A rogue trader who lost £1.4bn (€1.74bn) in bad deals which nearly brought down a major international bank was found guilty of two counts of fraud today.

Times are hard but football’s gravy train rolls on.

The head of Switzerland’s central bank Philipp Hildebrand has quit in the wake of a public uproar over his private currency deals.

Credit Suisse Group has announced a 3% cut in its staff across the board after reporting weak third-quarter net profits of 683m Swiss francs (€570m).

Scandal-hit UBS today admitted internal financial controls were “not effective” when alleged rogue trading took place at the bank, as it revealed the action had triggered a 39% slump in profits.

UBS today revised upwards the cost of the rogue trading to $2.3bn.

UBS shares have recouped some of the losses they suffered in the wake of the Swiss bank’s announcement that it suffered a €1.48bn loss due to alleged rogue trading.

Swiss banking group UBS today revealed a rogue trader had cost it an estimated US$2bn (€1.45bn).

EUROPEAN Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet has said central bankers around the world are ready to support the banking system as the global economy slows.

The Swiss National Bank has intensified its measures against the strong franc by boosting the supply of the currency in the money markets.

Swiss bank UBS is revising its dress code after being mocked for suggesting employees wear skin-coloured underwear and avoid garlic breath.

IRISH government bonds have been rejected as a form of collateral by the Swiss central bank.

FLASHY cars, Swiss bank accounts and an airplane led to the arrest of a bevy of farmers accused of selling their soft fruit and veg on the black market and leading to an EU-wide search for accomplices.

DUBLINERS are paying the 10th highest prices in the world for goods and services – but with the fourth highest average wages they can earn enough in 15 minutes to buy a McDonald’s Big Mac.

Net wage levels in Dublin have been ranked fourth highest in the world in a report published today by the Swiss bank UBS.

The Swiss National Bank cut its key interest rate in half to 0.5% today – its fourth reduction since October.

UBS plans to cut first-half bonus payments to its employees by 4 billion Swiss francs (€2.5bn), Swiss newspaper Sonntag CH reported on Sunday without disclosing its sources.

Swiss bank UBS today said it was axing around 5,500 jobs as it revealed first quarter losses of 11.5 billion Swiss francs (€7bn).

Confidence in the banking sector received a fresh blow today after Swiss bank Credit Suisse revealed further write-downs.

Wall Street advanced today as expectations for an interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve and an uptick in pending home sales helped offset concerns about another round of subprime mortgage-related losses.

Investment bank UBS today warned of further write-downs amid the fall-out from the US sub-prime mortgage crisis as it posted its first quarterly loss in nine years.

ADVISERS to Aer Lingus are in for a windfall after the Government triggered the airline’s stock market listing yesterday.

INVESTMENT bankers and legal advisers are set to earn close to €10 million in fees from the flotation of Aer Lingus, senior Dublin investment sources said yesterday.

AER Lingus put the for sale sign up yesterday. The national airline has appointed two financial advisers ahead of its privatisation.

Coca-Cola has held on to its top spot in a key line-up of global leading brands for the fifth year in a row, it emerged today.

AIB has confirmed that it could raise €100 million from the sale and leaseback of a new development at its headquarters in the centre of Dublin.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it has hiked interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected by economists.

A late-session buying spurt gave US stocks a moderate lift today.

JP McMANUS, the man who never liked school, yesterday received a doctorate from the University of Limerick.