Bank of Ireland gained strongly on Friday with an increase of 30c to 1507 while Anglo Irish edged up 1c to 1340. Irish Life and Permanent declined by 6c to 1830.

LONDON FTSE 100 5907.9 Up 0.8% on week UK stocks advanced on Friday, paced by BAA, after it was reported that Grupo Ferrovial this week secured "nancing for a planned bid for the world's largest airport operator company. Banks such as Lloyds TSB, HSBC and Barclays gained.

Rank Group fell to the lowest in almost three years after Merrill Lynch recommended selling the shares. The FTSE 100 gained after a US jobs report signall0ed that the world's largest economy is growing at a pace that will lift profits.

Lloyds TSB paced advancing shares. Britain's "fth-largest bank by assets, increased 4.5p, or 0.9 %, to 535.5, while Barclays, the third-largest, gained 13.5p, or 2.1% , to 660.5. GlaxoSmithKline rose 18p, or 1.2%, to 1577, extending gains for the second session in row.

EUROPE Euro Stoxx 50 3505.78 Up 0.8% on week European stocks increased to their highest in more than a week on Friday as speculation of increased takeovers in the financial industry pushed up shares of Societe Generale and Capitalia. Societe Generale increased 4.8% to 120, its biggest gain since 3 September, 2003. It was reported that Citigroup may make a bid.

NEW YORK DOW 11,076.5, up 0.5% Nasdaq 2,262.3, down 0.5% S&P 500 1,281.75, up 0.2% US stocks made back some of their losses for the week after a report showed better-than-expected job growth in February, signalling the economic expansion is sustainable amid rising interest rates. A slide in fuel prices sent shares higher with the expectation of higher consumer con"dence.