LLOYDS LATEST BANK TO REPORT BIG LOSS - British bank Lloyds Banking Group, which is 40%-owned by the British government, has reported pre-tax losses of £3.5 billion for 2011.
The losses were mainly due to a £3.2 billion hit due to huge compensation claims following a payment protection insurance scandal.
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EURO BAIL-OUT FUND TO COME UP AT G20 - The Taoiseach is meeting Italian PM Mario Monti to discuss increasing the size of the euro zone bail-out fund, the ESM. This issue is also likely to come up at a G20 meeting this weekend.
Trinity economics professor Philip Lane said there would be no big news this weekend. He said the ESM was one part of the jigsaw - and it was necessary if the IMF was to increase how much it can lend to euro zone countries.
On the latest economic forecasts for Ireland from the ESRI and European Commission, Professor Lane said the low growth figures projected had to be seen in the context of the Commission's forecasts of big drops in output in countries like Portugal and Greece.
He said achieving modest growth, or even remaining stable, was a good performance in the context of a continuing austerity programme.
