Planet Business

Compiled by Laura Slattery.

Quote of the Week

"You have heard of white-collar jobs and blue-collar jobs - well these will be green-collar jobs."

- Hillary Clinton announces her plan for the US "to lead the global green revolution", saying that her proposals to reduce carbon emissions and raise fuel efficiency standards would create five million jobs.

The Numbers

$38 billion General Motors' dive into the red, one of the largest quarterly losses ever recorded in the US. The figures, said one sector analyst, were "not a typo".

$3.7 billionThe hit taken by investment bank Morgan Stanley as a result of the recent subprime crisis in the US. But it has escaped more lightly than Citigroup and Merrill Lynch.

€38The cost of offsetting a one-way business-class journey from London to Sydney on Virgin Atlantic under its new inflight carbon offset scheme. The scheme will see cabin crew offering a conscience-salving service alongside the usual duty-free alcohol and perfume.The IDA

Good Week

The IDAApart from low corporation tax and a skilled workforce, the IDA now has a new hook to attract multinationals to Ireland: the cold weather. Microsoft said the extreme-free, low-humidity climate meant Dublin was the ideal site for its new European mega data centre as it would need less energy to cool its computers down.

Naked animalsPet paraphernalia is about to go public, making it easier for people to invest in the cat legwarmers and dog tutus trade, after the UK's Pets at Home stores group appointed City advisers for a possible stock market float.

Marks & SpencerFinding that congealed meal-for-one a little too turgid? No need to feel guilty for throwing it in the bin: that pasta could power a fridge. Marks & Spencer has achieved a first among retailers by using household food waste to power some of its stores.

Bad Week

The dollarAfter last week's Fed rate cut, the US currency has taken another battering - this time courtesy of the world's richest model, Gisele Bündchen (right). Brazilian magazine Veja says that, when the supermodel signed a deal to represent Pantene hair products, she asked to be paid in euro because she didn't fancy the outlook for the sliding dollar.

O'BriensDon't worry if there is an extra crunch factor in your wrap - it's probably just the crispy bacon. The sandwich bar chain has taken out a High Court injunction against the franchise holder of the now closed first-floor Stephen's Green Shopping Centre store, after health inspectors found cockroaches on the premises.

LawyersThe Law Society has declared emergency rule and arrested and imprisoned hundreds of constitution-defending lawyers. No, sorry, that's the Pakistani military. The Law Society is under scrutiny for failing to promptly identify and castigate solicitors Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne, who have been too busy making wayward property investments to engage in any political protests.

Quote of the Week 2

"It is hard to say how this will play out but volatility is certain, which is natural when extreme levels of fear and greed are sitting on such a knife edge."

- Ross Norman, director of gold market trackers Bulliondesk.com, sums up the uncertainty that has pushed the price of gold to within touching distance of its record high.