STATE Street Corp, the third- largest custody bank, said profit climbed to $454 million (€358m), or 93 cents a share, from $435m, or 87 cents, a year earlier.

Financial stocks led Wall Street sharply higher today on investor hopes the Obama administration will create banks to absorb the bad assets weighing down the financial system.

THE Dublin Funds Industry Association, whose members service more than €1 trillion of assets, has dropped the word Dublin from its name because the industry is expanding beyond the city.

US stocks were mixed today as investor enthusiasm over a sharp drop in initial unemployment claims was offset by rising oil prices.