A sleek €1m wave-piercing boat has sailed through its first rough weather sea trials ahead of an ambitious record attempt this summer.

Caterpillar is the best- performing US industrial stock this year on bets its cost-cutting efforts will reap rewards as demand recovers. The problem is, demand is not recovering.

Even as the S&P 500 Index sits near a record, analyst forecasts just turned negative for a sixth straight quarter for corporate results in the three months ending in September.

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn has built a reputation on his ability to crater a company’s stock.

Caterpillar was ordered to pay damages of $73.6m (€67.7m) in a lawsuit by a former supplier that accused the equipment manufacturer of misappropriating its trade secrets.

Growth in China’s investment and factory output missed forecasts in August, pointing to a further cooling in the world’s second-largest economy that will likely prompt the country’s government to roll out more support measures.

A forensic scientist told a murder trial jury yesterday that a mark on lino in a house where two women were killed 18 years ago was likely to have been made by a Caterpillar brand boot.

An optimistic statement from the US Federal Reserve sent the dollar up and gold prices down as traders prepared for rising interest rates.

The US stock market closed out its best week in nearly two years on a positive note today, helped by strong quarterly earnings from Microsoft and other big US companies.

The European Commission is widening its probe into how multinationals use countries such as Luxembourg to cut their tax bill, an official with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.

An unknown artist has made a spectacular breakthrough by producing a painting fit for the walls of David Cameron’s Downing Street offices.

Manufacturing giant Caterpillar has announced a major £7m (€8.2m) investment at its factories in the North.

Everywhere he goes, Michael Jacob is looking, searching for his daughter.

Sluggish economic data from the world’s biggest economy offset gains by buoyant banking stocks, sending the FTSE 100 Index into the red and continuing a turbulent performance by the top tier.

Weak reports on hiring and service industries sent the stock market sharply lower yesterday, giving the Dow Jones industrial average its worst day in more than a month.

The US stock market posted its biggest loss this year yesterday after news that Federal Reserve officials suggested the central bank scale back its effort to keep borrowing costs low.

London's leading shares index closed in the red today after machinery firm Caterpillar and toys giant Hasbro offered more gloom from the US reporting season.

Countdown To Bedtime by Penny Dann (Caterpillar; €11.93).

Up to 760 jobs are to be axed by a major engineering company in the North, it was announced yesterday.

The North's struggling economy was rocked today with the loss of 760 jobs at one of its main manufacturing firms.

Up to 760 jobs are to be axed by a major engineering company in the North, it was announced today.

LITTLE PARROT illustrated by Katie Saunders (Caterpillar E7.10 HB) is a colourful, sturdy touch-and-feel board book.

Markets across Europe lacked a definite trend yesterday as some of the major bourses made slight headway while others weakened further.

Deere & Co, the world’s largest maker of agricultural equipment, has raised its full-year earnings forecast and posted a fiscal second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates after higher crop prices supported US farm incomes.

Little Parrot by Katie Saunders (Caterpillar; €7.10 HB) is a touchy-feely board book that tells of a curious little parrot who sets out to explore his island neighbourhood.

Yesterday saw European markets follow overnight gains on Asian markets to recover more of the ground lost earlier in the week.

Just Like My Daddy by Sharon Harmer (Caterpillar; €5.92 HB) is a sturdy, comfortable-sized boardbook.

A drop in oil prices and strong bond auctions in Europe drove US stocks to a slightly higher close today.

THE heroic lifeboat crew involved in some of the state’s most dramatic rescues are training in England this week to prepare for the arrival of a state-of-the-art new vessel.

IRISH bond yields shot back up yesterday, to their highest level in more than three months — another knock-on effect of investor uncertainty over a solution to the eurozone debt crisis being found.

US STOCKS rose yesterday, capping a week of record swings for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as an increase in retail sales tempered concern the economy is slowing.

THURSDAY’s wide-reaching agreements aimed at saving the eurozone triggered only modest gains across European markets yesterday.

London’s FTSE 100 Index continued its recovery today despite a weak start on Wall Street after results from Caterpillar disappointed.

Sammy Snail, Illustrated by Yoojin Um (Caterpillar books €11.93 HB).

The biggest corporate hiring spree in five years ended a week-long slide in the stock market.

The biggest corporate hiring spree in five years has ended a week-long slide in the US stock market.

THE ISEQ finished the week with a further gain of 23.72 points to close at 3,013.44. European shares made fresh gains for a seventh straight session, as some analysts said equities would be supported by positive company earnings and steadily improving economic conditions.

Sri Lanka’s ambassador said US rights legislation and pressure for a war crimes probe complicate efforts to bring more American investment into the country.

THE Dow hit a seven-month low last night as increases in jobless claims and the trade deficit and a slowdown in China’s export growth spurred concern the economy may falter.

FOR THE youngster just coming to terms with numbers, who better to promote counting than the bunch of slimy, hairy uglies in The Monster Counting Book by Kate Daubeny (Caterpillar; €10.66)?