News round up: Barclays plc, Apple Inc, BP plc, Financial Services Authority, Greece, UK economy.

Barclays plc (LON:BARC) has admitted the public’s trust in banks has "been decimated and needs to be rebuilt" as it set out measures aimed at rebuilding its reputation in the wake of Libor rigging.

Announcing the appointment of veteran lawyer-turned-banker Anthony Salz to lead a review of its operations, Britain’s second-largest lender on Tuesday said the scandal that saw chief executive Bob Diamond and chairman Marcus Agius resign showed "banks need to revisit fundamentally the basis on which they operate, and how they add value to society".

Describing the "daunting" task ahead of it, Barclays said it needed a culture change that would see it "affirming key values" with "reinforcing mechanisms" to ensure staff behaved appropriately. The review will see Salz interview investors, regulators and staff over the coming months and his findings are expected to be published in the spring, writes the Telegraph.

Apple Inc

Apple, the world’s largest company by market capitalisation and a juggernaut whose quarterly profits have a habit of blowing away analysts’ forecasts, showed that it was not immune to the economic pressures building in Europe.

Weaker-than-expected iPhone sales in France, Italy and Germany caused the company to miss revenue and earnings forecasts in the three months to 30 June, and sent Apple shares down over five per cent in after-hours trading last night. Tim Cook, chief executive, also blamed internet rumours about the next generation iPhone, expected later in the year, which led some customers to put off purchases of the existing model, according The Independent.

BP plc

The Kremlin has fired the opening salvo in a battle to wrest back control of the rights to exploit Russia’s vast oil reserves by declaring its interest in BP’s lucrative local joint venture. Igor Sechin, the president of Rosneft and a key ally of Vladimir Putin, announced that the state-backed oil group had begun negotiations with BP to buy the British company’s 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP.

Analysts said that President Putin was plotting to reclaim state control over Russia’s oil industry, which is dominated by private sector companies. John Lough, associate fellow at the foreign affairs think-tank Chatham House, said: "There is appetite in parts of the Russian Government for building up the role of state companies in the oil sector. TNK-BP has some good assets so it’s no surprise that Rosneft is interested," reports The Times.

Financial Services Authority

It is up to banks to rebuild the public’s trust following a succession of scandals, the head of the Financial Services Authority said today. Lord Adair Turner told a business audience in London this morning that the fixing of the Libor rate would not have been spotted without "intense" and "expensive" supervision and it was up to management and boards to "make effective controls against dishonest behaviour the highest priority".

Lord Turner’s speech came as Barclays asked investment banker Anthony Salz to lead a review of its business practices in the wake of the Libor scandal, reports, The Times.

Greece

Greece may run out of money and go bankrupt by Aug 20, a British government analysis of the ongoing Eurozone crisis has warned. The beleaguered country will have to refinance billions of euros worth of government bonds in less than a month and requires international assistance — which may not be forthcoming — to repay the money. International inspectors arrived back in Greece on Tuesday to assess the country’s austerity programme with European officials warning that it was "hugely off track".

David Cameron is now receiving daily written updates on the deteriorating situation and was warned earlier this week that a Greek bankruptcy in the next month is now a serious possibility, the Telegraph reports.

UK economy

The UK economy has shrunk for the third successive quarter, official figures are expected to show on Wednesday, prolonging Britain’s double-dip recession and threatening to derail chances of recovery this year. The Office for National Statistics is expected to say gross domestic product shrank by at least 0.2% between April and June as the Jubilee holiday, weak domestic demand and the Eurozone crisis dragged the economy down. It would mark the third successive quarter of contraction, leaving Britain in its longest double-dip recession since 1975. The economy shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year, following a 0.4% contraction in the final quarter of 2011.

The work lost as a result of the extra day given for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June was a significant drag during the quarter according to economists, disguising a slightly stronger “underlying” economy. The figures are expected to show a sharp fall in construction output, shrinking industrial output, and little if any growth in the services sector, according to the Telegraph.