It is said coaching is the next best thing to playing but William Maher had little choice in the matter.

FÁS has missed the opportunity to make a fresh start, according to Fine Gael, which claimed the new board of the troubled state training agency is “dominated by insiders”.

The Government today appointed a new slimmed-down FÁS board of directors promising a root and branch overhaul of the scandal-hit state-training body.

A Cork-based engineering company has just announced that 40 highly skilled jobs are to be created in the area in the science and engineering sectors.

US stocks closed with a narrow loss today as declining oil prices sent the energy sector lower and investors continued their jittery reactions to corporate earnings.

FIVE major multinationals are to spend a total of €53 million on new research and development (R&D) facilities in Ireland, enterprise minister Micheál Martin announced yesterday.

Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin says 50 jobs will be created as part of plans by five US companies to create research and development investments in Ireland.

The value of shares traded on The Irish Stock Exchange has risen 11% to €58.5bn for the first nine months of the year.

Bargain hunting lifted US tech stocks moderately higher today, but the overall market fell on news that yet another company, Knight Trading, was being investigated by the government.

Positive earnings reports and encouraging words about the economy from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan combined to push US stock prices solidly higher today.