Each quarter, every quoted US company provides results and updated guidance which is honed in on by analysts and investors to provide a gauge as to how the company is performing and how the outlook for the remainder of the year compares with the prior view.

Investors in the Irish stock market should favour Irish firms that have less exposure to the UK — until the outcome of the British referendum on membership of the EU is known, Merrion Capital has said in a major report.

The decision by the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates is set to have profound implications for investors and companies alike in both developed and emerging markets over the next year.

The global investment landscape has been transformed since 2009.

Digicel Group, the mobile-services company owned by Denis O’Brien, is planning to raise $1.5bn-$2bn (€1.78bn) in an initial public offering as soon as this month, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Just months after being launched, UTV’s Irish television station could be offloaded along with the rest of the group’s TV assets.

Bank of Ireland yesterday indicated it was sticking to its guns over variable mortgage interest rates as the lender delivered a sparkling set of half-term results that reflected the huge upswing in the economy.

Michael Noonan appears to have ruled out selling down an initial stake in AIB to stock markets until after the election.

Shares in Ryanair were boosted yesterday after one of its smaller rivals — British low-cost airline easyJet — forecast profit growth of 14%, and on expectations that the Irish airline’s new “cuddly” customer-service focus is paying off.

Shares in Dublin-listed exploration firm Dragon Oil hit a record high, yesterday, as the company agreed to improved takeover terms tabled by its majority shareholder.

Virgin Atlantic will try to frustrate and delay clearance of the takeover by Willie Walsh’s IAG of Aer Lingus, but will likely land short of persuading the Brussels’ competition regulators to shoot down the deal altogether, analysts say.

Aer Lingus’s continued focus on its long-haul routes allied with containing costs led the airline to a strong set of opening quarter results.

Aer Lingus carried 18,000 additional passengers last month in comparison to the same period in 2014.

Government officials are to meet with representatives of IAG again today to hammer out a deal over the sale of Aer Lingus but may be unable to accommodate one of the airline group’s key requests.

Fresh doubts have been expressed over IAG’s pursuit of Aer Lingus after one of the Cabinet’s most senior ministers said the current offer is not sufficient for the Government to part with its stake.

Stephen Kavanagh’s appointment as Aer Lingus chief executive has been heralded as a positive development by analysts.

As many as 150 Aer Lingus staff across Dublin, Cork, and Shannon airports could be made redundant as a result of a voluntary severance scheme which was opened to employees earlier this week.

Ryanair’s impressive winter performance continued last month with the airline yesterday reporting a 30% year-on-year rise in passenger numbers for January.

IAG’s takeover of Aer Lingus would secure the former national carrier’s future and could create thousands of jobs that would far outweigh any potential losses, an expert has claimed.

Aer Lingus shares fell in Dublin trading amid growing political opposition to a takeover bid by IAG, the owner of British Airways.

Kingspan has taken “a quantum leap” in its global expansion plans by acquiring Belgian specialist building materials firm Joris Ide for an estimated €315m.

The profitability of routes from Cork and Shannon airports to Heathrow is not strong enough at present to ensure their survival in the medium to long term, it has been claimed.

Co Cavan-based building materials group Kingspan is in advanced talks over a takeover deal in Belgium which would see the company significantly expand its insulated panels business in mainland Europe.

Building materials group CRH spent €190m on 21 separate acquisitions and investments last year as part of its portfolio refinement.

Builders, merchanting, and DIY group Grafton increased revenues by almost 10% last year, helped by exposure to the recovering construction sectors in Ireland and the UK.

Fyffes’s proposed merger with US fruit producer, Chiquita Brands is looking more realistic after the latter rejected an improved takeover offer from Brazilian consortium, Cutrale- Safra.

Irish banana producer Fyffes yesterday announced it had agreed to a new merger proposal with Chiquita which would see it receive a smaller share of the newly-combined company.

Glanbia has agreed to purchase US-based sports nutrition company Isopure for $153m.

Shares in Dublin-based fruit giant, Fyffes plummeted over 20% at one point yesterday after its intended merger with Chiquita Brands was thrown into jeopardy, with the latter receiving an unsolicited $611m takeover offer.

Packaging group Smurfit Kappa achieved a 79% increase in profits in the first six months of the year compared to the same period of 2013, it was announced yesterday.

Eircom Group’s advisers have approached some of Europe’s largest private-equity firms as Ireland’s former phone monopoly weighs a sale or a return to the stock market, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Chiquita Brands International, owner of the namesake banana label, agreed to buy Ireland’s Fyffes to create the world’s biggest supplier of the fruit for about €407m.

Independent News and Media stock price closed down 15% yesterday after a turbulent day of trading that at one stage had seen the company lose almost a quarter of its value and fall to 4.1c.

While Ryanair has announced it is suing Channel 4 for their portrayal of the airline, Merrion Capital believe that the bad publicity makes for a good investment opportunity.

Spending tens of millions of euro fighting Ryanair’s takeover bids is hitting Aer Lingus’s profits and resulting in a lower dividend for shareholders, according to Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Müller

Ryanair is offering Flybe Group €100m and use of Aer Lingus’s brand name for three years in a bid to secure EU consent to complete its €800m takeover of the national airline.