Barclays Q1 profit up on investment bank rebound

Barclays posted a 22 percent rise in first-quarter profit, ahead of market forecasts, as a strong rebound in revenue from its investment banking arm and a drop in bad debt countered increased compensation ...

Barclays is axing 3,700 jobs following a six month strategic review by new chief executive Antony Jenkins, who is pledging to change the culture of the bank in the wake of the Libor rigging scandal, reports The Guardian. He confirmed that the bank was shutting its structured capital markets tax avoidance unit which has been described as facilitating “industrial scale tax avoidance”.

LONDON (Reuters) - British ba

An increase in profits at the big five UK banks was wiped out by more than £11bn of fines and compensation payments in 2012, reports The Guardian. Despite an improved core business performance, fines from regulators and the costs of the mis-selling of payment protection insurance contributed to a 40% cumulative drop in profits from 2011 to £11.7bn, according to accountants KMPG.

LONDON (Reuters) - WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, reported a stronger-than-expected rebound in revenue growth at the end of 2012 and nudged up its forecast for this year, citing signs of improving business confidence.