Business

Barclays' private bank in Switzerland has dropped out of a U.S. program aimed at cracking down on wealthy Americans evading taxes through hidden offshore accounts, the British bank's market head for Switzerland said on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), Germany's BASF SE (BASFn.DE) and two other big platinum and palladium dealers have been sued in the United States in what the plaintiff's law firm called the first nationwide class action over alleged price-fixing of the metals.

The United States voiced concern on Tuesday over a draft plan by two EU lawmakers to break up Google Inc (GOOGL.O), saying politicians should not influence the EU's antitrust inquiry into the world's most popular Internet search engine.