... Business

• Small gains for European markets

PARIS: the Cac-40 index closed up 22.9 at 3675.0.

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• Smartphone users working 16 extra hours per week

Employees with company Blackberrys or smartphones are slaves to the hi-tech gadgets working an extra 16 hours a week, a new survey revealed today.

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• Vodafone rally helps FTSE

A rally of more than 2% for market heavyweight Vodafone helped London’s FTSE 100 Index hold on to recent gains today.

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• Economies paying high price for smoking: Report

Tobacco use costs the global economy hundreds of billions of euro a year, new research revealed today.

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• Stocks pull back from early highs as financials retreat

Investors slowed their hectic buying of stocks today, leaving the major indexes little changed after a four-day advance.

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• London hits new 10-month high

London’s blue chip share index powered on to a new 10-month high today as its 25-year record-breaking summer rally showed no sign of slowing.

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• ISEQ climbs above 3000 mark

The ISEQ index of Irish shares climbed above the 3,000-point mark in today's trading, adding 13.02 to close at 3,006.55.

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• Stricter reserve ratio to be imposed on credit unions

Stricter controls are being implemented on the amount of money credit unions must hold on deposit.

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• Bunzl cuts costs amid profits fall

Grocery packaging firm Bunzl today said profits were 37% lower in the UK and Ireland after the weak pound increased the cost of imported products.

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• UK housebuilder Bovis cautious on house prices

British homebuilder Bovis Homes sounded a note of caution on the UK housing market today as it reported a £8.6m (€9.9m) loss in the first half of the year.

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• 100 Ryanair passengers miss flights

Around 100 Ryanair passengers have missed flights out of Dublin airport because of what the company says is unofficial strike action by security staff.

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• US stocks jump on positive Bernanke comments

The Dow Jones industrials shot up 155 points today, closing above 9,500 for the first time since November 4, and all the big indexes finished with gains of more than 1.5%.

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• BT and Vodafone agreement approved by Competition Authority

BT and Vodafone today received approval from the Irish Competition Authority to progress the strategic partnership announced on July 22 this year.

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• FTSE shoots up 2%

The London market soared 2% to a fresh 10-month high today as shares rallied for a fourth session in a row.

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• Good gain for DAX 30

FRANKFURT: the DAX 30 closed up 151.7 at 5462.7.

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• European markets enjoy gains

PARIS: the Cac-40 index closed up 103.8 at 3609.2.

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• European Commission hits out at anti-Lisbon farmers

The European Commission has hit out at a group of farmers who are campaigning for a no vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum.

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• FTSE rallies

London’s blue chip share index rallied towards the 4800 barrier today as investors shrugged off economic doubts.

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• APN sees 50% profits slide

Media group APN, in which Independent News & Media has a 32.2% shareholding, has announced a 50% profits slide for the first half of the year.

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• Dow Jones up

NEW YORK: The Dow Jones closed up 70.9 at 9350.0.

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