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Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland have agreed terms with the government over a 7 billion euro ($8.97 billion) capital injection into the two groups, the Irish Times said on Saturday.
British Airways said on Friday that it plunged into the red during its third quarter, resulting in a pretax loss of 70 million pounds for the first nine months of the year, down from a profit of 816 million pounds a year ago.
The Bank of England is widely expected to reduce UK interest rates to 1% from the current 1.5% when it makes its latest monthly decision later.
Gas producer BG Group said net profit, excluding one-off items, beat forecasts with a 25 percent jump in the fourth quarter compared with the same period in 2007 and gave a buoyant outlook for growth.
Life insurer Aviva reassured investors on its capital strength on Wednesday and said its dividend policy was unchanged as it reported a better-than-expected 8.6 percent jump in full-year sales.
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, braced for a very uncertain future as it reported a 2.2 percent increase in first-half profits, aided by a last burst of Chinese demand growth.
BP pledged to protect its dividend payments today after confirming a £7bn bumper payout to shareholders – which now accounts for more than a tenth of cash returned in the UK market.
Vodafone Group, the world's largest mobile phone group by sales, beat third-quarter forecasts for revenues on Tuesday and increased its guidance to reflect foreign exchange movements.
BP said replacement cost net profit fell in the fourth quarter to $2.587 billion (1.82 billion pounds) and undershot forecasts as oil prices collapsed and its Russian unit reported a big loss.