Artist Damien Hirst bucked the economic trend today as his high profile auction of work continued in record-breaking style.

POLICYHOLDERS at Equitable Life could be in line for some good news following reports that insurance giant Prudential is interested in buying up to €10.4 billion (£7bn) of annuities from the group.

THE chairman and chief executive of Equitable Life faced calls to resign yesterday as the society dropped its stg£700 million (€1.03 billion) damages claim against its former auditors.

Troubled British mutual Equitable Life sought to bolster its financial position today with an offer to buy back bonds with a value of up to £260m (€373.7m).