A series of multibillion dollar acquisitions gave Wall Street a modest advance today although many investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates later in the week.

A new round of strong earnings reports sent US stocks soaring for a second straight session Friday as investors shrugged off surprisingly slow growth in the nation’s gross domestic product.

THE last owners of Irish Steel, who have refused to pay the clean-up costs of their former Irish site, are set to form the world’s largest steel company in a €14 billion deal.