Jason Karaian

The numbers: Dire. Pre-tax profit at the group’s investment bank, once its most promising growth driver, plunged by nearly 50% in the first quarter. Other parts of the Barclays group and some accounting maneuvers cushioned the blow, with overall pre-tax profit only marginally lower than the same quarter last year. But investors were spooked by the turmoil at the investment bank, pushing Barclays’ shares down by more than 4% so far today.

The past 24 hours have put Russia and the West on a direct collision course over the crisis in Ukraine. A mid-April agreement in Geneva between Ukraine and the US, EU, and Russia to “de-escalate tensions and restore security” is now truly in tatters, each side blaming the other for inciting the violence that has spread throughout Ukraine’s Russian-speaking regions.

The numbers: Surprisingly healthy. The Royal Bank of Scotland’s first-quarter profit trebled from the previous year, to £1.2 billion ($2 billion).  Its share price jumped by as much as 10% in early London trading.

David Ebersman did well as CFO of Genentech, regularly making more than $4 million per year at the biotech firm. But his next career move brought far greater riches.

The numbers: Solid, at first glance. The German banking giant’s first-quarter profit fell by 34%, but beat analyst expectations. Its share price jumped by more than 3% on the news.

At a press conference Thursday, Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Western sanctions would “probably” inflict some damage on the Russian economy, but the impact was “not critical.”

These are tense times to be a Russian stock trader. Better instead to be a Russian stock exchange.

Hope for the best but expect the worst. That seems to be the motto for German executives, who report brisk business at the moment but fear that the good times won’t last.

David Moyes was doomed from the start.

Earlier this week, an Airbus A-310 plane landed in Spain 45 minutes behind schedule. Why this otherwise mundane event made news across the country says something about the current mood in Spain.

The numbers: Like a bad hangover. Sales in Rémy Cointreau’s latest fiscal year, ending in March, fell by 13.5%, missing already-lowered analyst expectations. When the French drinks group publishes its full financial results in June, it expects operating profits to fall by 35-40% versus the previous year, the latest in a series of profit warnings.

Ukraine, and its military, is running out of money. Ukrainian officials estimate that they need up to $30 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund and western allies over the next two years. Ukraine hopes to sign a deal this month to unlock $7 billion from the IMF.

The numbers: Disappointing. Credit Suisse’s first-quarter profit fell by 34% versus the prior year, missing analyst expectations by some distance. The bank will try to steer the markets towards more flattering measures of its performance—the bank breaks out ”core,” “strategic,” and “non-strategic” results in various combinations—but this won’t obscure a weak set of results. The bank’s shares opened 2% lower in Zurich trading.

As London house prices continue to soar, it becomes hard to come up with new ways to describe their relentless rise. Another month, another record gain.

The numbers: Soggy. Swiss food giant Nestlé reported a 5% fall in first-quarter sales today. This is less downbeat than it looks, as the strong Swiss franc subtracted nearly 9% from the company’s reported results. Still, even after stripping out currency effects and other one-off factors, underlying “organic” sales grew by only 4.2%. This was the slowest first-quarter pace since 2009 and short of the company’s 5% organic growth target.

Energy markets have been a bit more volatile recently, thanks to sporadic violence in Ukraine and the war of words between Russia and the West. Both sides of the conflict are playing pipeline politics, with threats and counter-threats flying between some of the world’s biggest energy suppliers and consumers. As tempers flare, the threat of crucial pipelines running dry is enough to frighten even the steeliest traders.

The talk over the weekend was that the European Central Bank seems to be preparing a new round of stimulus to kickstart the euro zone’s sputtering economy. A troublesome combination of weak growth, falling inflation, and a strong currency is giving policymakers headaches.

Start with Turkey, add roughly equal parts Argentina and New Zealand, mix in some Japan, add a dash of Mexico and you get… Ireland?

The numbers: Weak. The Danish maker of high-end, fashionably designed stereos and televisions hit a sour note in its latest fiscal quarter (pdf), covering the three months to February. Although it reported a narrower loss versus the same period last year, analysts expected a bigger improvement. A 3% rise in revenue also fell short of expectations.

Compared with the rest of Europe, Sweden’s economy is doing pretty well. Growth this year is expected to come close to 3%, making it the fastest-growing economy in western Europe.

That the Greek government is able to borrow from bond markets again is an accomplishment in itself, given its bailed-out, hollowed-out economy. But the demand for this morning’s five-year issue was breathtaking, with €20 billion ($27.7 billion) in orders chasing only €3 billion in bonds, up from an initial goal of raising €2 billion. As a further sign of the demand, the issue’s final yield—the return investors get on their money—was also lower than predicted, at just under 5%.

London property prices are soaring, and the rest of Britain isn’t doing too bad either. Fuelled by low interest rates and subsidized mortgages, prices across the country have been accelerating over the past two years:

British government ministers are sporting smug expressions and an extra spring in their steps today. The IMF’s latest forecast is great news for the government, as the UK’s GDP growth this year is expected to top the G7 table.

In a speech to Russia’s parliament shortly after Crimea’s referendum on rejoining Russia last month, president Vladimir Putin cited the reunification of East and West Germany as a precedent for annexing the Ukrainian territory. In the run-up to German reunification, Russia supported the “sincere, unstoppable desire of the Germans for national unity,” Putin said. “I expect that the citizens of Germany will also support the aspiration of the Russians, of historical Russia, to restore unity.”