Barclays Share News (BARC)

The new Greek Prime Minister vowed last night to get the country out of the "dead end" created by austerity policies dictated by Europe. Antonis Samaras, outlining his coalition's programme to Parliament, confirmed that the country was not on track to meet the targets set by its international creditors. He said that Greece would not demand changes to the overall goals set by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund as conditions for its 130bn euro bailout in February, but it wanted a different policy mix. He proposed delaying some austerity measures, which are due to be completed within two years. But he vowed to repeal austerity policies that have triggered job losses, while pledging to speed up privatisations and make the country more investor-friendly. His speech threw into question Greece's readiness to press ahead with 150,000 public sector lay-offs required by the bailout, The Sunday Times reports.The Libor fixing scandal is set to explode across the continent in the coming weeks as it emerged that German regulators have launched an intensive probe into Deutsche Bank - one of the City's biggest employers - over the affair. BaFin, the country's financial watchdog, is said to have moved its existing investigation into the bank to the status of a "special investigation process" - indicating potential serious breaches. The results are expected by the middle of this month, Reuters reported, citing multiple sources, The Independent on Sunday says.Marks&Spencer is poised to reveal its worst quarterly trading for three years this week, heaping pressure on Marc Bolland, the chief executive, at Tuesday's annual meeting. Bolland, who has been at the helm of the FTSE 100 retailer for two years, is expected to announce a 7% drop in sales of clothing and homeware for the last quarter. The fall in recent trading raises fears that the 730-strong chain is losing the battle against rivals. There are also concerns that M&S may be forced to cut its profits forecast unless there is a sharp turnaround in coming months. Morgan Stanley, the group's joint broker, has already cut its pre-tax profit forecast for the year to March 2013 from £700m to £680m. M&S's share price is 15% below the recent peak at the end of March and closed the week down 3.4% to finish at 318p on Friday, writes The Sunday Times.Barclays's board is to ask former chief executive Bob Diamond to give up at least part of a possible £17m pay-off to save the bank's reputation from further damage. Discussions have already taken place with the Association of British Insurers, the trade group which represents billions of pounds of pension funds' investments, over plans to open negotiations with Mr Diamond over his exit payment. Manifest, the share voting agency, estimated that the compensation package for Mr Diamond after he resigned over the Libor fixing scandal could be as high as £17m. The Sunday Telegraph can also reveal growing anger among shareholders over the direct role the governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, played in Mr Diamond's departure and that Paul Tucker, the deputy governor, was directly warned about manipulation of the key London inter-bank offered rate, Libor, 11 months before his controversial call to Mr Diamond, the newspaper asserts.The economy is stuck in neutral and companies are sitting on their cash. You know what that means ? banks are sharpening their axes for another round of blood-letting. That does not bode well for Michael Page. The recruiter does not specialise in finance, but the impending cuts in the Square Mile are indicative of a malaise that stretches right across the economy. Its shares fell last week after rival Robert Walters reported a drop in profits. The stock closed on Friday at 364½p, down 5% on the week. So Steve Ingham, the chief executive, is unlikely to have good news for management tomorrow, writes The Sunday Times.Boeing versus Airbus is one of the corporate world's greatest and most visible corporate rivalries, a set-to between producers of world-class aircraft that transport millions of people around the globe every day. Airbus enjoyed a record year in 2011, booking net orders for 1,419 craft worth $140bn (£90bn) compared with Boeing's 805. The superiority over its American rival was rubbed in on Airbus's home turf of Paris last year, as a blizzard of deals was announced for the A320neo, a revamped version of its A320 short-haul workhorse. This year, however, it will probably be Boeing's turn to rule the skies, after Airbus admitted in January that it could not keep up the momentum for the neo, which is now being challenged by Boeing's version - the 737 Max, The Guardian writes. A decision on Britain's first shale gas development has been delayed until the autumn as the government struggles to craft a system to police the highly controversial industry. The process has been complicated further by concerns within the Department of Energy and Climate Change over the involvement of Lord Browne of Madingley, the former BP chief executive who was accused of overseeing a poor safety culture at the oil giant. Shale gas drilling has the potential to open up vast new reserves, but it has stirred debate because it uses toxic chemicals and carries the threat of blowouts or other accidents. In America, homeowners have sued oil companies after their drinking water became polluted with methane, says The Sunday Times.Ed Miliband wants the UK's high street banks to sell 1,000 branches to industry newcomers, as he blasted former Barclays chief Bob Diamond's pay as "totally out of whack". The banking stance was backed by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, who called for "root and branch" reform of the sector. In a speech on Monday Ed Miliband will reinforce his view that greater competition in the banking sector is needed, following Libor and interest rate scandals in the past few weeks that have cost three Barclays executives their jobs. The Labour leader will call for the big five banks - Barclays, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and RBS/NatWest - to become seven, with privately-run "challenger banks" to buy up to 1,000 existing branches. It is hoped that this will increase competition and choice for consumers as well as reduce bank charges, according to The Sunday Telegraph. Italy's economy will shrink by around 2% this year, the head of the Italian central bank has said, as he called for adopting a "new Italian spirit" to tackle the Eurozone debt crisis. The news came as Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti slammed unnamed EU states for undermining the "credibility" of the Eurozone and called for rapid action on agreed ways to resolve the debt crisis. "Consensus forecasts indicate the GDP will shrink around 2%," Ignazio Visco said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera, revising down an earlier forecast. At the end of May, Visco said the contraction could be kept to around 1.5%, The Sunday Telegraph reports. BAE Systems has emerged as the frontrunner to provide the United States Air Force with a new training jet in what would be a major boost for Britain's biggest manufacturer and the UK economy. Senior figures within BAE believe the T-X program to provide the US air force with 350 training jets presents a "very significant opportunity" and that the company is well positioned to win the deal. The contract is estimated to be worth more than $11bn (£7.1bn). BAE believes its Hawk jet has a strong chance because budget constraints in the US mean the air force is not looking for a brand new aircraft, The Sunday Telegraph says.Marcus Agius is an honourable man. By resigning in order to act as a lightning rod for the Libor scandal engulfing Barclays, he established his readiness as chairman to put the bank before his personal interests. It was, however, a wrong decision. Moreover, it was a weak one. He should have removed Bob Diamond knowing that concerns in the City and among regulators about his chief executive were widespread. But apparently Agius did not have the bottle until the Bank of England and Financial Services Authority made clear his course of action. Even then, I understand, it took deputy chairman Sir Mike Rake to persuade him to oust the man who had become a liability despite his money-making prowess. Now Agius must make up for that by acting swiftly. With customer defections - corporate and individual - now a real possibility, with shareholders spitting blood and with Barclays' credit rating under threat, the leadership needs to be stabilised - and fast. Agius has the answers in front of him. There is no need for costly headhunters and a drawn-out search process. Antony Jenkins, head of the group's retail banking, should be installed as chief executive, says The Financial Mail on Sunday. AB