... Business

• Asian stocks on the rise at close

HONG KONG: The Hang Seng index closed up 102.6 at 20971.5.

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• Gulf oil disaster costs BP 8bn

Oil giant BP said today that the cost of tackling the Gulf of Mexico disaster had risen to $8bn so far.

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• Government books 12bn in red

Government books were €12.1bn in the red last month, a fall of €6bn on the same time last year, official figures revealed today.

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• Samsung unveils iPad rival

Samsung is unveiling a new tablet PC named Galaxy Tab in a bid to rival Apple’s iPad.

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• Jameson toasts sales of 2.7 million cases worldwide

Figures released today show that the sales of Jameson Whiskey, made in Midleton, continue to soar worldwide.

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• Burger King sold for 2.5m

Fast food chain Burger King is selling itself to private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal valued at $3.26bn (€2.5m).

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• Slower housebuilding hits UK construction growth

A sharp slowdown in housebuilding in the UK sapped construction growth during August, an industry survey showed today.

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• Total Produce reveals rise in pre-tax profits

Total Produce have reported a 5.5% increase on their pre-tax profits for the first six months of the year up to the end of June.

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• Apple launches new iPod range

Apple announced a new range of iPods today, including a Nano model that has a touch screen and no buttons.

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• Ryanair announce new Barcelona base

Ryanair has announced the opening of a new base at Barcelona's El Prat airport.

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• Digicel customer numbers reach 11 million

Digicel has announced that it has hit the 11 million customer mark across its 32 markets worldwide.

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• Survey reveals low level of trust in management

People working for companies hit hard by the recession have extremely low levels of trust in their bosses.

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• Kerry Group reports robust performance

Kerry Group has announced an after-tax profit of €132m for the six months to the end of June, compared with €93.7m in the same period last year.

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• IL&P narrows losses confirms EBS merger plan

Irish Life & Permanent has said the first six months of the year brought "a less hostile environment" for the group's activities, and reported that its life assurance business saw growth, while the mortgages market remained "depressed".

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• Grafton announces 13.4m profit as market eases considerably

Builders providers Grafton have announced a before-tax profit of €13.4m for the six months to the end of June, up from €3.7m in the same period last year.

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• Eircom revenues drop 8.5%

Eircom has announced an 8.5% drop in its revenues for the year to the end of June, to €1.8bn, and its boss Paul Donovan admitted that "net debt remains very high".

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• India holds off banning Blackberry mobiles

India postponed a ban on BlackBerry mobiles today after threatening to shut the service down in a dispute over access to the encoded emails of users.

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• IDA recruitment embargo set to be lifted

Enterprise Minister Batt O'Keeffe is set to give in to the IDA's demands for more staff.

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• Vodafone to sell 4.9m China Mobile shares

Mobile phone giant Vodafone is planning to sell its shares in China Mobile - the world’s biggest mobile-phone operator – for more than €4.9bn, it was reported today.

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• Billionaire Buffet lines up to bid for RBS insurance arm

Royal Bank of Scotland has brought in a team of advisers to help sell its insurance business Direct Line after a flurry of interest from potential buyers - including American billionaire Warren Buffett, it was claimed today.

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