Williams has been adopted, willingly, as the battle queen of modern feminism, a shining emblem of the global movement towards equality and to right the wrongs dealt by millennia of patriarchy, writes Tommy Martin

The long-anticipated sale by Nama of €300m in property portfolio loans, associated with a number of O’Callaghan Properties (OCP) assets in Cork, has been welcomed by the company itself as “very positive” and could bring fresh and further investor activity to the city.

Aviva Ireland wants to increase its market share in pensions and life-assurance, having completed a €130m acquisition of Friends First, writes Eamon Quinn. 

Aviva Ireland wants to increase its market share in pensions and life-assurance, having completed a €130m acquisition of Friends First.

The problem affects women who took time out of the workforce to raise children, but it is also a product of the marriage ban, writes Michael Clifford

Hampstead ****

Des O’Sullivan looks forward to what promises to be an eventful auction in Castlecomer next Wednesday.

ONE of the funniest things about the Siteserv kerfuffle is the public indignation that the votes of shareholders in a banjaxed, bust company had to be ‘bought’ for €5m, before its sale could proceed. Imagine that; buying votes! The very thought.

The company taking over €250m of Bank of Ireland mortgages has applied to the Central Bank for full authorisation and intends to fully comply with all codes related to mortgage lending and arrears.

Zurich Life Ireland recorded an operating profit of €20.5m for the first six months of the year, which is a 35% increase on the same period in 2012.

Dramatic footage from a Luas tram shows the killer of street drug dealer Michael Kelly running across the tracks on his way to shoot the 27-year-old three times.

Gardaí are checking Luas cameras for a tall man wearing a tracksuit in connection with a gangland murder of a street drug dealer yesterday morning.

THE four-day visit to Ireland by US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Jun 1963 is seen as a turning point in the country’s modern history, writes Ray Ryan

British insurer Legal & General is using Ireland as its springboard into the potentially lucrative international insurance de-risking market, by signing an exclusive agreement to reinsure €136m worth of New Ireland Assurance’s existing and future annuity business.

It is believed that Bank of Ireland is in talks with the European Commission about retaining New Ireland Assurance, but no decision has been made on its future.

Clients of Ireland’s oldest stockbroking firm, Bloxham, have become customers of Davy Stockbrokers with immediate effect after the Central bank ordered Bloxham to cease trading.

BANK of Ireland has won EU approval for government help after it agreed to reduce reliance on wholesale funding and focus on “balanced risk” lending in Britain and Ireland.

New Ireland coach Mark Aston has included 13 uncapped players in his 30-man squad for the autumn internationals against France and Scotland.

BANK of Ireland is confident that the European Commission will approve its altered restructuring plan, allowing it to retain ownership of the well-performing ICS Building Society.

THE visit of the Queen of England has been the subject of considerable political and media focus. However, the occasion of this visit merits a much fuller discussion about how Ireland and Britain, in the wake of the recent seismic political changes, can build a better, more beneficial relationship for the peoples of both our islands.

RATING agency Standard & Poor’s yesterday said the country’s two main banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland, have made progress on the financial restructuring in recent months.

NEW Ireland Under-20 boss Mike Ruddock admits that development of young talent and the creation of a winning culture are his key objectives in the new role.

NEW Ireland boss Anthony Tohill insists he has no interest in recruiting players who view the International Rules series as a junket to Australia.

NAMA said it will take whatever actions necessary to protect the interests of the taxpayer as it moved to take over the first batch of €81 billion worth of loans from the country’s banks.

IRELAND needs to draw more on its unique culture and traditions in order to keep tourists flocking to her shores.

STEPHEN IRELAND insisted he never wants to leave Manchester City after signing a new five-year contract yesterday, writes Mark Garrod.

NEW Ireland manager Paul McNaughton believes the Croke Park crowd can play a major part when it comes to beating New Zealand for the first time in 22 meetings of the countries.

NEW Ireland senior men’s hockey coach Paul Revington gets his first chance to see his new charges in action later this month as Scotland arrive for a three-game series.

IT WOULD be all too easy to deride the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady, because of his Knock attack on our growing enthusiasm for horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, tarot cards, clairvoyants and mediums.

I JUST love this New Ireland hypocrisy.

LIKE Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats have built their agri-food policy around the €8 billion National Development Plan for agriculture and food launched by the Government earlier this year.

NEW Ireland recruit Brian Carney admits he will happily play in whatever position he is selected as he anticipates his first union international tour.

New Ireland recruit Brian Carney admits he will happily play in whatever position he is selected as he anticipates his first rugby union international tour.

Tánaiste Michael McDowell will today open his first national conference as Progressive Democrats leader as the party languishes at its lowest-ever position in the polls.

THERE was an average rise of 0.2% in Irish Pension Managed Funds in June, according to figures released yesterday by Mercer Investment Consulting.

The average Irish Pension Managed Fund was down 4.3% in May, according to the latest figures released by Mercer Investment Consulting today.

THE noted critic of militant republicanism, Tom Carew, would have us believe that the almost 30 years of strife in the North was just one very long crime wave — “organised serial mass murder”, he calls it (Irish Examiner letters, May 11).

IN her column in the Irish Examiner (November 18), Ivana Bacik referred to lay members of the Church whose unthinking deference to the clerical collar facilitated the tragic betrayal of children in Ferns.

WOMEN may be living longer than men but according to the latest research they are putting less away for retirement.