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Doug Krizner: Subprime doom and gloom seems to be lifting a little in Britain. One of the biggest banks in the U.K., Barclays, just released upbeat news.
From London, Stephen Beard reports.

Stephen Beard: Barclays has been buffeted more than most British banks by the subprime crisis. Rumors of huge losses have swirled around the company. At one point, the share price was down more than 40 percent.

So far, the bank has written off $2.75 billion due to subprime problems. But Barclays now says those problems appear to be abating. They’ve been offset by other parts of the bank’s business which are booming.

Mark Durling of brokers Brewin and Dolphin says the market’s been reassured:

Mark Durling: We are mindful of the fact that the U.S. housing market in particular continues to weaken and so there are risks out there. But I think it’s the way that Barclays are managing those risks. They’re managing it very well.

As a sign of its confidence, Barclays is even planning to recruit an extra 1,500 people for its investment banking operation.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.