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The Biggest Financial Scandal In History?Michael SnyderJuly 5, 2012 We always knew that the financial markets were rigged, but this is getting ridiculous. It is now being alleged that 20 major banks have been systematically fixing global interest rates for years. Barclays has already been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for manipulating Libor (the London Inter Bank Offered Rate). But Barclays says that a whole bunch of other banks were doing this too. This is shaping up to be the biggest financial scandal in history, and criminal investigations have been launched on both sides of the Atlantic. What those...

Once again the world economy has proved the naysayers wrong and there's been a "real rebound" so far this year, Barclays CEO Robert Diamond told CNBC Wednesday. "One of the lessons we’ve learned in the last couple of years is every time it’s doom and gloom ... the economy is far more resilient," he said. "We see China at 8 percent to 9 percent growth, and reduction in unemployment [cnbc explains] in the U.S. So we’ve seen a real rebound." That even extends to Europe, which was stabilized by the European Central Bank's [cnbc explains] second liquidity injection. President Mario...

Libor rates are calculated for different currencies each day under the auspices of the British Bankers' Association, using quotes that are submitted by banks on a panel, based on the banks' estimated borrowing costs. More than $800 trillion in securities and loans are linked to Libor, including $350 trillion in swaps and $10 trillion in loans, including auto and home loans, according to the CFTC. No other banks or individuals have been charged with wrongdoing. Banks that have disclosed they are being investigated include Citigroup Inc., C +3.72% Deutsche Bank AG, DBK.XE +2.02% HSBC Holdings HBC +1.00% PLC, J.P. Morgan...

Barclays Plc Chief Executive Bob Diamond quit on Tuesday under fire from politicians and regulators, the highest-profile casualty of an interest rate-rigging scandal spanning more than a dozen big banks across the world. "The external pressure placed on Barclays has reached a level that risks damaging the franchise - I cannot let that happen," said Diamond, 61. The terms of his severance were not announced.