Ireland

IRELAND IN NEED

The Irish government will not raise the country's low corporation tax rate in return for an EU-led bailout, as a French official said some view the rate as "almost predatory".

A team of EU and IMF inspectors will arrive in Ireland today to take a closer look at the nation's banking system and prepare for a possible €80bn bailout.

European Council president Herman van Rompuy warns the euro and wider EU face a "survival crisis" as the continent's sovereign debt crisis escalates.

Officials in Ireland and the EU yesterday moved closer to conceding the heavily indebted nation may require a bailout.

The G20 leaders converging on South Korea for the upcoming summit are set to clash over a deal to safeguard the global economic recovery.

Investors expect Moody's to cut its Aaa credit rating on Spanish debt by up to two levels after a three-month review it announced in June ends tomorrow.

Ireland's GDP contracted 1.2% in the second quarter, according to an initial estimate released today, confounding analysts' expectations of 0.5% growth.

Portugal has raised €750m (£641m) in a successful Government bond auction, following in the footsteps of other southern European nations.

The Republic of Ireland saw its €1.5bn (£1.3bn) bond issue snapped up at auction today, pointing to investor confidence in the strength of the economy.