The State must pay almost €21 million to more than 1,200 people who made claims against the now defunct Setanta Insurance, the High Court ordered on Monday. Barry O'Halloran reports on the court hearing and separately outlines the background to this four-year saga.

Documents compiled for Tifco, the State's second-largest hotel group, suggest US distressed assets fund Apollo Global recently bought the company for just over €200 million, far less than previously estimated. Mark Paul has the details.

Irishman Mickey O'Rourke has netted the UK and Ireland rights to the Betfred Cup in Scotland for the next five years, via his company Premier Sports. This follows his success last week in securing rights to show two live games per round in the Scottish FA Cup for six years, starting in January. Ciarán Hancock reports on O'Rourke's latest football rights success.

In a worrying development, the Republic is becoming less effective at developing, attracting and retaining talent, according to the prestigiousIMD global talent ranking. As Charlie Taylor writes, the State slipped to 21st place out of 63 economies worldwide.

In her weekly media and marketing column, Laura Slattery recounts Facebook's miserable year and why its Silicon Valley rivals are only too happy to attack the social media giant.

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