Friday newspaper round-up: Barclays, BP, JPMorgan

(Sharecast News) - The UK government will "wait and see" whether tariffs announced by Donald Trump "actually come to pass", a senior minister said. The US president announced what he called "reciprocal tariffs" on all other countries on Thursday evening, claiming it was "fair to all". But it was unclear how this would apply to the UK, especially as Trump suggested his policy regarded VAT as a tariff. - Guardian The world's electricity use will grow every year by more than the amount consumed annually by Japan because of a surge in electric transport, air conditioning and datacentres, according to the world's energy watchdog. The International Energy Agency has raised its predictions for the world's rising demand for electricity, pegging the growth at almost 4% a year until 2027, up from its previous forecast of 3.4% year. - Guardian

Barclays is under investigation for potentially breaking anti-money laundering rules in a fresh setback for the bank. On Thursday, the bank said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was examining whether financial controls at its UK division had been too lax and if the lender had broken anti-money laundering laws. - Telegraph

The activist investor that has amassed a £4 billion position in BP is pushing for the British oil giant to emulate Shell's strategy in cost-cutting and ditching green investments. The famously aggressive New York hedge fund Elliott Investment Management is understood to want Murray Auchincloss, BP's chief executive, to follow the lead of Wael Sawan, his counterpart at Shell, who is leading a "ruthless" charge for higher returns and greater efficiency. - The Times

JP Morgan has run out of desks for its London staff despite ordering them back into the office five days a week. The US investment bank is trying to increase its desk space to accommodate all of its 14,000 London-based staff in Canary Wharf and the City. The return of JP Morgan employees back to their desks was triggered by the bank ending its flexible working arrangements, which previously allowed all staff, excluding senior management, to work from home three days a week, The Telegraph reported. - The Times