Four Irish companies have been named among Europe’s fastest growing technology businesses in a notably strong showing for Ireland relative to the country’s size.

Revenue at the world’s 10 largest investment banks rose 9%, year-on-year, to $44.9 billion in the first quarter, as financial market volatility and central bank stimulus measures boosted profits.

Investment firms Värde Partners and KKR & Co, along with Deutsche Bank, have agreed to buy General Electric’s Australia and New Zealand financial services unit in what they described as one of the region’s largest private equity deals.

US companies are forecast to cross the Atlantic to raise funds in euro at the fastest pace in at least eight years as borrowing costs in Europe fall below dollar rates by the most in a decade.

British banker Rurik Jutting is to undergo psychiatric tests to determine if he is fit to stand trial for the murders of two Indonesian women.

The victims in a double murder case in Hong Kong for which a British bank worker has been charged have been identified as Indonesian women, officials said.

The US Federal Reserve cited an improving economy as it ended its landmark bond-buying programme and pointed to gains in the jobs market – a key condition for an eventual interest rate hike.

Eurozone economic confidence increased for a ninth month in January, led by the services industry, adding to evidence that the 18-nation currency bloc’s recovery is gaining traction.

Troubled insurer RSA may have to sell its best assets, leaving it concentrated in slow-growing markets such as its British home patch, to raise up to £1bn (€1.15bn) and safeguard its credit ratings.

The son of a former Bank of England governor has been appointed chief executive of the body that manages government stakes in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.

Many of the world’s largest investment banks have been accused of secretly acting together to maintain fees they made from financial products known as credit derivatives.

Innovative products and an equally unique €350m loan facility have set the Irish Dairy Board on a solid footing for anticipated post-milk quota growth.

The FTSE 100 Index slipped further below the 6000 mark today as heavily-weighted banking stocks suffered from renewed European debt concerns.

The body charged with managing British taxpayer-owned banking assets said today that it had pulled off a "real coup" in hiring investment banker Jim O'Neil to oversee the sale of stakes in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.

ANGLO IRISH BANK could raise €860 million core capital by buying back loan bonds at a discount, according to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Irish Life & Permanent has confirmed today that it has raised a further €1.25bn in funding through the issue of a new public fixed-rate bond.