UK bank Barclays 1H profit falls 35 percent

"The bank suffered 2.4 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) of impairment charges in the first half, including 1.1 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) as a result of its exposure to U.S. subprime mortgages and other credit market problems. That figure was on top of the 959 million pounds worth of writedowns the company reported in the first half of last year, and the 1.8 billion pounds it reported in the second half of 2007."