The River

Credit-default swaps linked to the senior debt of Anglo Irish Bank Corp. jumped 54.5 basis points to 687, according to data provider CMA, the highest level since July 2009. (read this article)

Retail sales in both the euro zone and the EU27 rose by 1 per cent from June to July, according to new data from Eurostat. (read this article)

Architectural and Metal Systems (AMS) is to create 31 new jobs in Co Cork as part of a €8 million expansion. (read this article)

LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks edged higher on Friday after U.S. shares climbed, but the dollar struggled as markets braced for a key U.S. labour report expected to show more job losses, clouding the outlook for recovery. (read this article)

Kerry Group's bid to acquire Newmarket Co-op got a boost today after shareholders at the Cork-based co-op voted in favour of a rule change which allows the PLC to proceed with an offer. (read this article)

BP has said the cost of dealing with its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had risen to $8 billion as the oil giant prepared to release the findings of an internal probe into the causes of the disaster. (read this article)

LONDON (Reuters) - Metro Bank, Britain's first new high street retail bank in more than 100 years, said on Friday it was ahead of its own targets for new account openings at its flagship branch. (read this article)

UK service sector activity grew last month at its slowest pace since April 2009, with a marked fall in hiring as employers worried about an economic slowdown and public spending cuts. (read this article)

LONDON (Reuters) - BP Plc said the cost of dealing with its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had risen to $8 billion (5 billion pounds) as the oil giant prepared to release the findings of an internal probe into the causes of the disaster. (read this article)

Double-dip recession fears were fuelled today as the UK's powerhouse services sector registered its slowest growth in more than a year during August (read this article)

The pace of recovery in the euro zone's dominant service sector barely changed in August from July, according to a business survey that showed growth of the bloc's wider private sector slowed slightly last month. (read this article)

LONDON (Reuters) - Service sector activity grew last month at its slowest pace since April 2009, with a marked fall in hiring as employers worried about an economic slowdown and public spending cuts, a survey showed on Friday. (read this article)

China offered a rare glimpse into its foreign exchange reserves on Friday, confirming that they are overwhelmingly allocated in dollars, while a central banker said the mountain of cash could face depreciation risks. (read this article)

LONDON (Reuters) - Slim gains from miners and energy firms nudged the FTSE 100 slightly higher on Friday, but moves were muted ahead of closely watched August employment data from the United States. (read this article)

Losses at Merrion Pharmaceuticals narrowed by 65 per cent in the first-half of 2010. (read this article)

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings , Europe's biggest bank, warned that Britain's big banks could move overseas if a government review decides that lenders should be broken up. (read this article)

SEOUL (Reuters) - The head of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision urged emerging market economies on Friday to adopt news rules on bank capital even though they may feel they have sufficient regulatory arrangements in place. (read this article)

Another oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico - just over four months since BP's Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. (read this article)

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at a record low next week -- and probably well into next year -- to keep economic recovery on track in the face of a painful fiscal squeeze and weakening global backdrop. (read this article)

Oil giant BP said today that the cost of tackling the Gulf of Mexico disaster had risen to £5.2 billion so far. (read this article)