C&C Group, hammered midweek after a weak trading update, knocked more than a quarter off the value of its shares, was up 0.16% to 6.380 on the day's trading. The banks . . .suffering as the market prices in a housing market slowdown . . . finished the week with smallish losses:

Anglo Irish was down 0.14% at 14, Allied Irish Banks fell 0.56 to 19.500, and Bank of Ireland lost 0.49% to finish at 14.130.

Shares of European exporters fell last week after reports signalled the US economy is slowing and oil companies dropped as analysts cut their recommendation on the industry.

Europe's Stoxx 600 slid 0.2 in the week. The measure tumbled the most since March the previous week on concern that losses from the US subprime-market rout may spread.

National benchmarks fell in 11 of the 18 western European markets.

Germany's DAX dropped 0.2%, while France's CAC 40 slid 0.8%. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2%. The Stoxx 50 slipped less than 0.1%, and Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.4%.

Stocks fell on the final day of the week after a government report showed US employers added fewer jobs than economists forecast in July.

Siemens declined 4%.

The company makes 20% of its sales in the US.

Philips, the world's biggest maker of electric shavers which generates almost a third of its revenue in the US, lost 1.9%. ING slid 2.6%. The biggest Dutch financial-services company generates more than 40% of its sales in the US. BP, Europe's second-biggest oil company, fell 3.1%, while Total, the region's thirdlargest oil producer, declined 3.5%. Shell, the biggest, lost 2.8%.

Nokia rallied 5.6%, its steepest gain since June.

The world's biggest maker of mobile phones reported an unexpected rise in second-quarter profit as it booked a one-time gain after creating a network equipment venture with Siemens.

France Telecom, Europe's third-largest phone company, climbed 4.2% after posting a 41% jump in first-half profit as the company paid lower taxes and added broadband internet subscribers in its home market.

So far, 27 of 36 companies in the Stoxx 50 index that have reported second-quarter earnings have surpassed estimates, Bloomberg data shows.

Societe Generale rose 1.7% after reporting a 33% rise in earnings, boosted by trading revenue and gains from the sale of a stake in Euronext.

British Airways and Ryanair led airlines higher after the companies reported better-thanexpected earnings.

British Airways rallied 3.2% after Europe's thirdlargest airline posted a 75% jump in first-quarter profit to �269m.

Ryanair surged 14%, the best week since February 2005, after Europe's biggest discount airline doubled its forecast for fullyear earnings growth. Profit rose 20% to 138.9 million euros, beating analysts' estimates.

Lufthansa, Europe's second-biggest airline, gained 4.6%. EasyJet, the region's second-largest lowcost airline, jumped 13%.

Goldman Sachs this week added EasyJet's shares to its "conviction buy" list.

Milestones Numbers US car firms relinquished their dominant position in the American market for the first time in history as Chrysler, Ford and General Motors saw their collective market share drop to 49.5% in July.

Japanese manufacturers, particularly Toyota, Honda and Nissan, have been the chief bene"ciaries of Detroit's decline.

.DUBLIN ISEQ 8,595.23 Up 2.8% on week
.EUROPE DJ Stoxx 50 3,718.31 Down 1.40% on week
.OIL Brent = $76.00 Down 0.23% on week
.LONDON FTSE 6,224.30 Down 1.21% on week
.NEW YORK DOW 13,181.91 Down 2.09% Nasdaq 2,433.06 Down 2.66%
.EURO/DOLLAR 1 = $1.37 Up 0.65%

Equity movers

IRISH SHARES

GAINERS
Company + %

Ryanair +14.08%
Siteserv +13.56%
Thirdforce +13.51%
DCC +11.56%

LOSERS
Company - %

Donegal Creameries -1.47%
Qualceram Shires -1.50%
Horizon -2%
Kerry Group -2.5%
Elan -3.33%
Boundary Capital -3.88%
Glencar Mining -6.87%
Iona -9.03%
Finance Ireland -14.62%
C&C -21.62%

INTERNATIONAL

GAINERS
Company + %

Debenhams +7.14%
Nokia +5.61%
Standard Life +5.34%
Liberty Global +5.09%

LOSERS
Company - %

American International -5.69%
Morgan Stanley -5.83%
Goldman Sachs -6.73%
Merrill Lynch -6.92%
Apple -8.34%
Amgen -8.49%
Marathon Oil -9.68%
Babcock & Brown -10.46%
Lehman Bros -13.14%

The week ahead

MONDAY Bank Holiday UK industrial production
TUESDAY Easyjet trading update US productivity US consumer credit Germany industrial output Fed rates decision Results: Scottish and Newcastle, Xstrata, Standard Chartered, Bayer, Beiersdorf, Cisco WEDNESDAY UK inflation Results: ITV, Royal & Sun Alliance, Friends Provident, ING
THURSDAY Consumer prices (inflation) UK external trade ECB monthly bulletin Results: Trinity Biotech, BAE, Aviva, Ladbrokes, Fortis FRIDAY Industrial production Index of employment in construction Public sector employment and earnings Results: Readymix, KBC

The week that was

KNEEL BEFORE RUPERT BSKYB'S �125m purchase of Amstrad last week met with a warm response from media industry analysts who predicted Sky will begin a new era of TV innovation now that it has its own in-house hardware maker. What Sky's other suppliers of set top boxes and digital recorders make of the deal is another story entirely. However what we really want to know is how the egregiously grumpy Alan Sugar will get on with the head of BSkyB, Rupert Murdoch's 33-yearold son James? Sugar famously said he'd never work for someone else, and often awards the winner of 'The Apprentice' TV show with a job in Amstrad.

Hands up who wants to see Sugar as Murdoch's lackey on the telly?

Speaking of Murdoch lackeys, he's got a few thousand more on the leash now that he's finally acquired Dow Jones and its flagship newspaper the 'Wall Street Journal' after finally persuading enough of the Bancroft family to sell their shares. There has been wailing and gnashing of teeth in lower Manhattan as Journal editorial staff agonise over an anticipated change in newsroom culture when Rupert starts to exert himself. The best comment we've heard comes from a City employee of a major US bank, who emailed the 'Sunday Tribune' with the following: "If this were any other company and the various owners and/or the board were squabbling about 'soft interests' such as culture and nonshareholder constituencies like employees and customers, the Journal would have no patience for not delivering value to shareholders." Tu quoque.

THIS TIME WE MEAN IT

THE independent directors of Irish Continental Group have set a final deadline of 17 August to resolve the impasse between rival bidders Aella and Moonduster over the ownership of the shipping company. After that date, the directors said in a statement to the Irish Stock Exchange, the outstanding offers by the two parties would lapse, barring them from further offers for 12 months.

Both Aella . . . the vehicle of the management buyout team . . . and Moonduster, which is a consortium between Philip Lynch's One51 and Doyle Shipping, have offered 22 per share for control of the company. But each also owns a blocking proportion of shares, which means neither can gain leverage over the other. On Thursday Moonduster reported that said it had received an approach from advisors to developer Liam Carroll, who is believed to have built a 17% stake in ICG through leveraged positions acquired through contracts for difference (CFDs) . . . but Moonduster rebuffed the offer, leaving the contest in limbo. Several deadlines have come and gone since the bidding war erupted in March . . .and many of them have been flouted . . . but this is the first time the independent directors have showed their teeth. It's put up or shut up.

DCC HEAD FACES SOME MUSIC

WHILE his colleagues in the business community seem to be giving him a free pass, DCC chief executive Jim Flavin could potentially face market abuse sanctions from the Financial Regulator including 2.5m in fines for insider trading in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling that he had, contrary to the High Court's judgment, been in possession of market sensitive information when he sold Fyffes shares during the dotcom bust of March 2000. As hefty as 2.5m is, though, it's nothing compared to the 10m and 10 years in prison allowed for under criminal law. Flavin hasn't been charged with a criminal offence and the regulator has not made any moves to sanction Flavin.

The regulator is planning to get more serious about illegal market transactions, however, with a new market monitoring system which will be implemented from November. With more sophisticated and complex trading instruments - including CFDs, which some market watchers estimate account for more than 50% of positions taken on the ISEQ . . . the regulator has a lot of ground to make up.

NO SMALL POTATOES

IN Amove that seems perfectly calibrated to tweak the sensibilities of the "Boycott Israel" crowd . . . last seen picketing against Zionist potatoes on Baggot Street . . . the Jewish state has signed an agreement with the European Union that will allow Israeli universities to take part in the Seventh Research Framework. Israel is the only country from outside the European Union that will participate in the major public/private research partnership. Their scientists will be helping to develop green air transport.

The deal comprehensively undermines Britain's University and College Union effort to impose an boycott of Israeli academics which called for "a moratorium on research and cultural collaborations with Israel via EU and European Science Foundation" as part of its Israeli boycott policy. An anti-Israel protest group has tried to activate a similar effort in Ireland, but with little success.