WHITE Young Green (WYG), the British headquartered civil engineering consultancy group, has said that its Irish operations contributed strongly to the group’s interim results for the six months to the end of December.

Matalan shares jumped 7% today as investors cheered better-than-expected sales figures from the discount retailer.

The FTSE 100 Index today looked set to trade above the 6000 barrier for the first time since mid-May.

Richard Branson was today said to be planning to merge gym chain Holmes Place with his own health club, Virgin Active.

Bookmaker William Hill today said its profits for last year were likely to be above expectations as it looked forward to a strong 2006 buoyed by betting on the football World Cup.

British casino operator Stanley Leisure has joined forces with a Malaysian firm in a bid to develop a network of Las Vegas-style sites, it emerged today.

British Airways was the big loser on the London market today as the price of crude soared to new heights.

Casino operator Stanley Leisure today unveiled plans to bring a slice of Las Vegas to Yorkshire in England in a move that could also create more than 1,000 jobs.

The London market set aside high oil prices to stage an afternoon fightback today but still ended the session in negative territory.

BOOKMAKERS Paddy Power came a cropper at the Grand National and Cheltenham with a winning streak by punters, slashing a full €4 million off expected operating profits for the first six months of the year.

Irish bookies Paddy Power was out of favour in London today after reporting the impact of a successful run for punters at a number of key race meetings.

London’s leading shares endured a nervy session today as investors watched for positive news from both the war in Iraq and British Chancellor Gordon Brown’s budget announcement.

Gamblers on a losing streak helped bookmaker and casino operator Stanley Leisure come up trumps on the London market today.