Mining stocks powered the latest rally for London’s FTSE 100 Index today after investors were cheered by economic news in the United States.

AIB’s attempt to offload a portfolio of British-based property loans valued at €245m has been revived after an earlier deal collapsed at the start of the week.

Since it assumed office a year ago the Government has been under constant, growing pressure to resolve the shuddering debt crisis.

THE impact of a Greek debt restructuring on non-Greek European banks would be “milder” now than a year ago thanks to European Central Bank loans, according to Goldman Sachs’ analysts.

FORMER EU commissioner and current chairman of Goldman Sachs’ overseas arm, Peter Sutherland, wants the EU to review the terms of Ireland’s bailout package on the grounds it could be totally counter productive.

New York: Facebook isn’t worth $50 billion (€36.53bn), according to a poll of global investors that shows scepticism about Goldman Sachs’ recent estimate of the largest social-networking site’s value and concern that a bubble may be forming in the technology sector.

Mining stocks weighed the FTSE 100 Index down today amid fears that further Chinese monetary tightening will choke demand.

THE Dáil returned from its spring break yesterday and if most of us were to be honest we’d far prefer to try clean up the scandalous mess left by Michael Fingleton at Irish Nationwide — a loss of €2.9bn for 2009 — rather than take on the huge challenges facing our Government.

Goldman Sachs’ 100 UK-based partners are capping their 2009 pay and bonus packages at £1m (€1.14m) each in a bid to ease public anger at huge payouts, it was reported today.

THIS week we saw, depending on how the dice falls for you, how different life in Ireland can be.

London’s blue chip share index struggled for direction today as financials and miners lost ground after yesterday’s rally.

SUPERQUINN has denied that it is up for sale, but has confirmed it has received expressions of interest from British retailers.

A barrage of bad news including a new record high for oil sent Wall Street plunging today, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 360 points to their lowest level in nearly two years.

The FTSE 100 Index finished deep in negative territory today as results from a host of blue-chip firms failed to inspire the London market.

Retail tycoon Philip Green moved today to quash speculation that he may be lining up another takeover approach for Marks & Spencer.

The backers of Philip Green’s ill-fated bid for Marks & Spencer are in the running to take over the world’s biggest foreign exchange company, it was reported today.

GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc., the number one underwriter of equities worldwide during the past five years, lost market share in 2003 in the weakest year for initial public offerings in more than a decade.