Tony Blair is welcomed by staff at Dublin’s Easons bookshop yesterday as about 100 protesters chanted outside. Photograph: Niall Carson/Getty Literature and politics have always laid claim to Dublin’s O’Connell Street, bookended by statues of James Joyce and Catholic emancipator Daniel O’Connell. Tony Blair, in his modest way, was no doubt hoping connections would be [...]

Spending power in the US will have gone up because average hourly earnings are higher. Photograph: Mike Theiler/REUTERS Fears that the world’s largest economy is spiralling back into recession eased today as it emerged that the US shed half as many jobs as feared in August. Here is what the economists made of the non-farm [...]

Fabio Capello was in a relaxed mood as he met the press before the game against Bulgaria. Photograph: Scott Heavey/Action Images 38 mins Ashley Cole drives forward own the left and slips it inside to Rooney but his return pass doesn’t quite make it. Rooney looks keen as always but you sense his doors of [...]

Chancellor George Osborne appears to have spooked the service sector with warnings of spending cuts. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Recession alert! That’s the obvious conclusion from this morning’s news that activity in Britain’s service sector has slipped to its lowest level since April last year. There are two main reasons to be concerned by the [...]

Fernando Torres is considered central to the success of any investment Kenny Huang might make in Liverpool. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Kenny Huang’s bid for Liverpool is only one of “several” offers for the club, according to their chairman, Martin Broughton. Huang has yet...