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U.S. bank stocks, which had their best week on record last week, powered higher amid optimism they can soon return to profitability, only to give back their gains after American Express Co said more credit card customers are missing payments.

Stocks rose for a fifth day in a row on Monday after Barclays joined other major banks in saying it had a strong start for 2009, fueling hopes that the beaten-down sector may be stabilizing.

The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 climbed on Monday as Barclays said it had a strong start for 2009, joining other major banks, and added it discussed selling one of its units.

British bank Barclays Plc said it is considering selling iShares, part of its fund management arm, and said it was trading strongly, sending its stock up by more than a fifth.

Bank stocks rose Monday on optimism that efforts to revive economies worldwide will bolster results.

Citigroup, in remaking its Board of Directors amid an unprecedented financial crisis has nominated four new candidates which include a pair of veterans from the banking industry, a former Fed president and risk management professor, and a leader in a top investment firm.

Stocks on Monday were set to extend their recovery from 12-year lows reached earlier this month after Britain's Barclays became the latest bank to buoy hopes that some stabilization may be returning in banking.

British bank Barclays Plc on Monday confirmed it had discussed selling its iShares unit and said it was trading strongly, sending its shares up by more than a fifth.

Stock futures rose on Monday, putting Wall Street on course to extend its recovery from 12-year lows reached earlier this month, after Britain's Barclays became the latest bank to buoy hopes that some stabilization may be returning in banking.

British bank Barclays Plc confirmed it had discussed selling its iShares unit, sending its stock sharply higher on Monday on hopes it will be able to avoid issuing new shares to bolster its capital.

Barclays agreed on Monday to acquire the Bear Wagner Specialists LLC operations from JPMorgan Chase & Co, a move that will leave the New York Stock Exchange with five designated market makers.

Lloyds Banking Group said Britain's requirement for banks to hold enough capital to withstand a severe downturn was key to its decision to insure 260 billion pounds ($370 billion) of risky assets with the UK government.

Lloyds Banking Group will start meeting investors Monday to garner support for its plan to insure 260 billion pounds of risky assets with the government.

Lloyds Banking Group will start meeting investors Monday to garner support for its plan to insure 260 billion British pounds ($370 billion) of risky assets with the British government.

Merger and acquisition activity could pick up in the manufacturing industry over the second half of the year as better-capitalized companies start to take advantage of relative bargains, a high-level Barclays investment banker said on Friday.

something that is anathema to many U.S. politicians, executives and voters. This gives you the sense that authorities' worries have intensified that problems relating to the U.S. economy may potentially spill over to the rest of the world, said Sailesh Jha, senior regional economist at Barclays Capital, in Singapore. At a summit in Berlin on Sunday, European Union leaders backed a doubling...

The Frankfurt-listed shares of U.S. banks Citigroup and Bank of America fell on Friday, with traders and analysts citing fears that big U.S. banks could be nationalized. At 1130 GMT, Citigroup shares were down 6.4 percent in Frankfurt and Bank of America traded 8.0 percent lower. Spokesmen for both banks in London declined to comment. Spokesmen for the banks in New York were unavailable for comm...

At the close of Thursday's trading, European shares closed at 1.5 percent lower with banks hit by doubts about the U.S. government plan to boost the financial system.

On Wednesday, London stocks closed slightly higher than expected despite the doubts and skepticism of worldwide investors of the viability of the U.S. governments' latest rescue plan for the struggling financial industry.

Barclays Plc will see a tough environment in 2009 but is committed to resuming dividend payments in the second half of the year as it adjust its strategy to realities of a global financial crisis and economic recession, the bank's chief executive John Varley said on Monday.

Barclays announced Monday its plan to overhaul pay policies across the bank as it confirmed the turmoil in the credit markets and the global economic recession weighed on its profits.

Prominent executives have stepped away from attendance at the World Economic Forum 2009 in Davos, Switzerland which kicks off Wednesday, citing illness, the need to deal with pressing matters, or just avoiding the spotlight under tough economic circumstances.

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business today announced creation of the Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Bank Fellowship Program which will provide full-tuition scholarships each year to four incoming MBA students from Africa, South Asia and countries with emerging economies.

The FTSE 100 share index was almost unchanged as Monday came to an end, with the index going down only 3.5 points to 6,053.0 (down 0.06 per cent).

The FTSE 100 share index inched up 24.3 points to 6,004.7 on Friday morning (up 0.4 per cent).Banks saw their fortunes decline with Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland all down 1....

The FTSE 100 share index fell 69.6 points to 5,895.5 on Friday (down 1.2 per cent) after earlier gains nearly took the index above the 6000 point mark.

The FTSE 100 share index fell marginally on Thursday, dropping 18.8 points to 5,965.1 (down 0.3 per cent) after the Bank of England cut interest rates from 5.25 to 5 per cent.

The FTSE 100 share index edged down on Wednesday falling 6.3 points to 5,983.9 (down 0.1 per cent).

The FTSE 100 share index fell early on Tuesday. At 08:34 on Tuesday the FTSE 100 was down 41.2 points to 5,973.6 (down 0.7 per cent).