◢ The U.K. government settled a 1.3 billion-pound ($1.6 billion) damages claim brought by an Iranian bank over a trading ban just as a "costly and potentially embarrassing" five-week trial was set to begin. The U.K. and Bank Mellat settled the London lawsuit for an undisclosed sum, a spokesman for law firm Zaiwalla & Co., which represented the bank, said in a statement.