Friday newspaper round-up: Conservative campaign, Russia, Barclays

Business leaders have become frustrated at the tactics and tone of the Conservative election campaign, amid concern in British boardrooms that Ed Miliband is mounting a stiffer challenge for Number 10 than expected. Twenty FTSE 100 and other business leaders have told the Financial Times they are anxious that — despite presiding over an economic recovery — David Cameron has not opened a lead over Labour. - Financial Times

The US is scrambling to head off a Greek pipeline deal with Russia, fearing a disastrous change in the strategic balance of the Eastern Mediterranean as Greece’s radical-Left government drifts into the Kremlin’s orbit. Ernest Moniz, the US Energy Secretary, said his country is pushing for an alternative gas pipeline from Azerbaijan that would help break the stranglehold that Russian state-controlled firm Gazprom has on European markets. - The Daily Telegraph

Barclays’ new chairman has vowed to speed up the bank’s restructuring on his first day in the job, raising the prospect of bold moves to placate shareholders. John McFarlane, who officially replaced Sir David Walker as the bank’s chairman at Thursday’s annual meeting, promised investors a “dynamic reallocation” of resources that would allow the bank to pursue “a number of growth options”. - The Daily Telegraph

Ed Miliband would saddle every ­working family with extra taxes equivalent to more than £1,000, according to an ­independent comparison with ­Conservative plans. Figures published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies yesterday revealed that a ­Labour government would increase tax revenues by £12bn more than the Tories by the end of the decade. - The Times

Deutsche Bank has been ordered to dismiss six managers in London after pleading guilty to fraud and being fined a record $2.5bn for rigging benchmark interest rates while lying to regulators. The London division of Deutsche, one of the biggest investment banking houses in the City employing 6,000 people, was found to be at the centre of a conspiracy to boost its profits and staff bonuses by manipulating key rates used to set ordinary interest rates across the world. - The Times

Oil prices climbed to their highest levels in more than four months on Thursday, driven by concerns that conflict could interrupt supply. The cost of a barrel of Brent crude moved close to $65 (£43) for the first time since December. There remain ongoing fears that violence in Yemen could spillover and affect oil supply across the region. Oil traders have reacted to news of Saudi-led raids in Yemen as a sign that the civil war there could intensify. - The Daily Telegraph