More and more companies are benefiting from lower borrowing costs by issuing bonds.

A female officer has suffered "multiple serious injuries" and four male officers were also hurt during an incident in England involving a man reportedly armed with an axe.

The Co-op’s banking arm revealed a setback to its recovery today after admitting it needs to raise another £400 million to cover past issues.

The Co-operative Group has confirmed that it will hand control of its troubled banking arm to a group of powerful investors through a new rescue plan.

“Traditional capitalist models” were not working and an alternative is needed, members of the UK's Co-operative Group were told today at its AGM.

The Co-op defended its banking business today after a ratings agency said it may need “external support” to maintain regulatory capital levels.

Insurance giant Aviva is eyeing a £650m takeover of The Co-operative’s insurance business in the UK, it was reported today.

Horsemeat weighing 40kg (88lb) has been sold to shoppers in the UK while wrongly labelled as beef, the country's Food Standards Agency said.

The Standing Committee of the Food Chain and Animal Health with experts from EU countries met to approve the series of tests proposed by agriculture ministers earlier this week as the horsemeat controversy widened further yesterday.

British supermarket chain Asda has withdrawn its 500g beef bolognese sauce from shelves after tests revealed the presence of horse DNA.

The Garda Fraud Squad has been called in to investigate the deepening horsemeat scandal after beef product at a Monaghan processing plant was found to contain 75% equine DNA.

The British supermarket chain Co-Op is the latest to drop Silvercrest as a supplier of frozen burgers- after finding 17% horse DNA in a burger produced by them.

A3 shareholders don’t have any Glanbia Co-op voting rights.

Lloyds Banking Group has reached agreement to sell 632 branches to the Co-operative Group in a deal worth up to £750m (€955m).

A proposal aimed at kick-starting the Co-op’s stalled acquisition of 632 Lloyds branches in the UK has been put to the markets regulator, it was reported today.

SHS Group has confirmed they had bought a majority shareholding in Bottlegreen Holdings Limited, an adult soft drinks business in the UK.

The proposed merger of the high street travel businesses of Thomas Cook and the Co-op was dealt a blow today after the Office of Fair Trading said the move significantly threatened competition.

PEOPLE on the island of Inis Meáin had their water switched off for almost a full day after the escalation of a pay row which has already frozen flights to and from the island.

The draw for the 4th round of the FAI Cup has thrown up some interesting ties with the pick of which being the meeting of Bohemians and fallen giants Shelbourne.

Early gains fizzled out on the London market today as optimism over a global economic recovery proved hard to sustain.

The Co-op today hailed its return to the big league of food retailing thanks to a £1.6bn (€2bn) takeover of rival Somerfield.

Salmon withdrawn from sale in the UK amid contamination fears may have been tainted by diesel from a boat, the supplier said today.

The Co-op is to become the latest supermarket to stop selling eggs from battery hens amid a growing consumer backlash over the impact of cheap food on animal welfare, it emerged today.

The British Co-operative Group offloaded its troubled shoe shops business Shoefayre to rival discount chain Shoe Zone today.

Convenience store rivals Co-op and Spar joined forces today in a bid to take on the increasing power of supermarket giants such as Tesco.

Co-operative Group became the UK’s fourth largest pharmacy chain today after announcing deals to buy two regional chemist busineses.

The Co-operative Group expanded its funeralcare operations today after securing majority control of the UK’s fourth-largest player.

A financier best known for his attempt to buy the Co-op has £2.4bn-valued (€3.6bn) insurer Royal & Sun Alliance in his sights, it was reported today.

Tesco is poised to overtake all its smaller rivals in the UK to become the largest operator of convenience stores this year, research showed today.

CORK-BASED Musgrave Group would make no comment yesterday on the prospect of another rival bid emerging for the British Londis group.

The fattiest and saltiest ready-made meals were named and shamed in the UK today – with some oozing three times as much fat as their competitors.

The British Co-operative movement was today celebrating its biggest trading improvement since the 1960s after seeing annual profits surge 38%.