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When Barclays closes its doors on Friday evening, Llandovery in Carmarthenshire will lose its last bank.

Yet two centuries ago the town was the banking hub of south west Wales.

David Jones and Co was founded in 1799 to serve the Carmarthenshire drovers who led thousands of cattle at a time to market in London.

The journeys were months-long, along ancient routes across Wales and southern England.

Read on.

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Back to Neil Woodford. mentioned earlier.

He set up his own firm after leaving Invesco. The Financial Times has been speaking to Mark Barnett, who took over the funds, in 2014.

The FT says Mr Barnett sought to distance himself from the crisis engulfing his mentor by insisting that his funds have a much more “balanced” approach.

“My funds are much more diversified [than Mr Woodford’s] and employ a more balanced portfolio approach,” Mr Barnett told the Financial Times.

“The Invesco High Income and Income funds offer plenty of value and clients are happy to support us. I am confident that my team will deliver the results that clients want,” he said.

Waterstones

There's some background on Elliott, the company which bought Waterstones, in this piece.

It describes Elliott has having earned a reputation over 40 years as a no-holds-barred activist investor. The firm famously pursued Argentine debt for more than a decade, seizing one of the country's naval ships while it was docked in Ghana and prompting the country to default.

In September, not long after it was bought by Elliott, Waterstones announced it was buying the 115 year-old family-owned chain Foyles, saying the deal will help to "champion" real bookshops in the face of online rivals.

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Leonard Riggio, founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble, said he would "do everything I can" to help James Daunt in the new role at the helm of the enlarged company.

"Having been the leader of Barnes & Noble for 54 years, I have had the privilege of working with the very best people in all the world of bookselling, including our great store managers and booksellers, who work in our stores," he said.

Waterstones

Waterstones was bought by Elliott last year when James Daunt, the chain's chief executive, said it would allow the chain to grow more quickly.

As the deal to buy Barnes & Noble was announced, Mr Daunt said, "I look forward greatly to working with the booksellers at Barnes & Noble. Physical bookstores the world over face fearsome challenges from online and digital. We meet these with investment and with all the more confidence for being able to draw on the unrivalled bookselling skills of these two great companies".

The chains will operate separately and follows a strategic review the Barnes & Noble board embarked upon in October.

The 6.50p per share offer is a 43% premium to the 10-day volume weighted average closing share price of Barnes & Noble since 5 June, the day before rumours of a potential transaction were reported in the media.

STRYYK

The company behind Irn Bru has bought a minority stake in an alcohol-free spirits company. AG Barr is making a £1m investment to buy a 20% stake in Elegantly Spirited Limited, the owner of the STRYYK brand

Roger White, AG Barr chief executive said: "More and more consumers are seeking a drink that adds positively to their social experience but without the side effects of alcohol. We're very excited to be involved in both investing in and growing the STRYYK brand in this new and fast moving consumer category".

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German industrial production data was published earlier, as previously mentioned.

Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING, has this verdict: "Let’s be clear, this is a horrible start to the second quarter for German industry, as global trade tensions as well as temporary problems in the automotive sector and chemical industry have left their marks".

The data shows production fell by a "sharp" 1.9% month-on-month in April, from 0.5% in March, while on the year, industrial production was down by 1.8%.

"The past has often shown that a single month is clearly not a good illustration of German industry or the entire economy. The April data could even be partly distorted by seasonal effects," he says.

"However, there is no doubt that the German economy had a disappointing start to the second quarter, justifying the European Central Bank's new dovishness. It now needs even stronger domestic demand and a bounceback in May and June to avoid a return to recessionary territory," he says.