Barclays Share News (BARC)

It is understood that Royal bank of Scotland (RBS) will make even deeper cuts to its investment banking wing in an effort to meet the Bank of England's (BoE's) new financial policy committee's (FPC) target. The FPC last week called on lenders to raise 25bn pounds in new capital to offset any potential future losses arising from ill-advised lending and various allegations of misconduct. RBS is expected to slash hundreds of jobs at its markets division and reduce the assets of the same by 60bn pounds. Since 2008 RBS has reduced the size of its balance sheet by over £500bn and made over 5,000 investment bankers redundant. The cuts will allow the lender to increase its capital cushions without cutting lending to businesses and consumers, according to The Sunday Times. Somewhat ironically, it comes after a favourable court sentence late last week, in the United States, which may mean that the final bill for the Libor scandal for RBS, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group may not be as large as initially feared. Wealthy depositors in the Bank of Cyprus, those with over €100,000 in their accounts, could face losses of as much as 60% - far in excess of what had been expected, if not more, according to officials. Large depositors in Laiki Bank are likely to see nearly all of their assets written off. Some 41% of the deposits held by residents of other Eurozone countries have been withdrawn since June, data from Cyprus's central bank showed on Thursday, the FT reports.Yesterday thousands attended fifty bedroom-tax protests across the country against ten welfare changes due to come into effect tomorrow. According to Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive of Crisis, "some are already cutting back on the essentials of food and heating but there is only so much they can do." Analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) showed that "(...) 0n average families will be £891 worse off this year because of changes introduced since 2010." However, a spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions contends that the universal credit, for example, will simplify the complex myriad of benefits and make three million people better off," The Independent on Sunday writes. Princess, a subsidiary of US-based cruise ship company Carnival, is investing £930m into two new cruise ships. That comes as travel association ABTA predicts the number of British passengers departing from UK ports this year is expected to cross the one million mark for the first time. The company currently has a fleet of 16 vessels. The first of the two cruise-liners, the Royal Princess, is set to embark on its maiden voyage in June followed by its sister ship Regal Princess next year, The Sunday Express reports. An Ifop survey published on Sunday by Journal du Dimanche showed that most French voters found the Socialist President, Francois Hollande, unconvincing on 10 out of 12 key issues - including all the main economic questions. That includes even the flagship campaign promise of levying a 75% marginal tax rate on incomes of over €1m and is apparently due to "a tendency to send mixed messages [which] has apparently confused voters," the FT says. Five years on from the onset of the financial crisis over half the executives from the world's largest corporations canvassed by Ernst&Young believe their lenders are still being too risky. As well, less than a third of those companies think that their banks share adequate information on their risk, capital and liquidity. The poll, however, also shows that companies prefer to deal with banks who have a global presence. That comes at a time when regulators are pressuring the major UK institutions to reduce the size of their operations, The Sunday Telegraph reports. An FSA spokesman has confirmed that Lord Turner - who stood down from his post as the regulatory body's Chairman at midnight last night - is to join the board of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (NEI) 'think-tank.' The non-profit NEI was founded in 2009 by George Soros, the man who made a profit of £1bn betting against Sterling in 1992, The Sunday Telegraph explains. The battles lines have been drawn at Threadneedle Street and neither side seems willing to budge. Hence, no change is expected in the Bank of England's policy stance. Private economists, nevertheless, are similarly split as to whether the Bank's monetary policy committee will go for further quantitative easing further down the line, given the conflicting data. Be that as it may, last week the Governor of the monetary authority himself warned at a speech delivered at the London School of Economics, that the crisis "was far from over," The Independent on Sunday says. The Co-operative Group is set to appoint Deutsche Bank to run the £650m-plus sale of its insurance business. The monies obtained are to help it acquire the 632-branch Project Verde banking business being sold by Lloyds as required by the terms of its 2008 Government bailout. Insurer LV=, formerly known as Liverpool Victoria, is understood to be interested. Tungsten, an investment vehicle led by Eddie Truell, is also believed to have lodged its interest, The Sunday Express reports. Big business has forged a powerful new alliance with consumer groups, dubbed Powerline, to stop "absurd" coalition energy policies that they claim will send Britain "sleepwalking into blackouts". An internal memo obtained by The Sunday Times said the Powerline would "start applying logic" to the power debate. Its immediate target is the energy bill, which had its second reading in parliament in December and is to be given royal assent this year. The government's purported aim is for a £200bn low-carbon overhaul of the nation's energy supplies. Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.AB