Pfizer has secured formal board approval to continue with its acquisition of Botox maker Allergan in a deal worth more than $150bn (€141bn).
The two companies could announce that they are joining together as early as later today.
If it goes through, this deal will create the world's largest pharmaceutical firm - and it would be likely that Pfizer would redomicile to Ireland where Allergan is registered to take advantage of Ireland's low tax rates.
This has been a controversial proposition, and has become a live issue on the 2016 presidential election campaign trail in the United States.
The US Treasury Department has issued a letter on these tax inversion deals - it says that it is reviewing means of stopping them taking place - it plans to release a guidance on the matter on Wednesday of this week.
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Irish beef exports to the US have improved in recent weeks - according to the Department of Agriculture.
It reports that 1,300 tonnes worth €8.5m have been shipped to the US since the embargo in Irish beef was lifted.
The industry has not seen the surge in exports which the Government had predicted - it said that sales to the US could be worth €100m this year.
However, the performance is improving - by June only 31 tonnes of beef had been exported.
“This is an exceptionally strong start to this trade, considering that the first exports only went in March of this year and some of the plants were only approved for export as recently as September,” a department spokesperson said.
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Greece has received a fresh tranche of bailout funds from the EU after making all of the reforms which had been demanded.
The country will receive €2bn from the European Security Mechanism (ESM) under the terms of its third bailout agreement.
Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem confirmed that the funds would be transferred to recapitalise the Greek banking sector, which showed significant signs of weakness during recent stress tests.
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The Irish subsidiary of Fiat - the Italian car manufacturer - has returned its first profit since 2000.
Accounts for the firm Fiat Group Automobiles Ireland Ltd, which also distributes Jeep and Alfa Romeo vehicles, show that it ended 2014 with a €558,000 profit. That was up from a loss of €37,000 in the previous year.
It had a total turnover of €15.8m - up from €12.9m in 2013.
