Citigroup’s embattled chairman and chief executive Charles Prince, beset by billions of dollars in losses from investing in bad debt, has retired, the company said tonight.

US stocks finished an erratic session lower today, with a conflicting report on wholesale inflation and questions about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy creating uncertainty for investors.

German regulators say they have found evidence that a large bond trade last year by Citigroup, the world’s largest financial institution, resulted in market manipulation, according to a report today.

Citigroup Inc, the world’s biggest bank, said second-quarter profit fell 73% after it set aside $4.95 billion to pay for legal costs.

Citigroup has reported a near doubling of Q4 earnings from the corresponding period a year earlier.