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• Iceland: Meager Returns on Fervent Prosecutions

  

  In a country that has gone after financiers with far more vigor than others hit by the financial crisis, obtaining convictions has proved devilishly difficult.

• Barclays Finance Director Lucas, Top Counsel to Retire

  Barclays said its finance director Chris Lucas and its top legal expert are to retire, adding to change at the top of the British bank as it struggles to put a series of scandals behind it.

• RBS Bonuses at Risk as UK Intervenes on Libor Fines

  

  Royal Bank of Scotland faces the prospect of scrapping all bonuses for its investment bankers this year to free up cash to pay fines for its involvement in a global interest rate rigging scandal.

• New Measures to Lift Veil on Banks' Capital Ratios

  The game may soon be up for banks that have made themselves look healthier by understating how risky their businesses are, which should help pension funds, savers and companies to decide which institutions to invest in.

• Hedge Funds Up Bets Against Italy's Monte Paschi

  London hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Egerton Capital are among those upping their bets against Monte dei Paschi di Siena in recent days, after revelations the troubled Italian bank faces heavy losses.

• France On Track for Growth Target - Minister

  

  French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici on Sunday said the government believed it could reach its 2013 economic growth target of 0.8 percent.

• Spain's PM Mariano Rajoy Denies Corruption Charges

  

  The Spanish PM has strongly denied claims that he and other members of the governing party received secret payments. "I have never received or distributed 'black money', it's false," he said, stressing that he would not resign.

• Declining Car Sales Sink European Upturn Hopes

  

  Car sales extended their declines in France, Spain and Italy last month, data showed on Friday, leaving little hope of a European auto market rebound anytime soon.

• Inflation Nears ECB Goal Amid Record Joblessness

  

  Euro zone inflation fell to a two-year low as companies cut prices at a time of record joblessness, potentially giving the European Central Bank more scope to lower interest rates.

• Dutch in $14 Billion Rescue for SNS Reaal

  

  The Netherlands has nationalized bank and insurance group SNS Reaal in a $14 billion rescue that highlights the fragility of European banks and the continued exposure of taxpayers five years after the financial crisis erupted.

• Denmark's Nokia Moment on $100 Billion Stock

  

  Denmark is facing its "Nokia moment"; drugmaker Novo Nordisk has ballooned into a $100 billion giant, dominating its home stock market just as the Finnish firm did at the height of the 1990s tech boom.

• What Crisis? Big Tobacco in Europe Marches On

  

  Banks, retailers and many others may have suffered during Europe's downturn but the tobacco sector has remained rock solid during a time of weak consumer spending.

• US Economy Adds 157,000 Jobs; Rate Up to 7.9%

  

  Payrolls rose 157,000 while the unemployment rate edged higher to 7.9 percent, news unlikely to alter the Fed's monetary policy.

• Can the Super Bowl Save the Planet?

  

  One company found that energy usage in the US drops by more than 5% during the game and as much as 7.5% during the half-time show, even though it would take 10 coal-fired power plants to fire all the televisions being watched.

• Banks Slow Crisis Money Repayment to ECB

  

  Banks will pay back another 3.5 billion euros next week of the emergency 3-year loans they took from the European Central Bank a year ago, further deflating the ECB's balance sheet after they paid back a whopping 137 billion euros this week.

• Barclays CEO Won't Take a 2012 Bonus

  

  New Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins said he will not take a bonus for last year, saying he should "bear an appropriate degree of accountability" for a difficult year at the bank.

• Electrolux Pins Growth on Emerging Markets, US

  Swedish home appliances maker Electrolux said booming emerging markets and an improvement in North America would help offset poor sales and price pressure in Europe in 2013.

• Worst Not Over for Spain Banks After Big Writedowns

  

  Spain's largest banks have reported dismal results over the past 24 hours, hit by toxic real estate assets, and according to analysts, the results highlight the desperate need for Spain's banks to raise more capital.

• Blast at US Embassy in Turkey Kills at Least One

  

  A suicide bomber killed a Turkish security guard at the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Friday, blowing the door off a side entrance and sending smoke and debris flying into the street.

• Worst May Be Over for Euro Zone Factories: PMI

  

  Euro zone factories had their best month in nearly a year during January as burgeoning German output offered support amid signs the worst may be over for the troubled currency bloc, a survey showed on Friday.