Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline today said soaring sales of its asthma drug Advair and diabetes medication Avandia drove profits up 16%.

SPECULATION is mounting that Eircom will return to the market this year, five years after its initial flotation.

Manufacturers are set for a boost with the Bank of England expected to cut interest rates for the first time in a year.

A leading City analyst says it is too early to talk about an interest rate cut in the UK after the US Federal Reserve's surprise move to cut rates on the other side of the Atlantic.