The war of words between Tipperary-born entrepreneur Mike Lynch and Hewlett Packard over the allegations of accounting irregularities at Mr Lynch’s former company, Autonomy, escalated in advance of the HP annual shareholder meeting yesterday.

Hewlett-Packard’s senior executives were aware of certain Autonomy sales practices months before a whistleblower flagged them, prompting HP to write down Autonomy’s value, the Financial Times reported.

Hewlett Packard saidAutonomy, the software firm it bought in 2011, overstated profits at one of its main British units by 81% in the year before it was sold in Britain’s biggest technology deal.

The US justice department has opened an investigation relating to Autonomy Corp after Hewlett-Packard accused the software company of misrepresenting its performance before being bought last year.

Stocks edged higher today on Wall Street after a strong sales report from McDonald's offset concerns about the surprise resignation announcement of Italy's Prime Minister.

Auditors are coming under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons and it appears that the profession’s public role of giving a ‘true and fair’ view of the state of a company’s finances is far from straightforward, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

A Co Tipperary man at the centre of a multi-billion euro corporate writedown said he was shocked at allegations of accounting malpractice levied against him by Hewlett Packard (HP).

Hewlett-Packard took an US$8.8bn hit today as it accused former staff at a UK software company it bought last year of accounting irregularities.

A UK technology company set up in 1996 is to be taken over by Hewlett-Packard in a £7.1bn deal that will net its founder more than £500m.

Banking stocks suffered more heavy losses today as the latest wave of market turmoil wiped another 2.5% from the value of the FTSE 100 Index.

Banking stocks were driven lower today as jitters in the run-up to the sector’s results season added to worries over the US debt crisis.

The FTSE 100 Index pushed nearly 2% higher today as shares were buoyed by healthy economic signs from the Eurozone.

Tottenham have today announced a new £20m (€23m) shirt sponsorship deal with software infrastructure company Autonomy and could double their income further by landing a similar deal for the club’s cup games.

The London market suffered more losses today as Greece’s debt turmoil and disappointment over earnings from mobile phone handset giant Nokia hit stocks worldwide.

The FTSE 100 Index held on to gains seen in Tuesday's bounce-back today as heavyweight stocks lent their support.

Barclays and Sainsbury’s grabbed the spotlight in a lacklustre session today after Qatari investors cashed in £1.3bn (€1.4bn) of share options in the bank.

More dire figures on the state of the UK's public finances today failed to derail the FTSE 100 Index's winning run despite a subdued day of trading.

The FTSE 100 Index drifted into the red today despite continuing optimism over many blue-chip retail stocks.

The FTSE 100 Index bounded more than 2% ahead today as better-than-expected first quarter figures from US giant JP Morgan Chase gave banks a further boost.

The London market sunk into the red today as Lloyds Banking Group suffered further misery in the wake of its shock HBOS profits warning.

London’s blue chip shares retreated into the red today as stocks were hit by bad housing market news on both sides of the Atlantic.

Pub groups and mining stocks led a rally on the London market today, adding to the boost from an overnight surge on Wall Street.

London’s leading shares ended the week in the red today as updates from heavyweight firms BSkyB and British Airways disappointed investors.

Ireland needs to improve its marketing of the technology sector if it is to remain a global leader, delegates at the Irish Software Association's annual conference in Dublin were told today.

Irish born Dr Mike Lynch, founder and CEO of Autonomy, is one of the keynote speakers at this year's Irish Software Association National Conference which takes place in O'Reilly Hall Dublin on Wednesday, May 21.

Technology companies in the UK face further problems today, after another wave of stocks are relegated in the FTSE’s quarterly reshuffle.

The Footsie index of 100 blue-chip stocks has recovered from an earlier 30-point fall to stand 0.4 points ahead of its opening price at 5796.5 by lunchtime.

New economy shares were bathed in red for most of the day after a raft of profit warnings on both sides of the Atlantic led to another wave of negative sentiment.

The Footsie is up 18.6 points thanks to major gains on Wall Street last night.

The FTSE-100 Index has surged ahead 51 points - though not many shares are changing hands.

Shares have suffered a bloodbath, falling 90 points after being battered by losses in the US and dampened by a sharp fall in insurance giant Prudential's stock.

The FTSE-100 Index went into freefall as markets in London reacted badly to heavy losses across the Atlantic.

Software firm Autonomy and logistics group Exel are set to drop out of the FTSE-100.

The FTSE-100 Index is within a whisker of the 6,000 barrier as technology and telecoms stocks boost the London market by 57.1 points.

Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland are on the rise as the market gives the thumbs up to its £4 billion plus profits, enhanced by last year's buy of NatWest.

The heavy falls of the past two days show no sign of letting up, as London shares opened lower, with techs stocks continuing to be a drag on the market.

A rally on the London markets following the Bank of England's minutes on this month's interest rate decision has petered out.

Gas shares were pushed upwards today following British Gas's announcement it planned to ramp up its bills.

The Footsie index of 100 leading shares is down at 6187 at mid-morning, dragged down by falls in the prices of technology and telecoms stocks.

Electronics giant Philips has adopted British software group Autonomy as a preferred supplier.