Steven Slater

LONDON/ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's major bondholders voiced their support on Monday for a deal that will halve the value of their debt holdings and aims to put the country back on a sustainable debt-repayment footing.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Barclays <BARC.L> tapped Europe's central bank for 8.2 billion euros ($10.9 billion) of cheap funding this week, marking a U-turn for the bank as it had been worried about the risk of political interference from taking funds.

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Wolfgang Schaeuble was playing Sudoku on his iPad as he waited to hear whether Greece's negotiating team had persuaded private creditors to accept a bigger loss on their Greek bonds.

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays Plc <BARC.L> said any retrospective change to UK tax laws would not have a material impact on its profits and said it alerted the UK government to a "tax efficient" scheme it used, sparking a government clampdown on the tax schemes.

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays Plc <BARC.L> said it was the bank at the centre of a clampdown by Britain on two tax avoidance schemes that the government said would close loopholes and raise more than 500 million pounds ($792 million) in tax.

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings <HSBA.L> <0005.HK> is expected to report the West's biggest banking profit for last year, fuelled by the East, while its rivals are struggling with faltering European and U.S. growth.

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings <HSBA.L>, Europe's biggest bank, made a $21.9 billion profit last year, the largest among western banks, as its strength in Asia helped it cope with a euro zone debt crisis that has plunged many rivals into huge losses.

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC <HSBA.L> just missed analysts' expectations with a near $22 billion profit last year, which marked the biggest profit among western banks thanks to its strength in Asia and other emerging markets.

LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds <LLOY.L> pushed back a key target of its turnaround plan as the part state-owned British bank posted a 3.5 billion pound ($5.5 billion) annual loss and said a tough economic outlook would hit revenues and income this year.

LONDON (Reuters) - European banks could face more pressure from regulators and politicians worried that big cuts in bonuses have barely dented a high-pay culture sustained by massive hikes in base salaries.

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays' <BARC.L> key investment bank arm ended 2011 with its worst quarter for three years as the euro zone debt crisis hit bond trading, dragging the British bank's annual profit down on the year before.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek party leaders finally gathered on Wednesday to agree a reform deal in return for a new EU/IMF rescue to avoid a chaotic default, after repeated delays which have prompted warnings that the euro can live without Athens.

LONDON/ATHENS (Reuters) - Chief negotiators for Greece's private creditors left Athens unexpectedly on Saturday without a deal on a debt swap plan that is vital to avert a chaotic default, sources close to the negotiations told Reuters.

ATHENS/LONDON (Reuters) - Greece must urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks triggered by "unreasonable" demands from its partners, the head of a group of representing its private sector warned on Monday, as Athens raced against the clock to prevent an unruly default.

ATHENS/LONDON (Reuters) - Greece must urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks triggered by "unreasonable" demands from its partners, the head of a group of representing its private sector warned on Monday, as Athens raced against the clock to prevent an unruly default.

ATHENS/LONDON (Reuters) - Greece's private sector creditors warned on Monday that the Athens government must urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks triggered by "unreasonable" demands from international lenders if is to avoid a disorderly default.

BERLIN/MADRID (Reuters) - Germany, the only major euro zone member to retain a top-notch credit rating, refused on Monday to consider boosting the bloc's rescue fund, while Greece was under pressure to urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks if it is to avoid an unruly default.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. rating agency Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating of the euro zone's EFSF rescue fund on Monday, and Greece was under pressure to break a deadlock in debt swap talks if it is to avoid an unruly default.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. rating agency Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating of the euro zone's EFSF rescue fund on Monday, and Greece was under pressure to break a deadlock in debt swap talks if it is to avoid an unruly default.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. rating agency Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating of the euro zone's EFSF rescue fund on Monday, and Greece was under pressure to break a deadlock in debt swap talks if it is to avoid an unruly default.