A survey that canvasses both business and consumers shows Irish confidence in the economic recovery has improved, but employers are still less upbeat than before the UK voted last summer to leave the EU.

Financial regulators in Britain are investigating Barclays CEO Jes Staley and the bank over the handling of a whistleblowing incident.

The jury in the London trial of five former Barclays traders charged with conspiracy to manipulate global Libor interest rates yesterday retired to consider its verdict after hearing more than 10 weeks of evidence.

The jury in the London trial of five former Barclays traders charged with conspiracy to manipulate global Libor interest rates yesterday retired to consider its verdict after hearing more than 10 weeks of evidence.

The world’s biggest oil companies, set to report their worst quarterly earnings in more than a decade, are finding their cost-cutting efforts haven’t matched the decline in crude prices the past two years.

The European Central Bank’s supervisory arm has set the capital levels the eurozone’s largest lenders must hold and will communicate its draft decisions to the banks shortly, according to sources.

Barclays boss John McFarlane has signalled more job cuts to come at the bank as he set out plans to ramp up earnings growth and squeeze costs after half-year profits jumped by 25% but returns for shareholders remained low.

Barclays has set aside another £800m (€1.1bn) to cover potential settlements for alleged foreign exchange manipulation, hitting profits and reflecting its struggle to put past problems behind it.

Barclays bank boss Antony Jenkins has accepted his first annual bonus since taking over but a rise in underlying profits was marred by a fresh £750m hit from the foreign exchange (forex) rate-rigging scandal.

Barclays’ ‘dark pool’ saw a 33% weekly drop in the number of shares traded, suggesting a US lawsuit alleging it misled customers continues to weigh on volumes while threatening revenue at its investment bank.

Barclays is to sell the bulk of its operations in Spain after agreeing a deal worth £630m with one of the country’s biggest banks.

Barclays has vowed to fight a fraud lawsuit in which New York’s attorney general alleged the banking giant misled large institutional investors.

Barclays boss Antony Jenkins faces one of the biggest tests of his leadership this month when he decides whether the bank, Britain’s third largest, should fight accusations it deceived and defrauded customers in the US.

As much as £3bn has been wiped off the value of Barclays after the banking giant became the subject of a fraud lawsuit in New York.

Barclays’ boss Antony Jenkins today banished the ghost of Bob Diamond as he took an axe to highly-paid staff at the investment banking division built up by his predecessor.

USA:

The multi-million-euro battle for control of three of London’s most prestigious hotels pitting Irish businessman Patrick McKillen against billionaire brothers David and Frederick Barclay has finally been resolved.

People will be able to pay in a cheque by sending a smartphone image of it to their bank under British Government proposals to bolster the long-term future of the payment method.

Barclays is reviewing overdraft fees and charges faced by nearly 12 million UK current account customers as it plans a major overhaul to rid itself of “any sins of the past”.

A group of alleged cyber plotters accused of stealing £1.3m from a British bank branch by taking control of its computer system will appear in court today.

A man described by police as the “Mr Big” of UK cyber crime is believed to be among plotters who stole £1.3m (€1.5m) from a bank branch by taking control of its computer system.

Connections of Simenon are “committed” in their pursuit of the Emirates Melbourne Cup – even though the talented stayer is not yet guaranteed a place in the final line-up.

Barclays is set to launch its £5.8bn (€6.83bn) rights issue in two weeks, possibly on the fifth anniversary of its takeover of the US operations of Lehman Brothers.

Concerns about a multi-billion pound share issue and more provisions for mis-selling weighed heavily on Barclays today.

Barclays will, this week, say how it plans to meet tougher UK rules on capital, while strong earnings from Lloyds Banking Group will pave the way for Britain to sell some of its shares in the bank.

Barclays’ first quarter profits have slumped by a quarter as the cost of its overhaul weighs on the bank.

Scandal-hit Barclays is reportedly in talks with shareholders over plans to pay its new boss a seven-figure bonus.

Barclays’ staff were today told to sign up to an ethical code of conduct or quit, as part of the British bank’s crusade to repair its battered reputation.

Tech giants will unveil gadgets mid-way between tablet PCs and phones at Las Vegas’s CES tech show today — and analysts predict they will be a hit.

Barclays’ new chief executive today signalled plans to shrink the investment banking arm that dominated the reign of predecessor Bob Diamond.

Barclays handed the job of restoring its tarnished reputation to an insider today as another scandal threatened to engulf the UK bank.

The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into payments made between Barclays and Middle East investors it tapped for funds at the height of the financial crisis.

Standard Chartered has seen £6bn (€7.5bn) wiped from its value amid fears it could lose its US banking licence after regulators branded the lender a “rogue institution” over its dealings with the Iranian government.

The British banking industry was mired in fresh scandal today after Standard Chartered was branded a “rogue institution” for covering up billions of pounds of illegal transactions with the Iranian government.

The RBS banking group tonight reported its operations had returned to normal after thousands of customers had problems with online banking and debit cards.

The leadership crisis at Barclays showed no signs of easing today after the frontrunner for the role of chairman reportedly withdrew from the race.

Bank of England boss Mervyn King told MPs he was not to blame for failing to spot the rate-rigging scandal engulfing the industry amid mounting accusations over the central bank’s role..

The former Barclays director who told staff to lower their interest rate submissions following a misunderstanding with the Bank of England will give evidence to MPs today.

If we take Bob Diamond and Paul Tucker at their word, part of the Libor scandal at Barclays can be chalked up to a series of comic misunderstandings, like a children’s game of telephone.

DO we really want a random collection of unqualified TDs investigating the most calamitous financial disaster in the history of the State?

Britain’s biggest banks were tonight embroiled in a criminal investigation after the Serious Fraud Office opened an official inquiry into the rate-rigging affair.

The former head of Barclays apologised for the “reprehensible” behaviour of his traders who fixed interest rates, but told British MPs his bank was unfairly singled out after coming forward to admit wrongdoing.

Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond today said the bank lowered key lending rates amid fears the British government would want to nationalise the lender during the financial crisis.

It is easy enough to talk about the idea of society, of collegiality, of collective responsibility, of a robust, positive national pride, even of a community-wide unity of purpose.

A phone call between Barclays boss Bob Diamond and the Bank of Englandultimately led to some of the rate-rigging actions at the heart of the ongoing banking scandal, the bank said yesterday.

Pressure mounted for Barclays Plc chief executive Bob Diamond to quit after Britain’s third-biggest bank sacrificed its chairman over an interest rate rigging scandal that has dealt “a devastating blow” to its reputation.

Barclays shares rose 3% today as chairman Marcus Agius’s decision to step down in the wake of the rate-rigging scandal was backed by investors.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King launched an attack on the British banking culture yesterday, saying something had gone very wrong with an industry which he derided for resorting to “deceitful” methods to make money.

More than £3bn (€3.75bn) was wiped off Barclays’ market value today as its rate-rigging scandal sent shockwaves throughout the banking sector.

Serious Fraud Office investigators are in talks with the City watchdog in Britain over the Barclays rate-rigging scandal that has rocked the banking industry, Chancellor George Osborne said today.