Guinness bosses hope sales will surge during the recession and it will grab a bigger chunk of the sluggish Irish beer market.

Oil prices slumped to a fresh 18-month low today as the mild winter in the United States and western Europe kept a lid on demand at a time of growing global supplies.

Troubles at oil giant BP deepened today after output in the last three months fell even lower than a year ago when production was devastated by hurricanes.

BP will report a sharp jump in profits today, although the figure is unlikely to top the record set by rival Royal Dutch Shell last week.