Compiled by Laura Slattery
The numbers
250,000Estimated number of Irish people who will convert their euro into dollars and travel to the US this winter, according to Tour America.
$1.3927Record high reached by the euro against the dollar yesterday, as the threat of recession in the US and the prospect of imminent interest rate cuts brought the dollar to an all-time low.
500,000Number of extra barrels of oil a day that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed to produce in a bid to sustain global economic growth.
Quote of the week...."She campaigned for green issues for many years before it became fashionable to do so and inspired millions to the cause by bringing sustainable products to a mass market . . . She will be remembered not only as a great campaigner but also as a great entrepreneur." - British prime minister Gordon Brown leads the tributes to Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, who died this week from a brain haemorrhage, aged 64. Ms Roddick was an inspiration to women striving to set up their own companies, he said.
Good Week....
TV3The broadcaster attracted one of its highest audiences yet for a sports event on Sunday, when an average 452,000 viewers tuned in to watch the Irish rugby team's World Cup opener against Namibia.
Confused consumersThe financial regulator has redesigned its personal finance website, www.itsyourmoney.ie, to include new calculators for loans and mortgages, a budget planner, and more regularly updated and detailed surveys of financial products.
Aston MartinThe car driven by James Bond is considered the coolest brand in the UK, according to research firm Superbrands, which attributed its position to the success of Casino Royale. While Bond star Daniel Craig (right) also drives a Ford Mondeo in the film, it does not make the top 20.
Bad Week....
Fashion retailersPenneys owners AB Foods said competition among cut-price clothes chains was hurting its profits. Like-for-like sales at Next have dropped almost 4 per cent. And at French Connection, the second quarter "all went a bit pear-shaped", which is never a great shape for clothes.
Italian cuisineConsumers' associations in Italy asked people to go on a "pasta strike" and refrain from buying or eating their national dish yesterday in protest against price rises caused by a shift in land use from producing food to generating biofuels.
eBayThe online auction website is being sued by the world's biggest cosmetics maker, L'Oréal (now the owners of the Body Shop), over an alleged illicit trade in fake fragrances and cosmetics.
