Amidst European crisis, Germany wants to seek solace in its gold reserve, which is in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. German ministers have been asking to bring back the country's gold and others have asked to take stocks of the reserve.

A recent report explained the take of German Finance Minister Wolfgang on whether or not Ireland would need another bailout package. Though Germany would never back out from supporting Ireland, he made it clear that they have to make sure that investors don't get a wrong signal either.

Banking giant HSBC yesterday set aside another £290 million to settle its share of the mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal.

The additional expense inflated the bank’s total PPI provision to around £750 million, but Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver still said that he doubted that it would be the final provision.