US-born Mr Diamond was head of Barclays Capital, its investment bank division, when its staff were trying to manipulate the key inter-bank rates.

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In the late 1990s Jared Diamond and David Landes tackled head-on the most vexing questions: why did Europe discover modern economic growth and why is its spread so limited?

ECONOMIST: Creating economic wealth

He sat next to his right-hand man at Goldman, Gary Cohn, and in the same section as the short-selling hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond and Nasdaq head Bob Greifeld.

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