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Anglo credit rating may be downgraded

Anglo Irish Bank has had its credit rating put on review for a possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service.

Moody's analyst Ross Abercromby said: "The rapid deterioration in the economic environment in Ireland and in the UK, and the substantial reduction in property values, leaves the bank vulnerable to increasing provisioning needs, and these factors have triggered this rating review."

Moody's is reviewing Anglo Irish's A1 long-term bank deposit rating and its C+ bank financial strength rating.

Russian government to buy firms' shares

Russia's government plans to support the country's financial markets by buying shares in Russian companies, finance minister Alexei Kudrin said yesterday.

"This is an investment of the National Wealth Fund into reliable and highly profitable securities," he said, referring to one of the nation's two sovereign wealth funds.

The move came as the central bank announced a $2 billion (€1.5 billion) rescue for Globex bank.

Builders top insolvency league

Builders topped the league for the number of companies that went to the wall in the first nine months of the year.

Figures released yesterday by Farrell Grant Sparks show that 190 construction and engineering companies failed by the end of September.

This was out of a total of 477 businesses that became insolvent during the period.

The sector was by far responsible for the largest share of that figure, with the next worst performer, hospitality, accounting for 68 failures.

Shares in Premier Foods slump

Shares in Britain's biggest food manufacturer, Premier Foods, have fallen by more than 50 per cent as traders cite market speculation that the company has breached, or was about to breach banking covenants.

However, a source close to the company said Premier would have had to issue a stock exchange statement if it had breached, or expected to breach, conditions attached to its loans. The company, which acquired Campbell's Irish operations in 2006, declined to comment.

Earlier this week it said it was looking at proposals to reduce debt levels.

Major expansion of Belfast airport

George Best Belfast City Airport has been given the green light for a major expansion which could cater for an extra 3,000 scheduled flights and up to 500,000 additional passengers a year.

The Department of the Environment in the North has agreed to lift certain planning restrictions provided the airport adheres to strict new regulations on noise and flight patterns.

Total air traffic movements - including scheduled and non-scheduled flights - are to be capped at 48,000 a year. The "seats for sale" cap will be increased from 1.5 million to two million a year.

Google results defy downturn

Google has surprised Wall Street with third-quarter results which have defied the economic slowdown.

The internet search and advertising giant had revenue, including commissions paid to affiliated advertising sites, of $5.54 billion (€4.13 billion), up 31 per cent from the year-earlier quarter.

It has reported net income of $1.35 billion, or $4.24 a diluted share, up from $1.07 billion, or $3.38 a share.

IBM signs $12.7bn in new contracts

IBM says it has signed new contracts of $12.7 billion (€9.46 billion) in the third quarter, including deals with the royal Dutch navy and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

It has reported a 5 per cent rise in sales to $25.3 billion.

Pretax profit has risen 20 per cent to $2.82 billion.