Barclays Share News (BARC)

Blackrock has thrown its weight behind Blinkx by raising its stake in the under-seige internet video company to 13 per cent. The global investment house, which is Blinkx's biggest investor, announced that it has bought another five million shares, adding to its 11.6 per cent stake. - Daily TelegraphRoyal Bank of Scotland Chief Executive Ross McEwan has promoted one of his key lieutenants as he seeks to recover from a string of setbacks at its retail banking division. Les Matheson, who joined from Australian lender St George Bank four years ago, is to take charge of the state-backed group's retail arm, just weeks after it set aside almost £1bn extra to compensate customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) and complex interest rate hedging products. - ScotsmanThe Institute of Directors has piled into the controversy over pay at Barclays, accusing its institutional shareholders of being "supine" in failing to veto a 10% rise in staff bonuses to £2.38bn in a year when underlying profits slumped. The unprecedented intervention by the employers' body came as the bank revealed it was planning to axe one job in every 12, slashing headcount by between 10,000 and 12,000 this year, with 7,000 jobs going in the UK. - The TimesChinese exports increased 10.6% from a year earlier, while imports were up 10%. Analysts had forecast flat growth or even declines for both because the base of comparison - January of last year - had been distorted upwards by rampant over-invoicing, eliciting a crackdown from the Chinese government. The chasm between the reported reality and the more sluggish expectations sparked a debate about how to interpret the data. In one camp were those who said the robust trade numbers painted a very positive picture of Chinese demand and the global economy, suggesting that both are performing ahead of expectations. - Financial TimesThe Bank of England should ditch "forward guidance" on interest rates and return to inflation targeting, a former rate-setter has urged. Dame DeAnne Julius, one of the founding members of the Monetary Policy Committee, said that the Bank should "get back to basics and just focus on inflation again". Her comments emerged ahead of today's Inflation Report, when Mark Carney, the Bank's Governor, will update guidance but reiterate that rates will not rise for some time to come. - The TimesWhat started as a nifty gizmo to identify a song has blossomed into a technological success story that yesterday was estimated to be worth $500mand appeared to be taking another step towards a stock market flotation. Shazam was one of the first apps to emerge in the pre-smartphone era, recognising songs by holding a mobile phone to a speaker, which would trigger a text message identifying the music. - The TimesAB