Financial Times Summary

Bank of England- The Bank of England's monetary policy committee left interest rates unchanged at 5% for the fourth consecutive month on Thursday after evidence of a weakening economy left it little scope to toughen its stance against rising inflation. All analysts polled by Reuters before the meeting had predicted rates would stay on hold, and most think that they will remain unchanged until the end of the year.

Barclays- First half pre-tax profits at Barclays fell by a third to £2.75bn, the bank revealed on Thursday, as it took impairment charges and credit provisions totalling £2.45bn, up to £958m. John Varley, chief executive of the bank, which last month raised £4.5bn in fresh capital from shareholders, said the profit fall was "acutely disappointing" and "our shareholders have had to endure a lot" with the falling share price.

Dresdner- Heavy losses at Allianz's up-for-sale Dresdner Bank subsidiary continued to dog Europe's biggest insurance group as it revealed a big drop in second quarter profits and abandoned its growth forecasts. Allianz warned that markets were deteriorating and it expected the difficult environment to continue into 2009. "Our long-term operating profit growth target........ cannot be maintained," the group said on Wednesday.

Citigroup- Citigroup is nearing an agreement to buy back at least $5bn worth of auction-rate securities and pay a $100 fine. The landmark settlement with regulators could be announced as early as today and pave the way for similar deals by other banks.