Barclays bank will pay penalties of £290m ($450m) for trying to rig the key interest rates at which banks lend money to each other. The penalty from UK and US authorities followed "serious and widespread" misconduct, the Financial Services Authority said. These interbank rates influence the costs of loans and mortgages. Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond and three other executives have given up this year's bonus as a result. Barclays admitted the actions of its staff, which lasted from 2005 to 2009, "fell well short of standards". The misconduct relates to the daily setting of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor). ....Read more HERE