Ardagh Group has reported a near 25% year-on-year increase in its first quarter revenues to just over €1.2bn.

Alice Barker is 102 years old.

A huge reduction in the cost of mortgages in arrears helped Ulster Bank to its first profit in six years, it was announced yesterday.

Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan has confirmed that there have been negotiations with private equity firms over a possible takeover of Ulster Bank.

The Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) has called on Ulster Bank to clarify its future following a story in this newspaper about a possible takeover by a private equity firm.

A management-supported private equity takeover of Ulster Bank is being considered by Royal Bank of Scotland.

Nama is expected to make a profit on the sum it paid for developers O’Flynn Construction’s €1.8bn in loans in 2010, according to market sources.

Award-winning West End play The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is moving to a new venue after the ceiling collapse at the Apollo Theatre which injured audience members.

The owner of a West End theatre where a ceiling collapsed on to the audience, claimed last year that the venue had “suffered years of benign neglect”.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has said the West End is ‘open for business’ as a investigation continues into what caused a theatre ceiling to collapse, injuring 80 people.

Almost 80 people were injured, seven seriously, after a theatre ceiling collapsed on them in London’s West End.

Philip Green's Topshop and BHS empire saw annual sales slip and warned recent trading had worsened amid the mild autumn weather.

MBNA’s credit card business in Ireland last year returned to profit after slashing costs, with 40% of its workforce losing their jobs.

Several private equity groups and hedge funds have expressed interest in public finance specialist Depfa, which the state-rescued German bank Hypo Real Estate has put on the block.

Rio Ferdinand does not believe beating Chelsea is as sweet as getting one over on old rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.

An American vulture fund is reportedly circling stricken HMV in a move that could see it become one of the retailer’s biggest creditors.

Heavy hitting buyers from abroad are taking us on and buying heavily discounted Irish loan books. Surveyor Margaret Kelleher, a director at Lisney Cork, looks at what’s been going on in the commercial loan market

Allied Irish Bank lent £98m (€123.5m) to an alleged fraudster on the back of dodgy guarantees from a top Chinese property firm, a London court heard yesterday.

The Ladbrokes Irish Derby moves a step further tonight with eight more first round heats at Shelbourne and this session will see the majority of the very strong Dolores Ruth team swinging into action.

Fears for the future of 650 staff at credit card company MBNA have been allayed after its owner, Bank of America, managed to sell part of the business as a going concern.

WATER may be as plentiful in the moon’s interior as the Earth’s, a study of Apollo mission lunar rocks has revealed.

Sterling jumped 1% against other major currencies today after surprise growth figures fuelled hopes that the Bank of England will not need to take further emergency action to prop up the economic recovery.

The FTSE 100 Index soared past the 5600 level today as stock markets worldwide rallied ahead of Tuesday's key meeting on interest rates by the US Federal Reserve.

London’s leading share index made tentative gains today, but progress was held back as further poor US jobs data capped a disappointing week for global economic news.

UK retailer Halfords, which operates 23 stores in Ireland, delivered a 27% rise in profits today after poor winter weather forced motorists to shell out on car maintenance accessories.

Comedian Jimmy Carr admitted today he “feels terrible” about offending injured soldiers with a recent joke – and has now dropped the gag from his act.

THE Perseid meteor shower, known in medieval times as the “tears of St Lawrence”, occurs each year around now when the Earth passes through the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle. The meteors are particles of dust from its wake.

The London market stormed ahead to finish the week at its highest level for nearly six-and-a-half years, closing 46 points up at 6462.4 on Friday.

The London market experienced a slight rally in afternoon trading today as the FTSE 100 Index clawed back some of the session’s earlier losses.

A major deal in the housebuilding sector ensured the second-tier FTSE 250 Index stole a march on its top flight counterpart today.

The UK’s largest estate agency chain today confirmed it had received a preliminary takeover approach from an unnamed suitor.

Even in death, James Brown can move a crowd.

EUROPE’S first probe to the Moon, SMART-1, crashed onto the lunar surface as scheduled at 6.42am Irish time yesterday, ending a successful 16-month mission, the European Space Agency announced.

The UK’s third-largest high street video rental chain was today bought in a move by an online rival to create a “bricks and clicks” service.

Cable & Wireless is investing £300 million in an undersea cable to meet an expected boom in transatlantic internet traffic.