IN SANTA CRUZ, 80 miles south of San Francisco, a lady decides to hop on her bike and head north.

THE French have a saying that the more things change the more they stay the same. This weekend thousands of young people will flock to the Oxegen music festival at Punchestown, but unlike some such gatherings elsewhere, it does not seem to have any real focus of protest.

The 2008 GAA Football All-Stars, sponsored by Vodafone, will have 32 players drawn from 11 counties making the trip next Wednesday to San Francisco.

Wall Street advanced in uneven trading today after a drop in oil prices and an unexpected gain in new home sales encouraged investors to put money back into the market.

Swept into the most powerful political job ever held by a US woman, Nancy Pelosi embarked on a jubilant victory lap with children and grandchildren in tow and a soundtrack by Tony Bennett: I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

US stocks fell for the second day in a row today after warnings from several home builders raised investors’ concerns about an economic slowdown and comments about inflation from San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen offered little comfort.