jackson told viewers on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.

No information was released on the cost of the transactions, but in recent years auto dealerships sometimes sold for three to five times revenue, which would represent a significant investment for the company.

Tough times

To be sure, AutoNation has struggled through some tough times. It was battered by the Great Recession, which depressed sales and pushed the company into a $1.2 billion loss four years ago. As sales began to improve in 2010 and 2011, it was blindsided by a shortage of Japanese-made cars last year after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 shut down Japanese manufacturers of some essential components.

Since then, however, AutoNation has rebounded. Unit sales, revenues and profits all performed well in the first three quarters of this year, and the company expects new vehicle sales to continue their recovery nationwide, rising to the mid-14 million units this year, up from about 12.7 million in 2011. In the third quarter of 2012, AutoNation’s new car unit sales grew by 21 percent over the same period in 2011, doing better than an estimated 15 percent increase industry wide. November’s sales of new vehicles increased by 21 percent over November 2011 .

The big dealerships acquired sell Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Chrysler products in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth markets. They are expected to sell 14,000 new and used autos this year, and will add substantially to AutoNation’s future sales.

“We are in the right industry at the right time,” Jackson said during an interview. “The recovery in new vehicle sales is being driven by replacement demand,” added Jackson, who has 42 years of experience in the auto business. “The average age of the light vehicle fleet in the country has increased to 11 years, and even though cars and trucks last longer today, they can’t go on forever. About 12 to 13 million vehicles are scrapped every year and need to be replaced.”

Other factors are contributing to stronger demand for vehicles. “The population is growing, interest rates are low, there is ample credit available and manufacturers are producing a wide range of new models that offer attractive styling, power and greatly improved gas mileage,” said Jackson, who took over as AutoNation’s CEO in 1999. “Auto financing is more available than it has been in recent years. A little known fact is that people are more likely to default on a mortgage than on a vehicle loan.”

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Preservation board to vote on whether Herald building is historic

Miami's historic preservation board is meeting Monday to consider an application for designation of The Miami Herald building.

The public hearing, which is expected to take most of the day, began at 9:20 a.m. with a packed auditorium at Miami City Hall.

The city’s preservation officer opened the hearing by saying the building, occupied in 1962, meets the 50-year guideline for designation, which opponents of the move had questioned.

The property's new owner, casino operator Genting, is opposing designation, but the board can designate the building without the company's consent.

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Tom Brady: My Daughter Will Be An Athlete

After news hit that Gisele Bundchen gave birth to daughter Vivian Lake this past week, doting dad Tom Brady gushed over his new bundle of joy.

"It feels good,’’ Brady, 35, told the Boston Herald of the latest addition to his family. "Whatever we would have had, I would have been happy. We've got two beautiful boys, now a girl. It's great."

This is the third child for Brady, who has a 2-year-old son, Benjamin, with his supermodel wife, and a 5-year-old son, John, with actress Bridget Moynahan. Ben turned three on Saturday.

The New England Patriots QB assured the local newspaper that his wife and daughter were happy and healthy, adding that his little girl is "going to be an athlete."

Bundchen, 32, confirmed on her Facebook page Friday that she and Brady welcomed their second child together on Wednesday night. "We feel so lucky to have been able to experience the miracle of birth once again and are forever grateful for the opportunity to be the parents of another little angel," she said of her newborn.

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UK bank agrees to pay $330M to settle money laundering accusations

Finally!

UK bank Standard Chartered agreed to shell out roughly $330 million to resolve money laundering accusations levied by a team of US banking regulators and federal law enforcement.

The 150-year-old multinational financial institution, which handles transactions for countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. among others, admitted to the Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department that it violated New York state law by falsifying the records of its New York-based financial institution and by submitting false statements to its state and federal regulators about its business conduct.

The fat fine comes three months after hard-charging new regulator Ben Lawsky, head of the New York State Department of Financial Services, fined the British bank $340 million, accusing it of flouting US sanctions and laundering $250 billion for the dictatorial Iranian regime.

Back in September, Lawsky’s rapid-fire maneuvering angered StanChart officials and Lawsky’s fellow regulators, who saw the DFS boss as disruptive to the process of foreign negotiations.

Standard Chartered’s $327 million fine today breaks down to $100 million resolution with the Federal Reserve, a $132 million fine with the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the remainder going to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office and the Department of Justice.

“Investigations of financial institutions, businesses, and individuals who violate US sanctions by misusing banks in New York are vitally important to national security and the integrity of our banking system,” Vance said in a written statement.

The US agencies have been quietly negotiating to strike an agreement with the UK’s second largest bank over the past several months after conducting a three-year long investigation.

In a statement Standard Chartered said it doesn’t believe it violated laws on the vast majority of the billions in transactions it processed for foreign entities like Iran between 2001 and 2007.

“While [Standard Chartered Bank’s] omission of information affected approximately 60,000 payments related to Iran totalling $250 billion, the vast majority of those transactions do not appear to have been violations of the Iranian transactions regulations,” the bank wrote in a statement.

Standard Chartered run by CEO Peter Sands also said that it has taken steps to improve its screening of the entities which it does business.

The agreement brings the total amount of sanctions against banks in breach of money-laundering rules, including HSBC Bank, to roughly $2 billion.

That said, some have viewed the fines as a drop in the bucket compared with the billions of dollars allegedly laundered.

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