In New York Monday, indexes were trading in a narrow range in morning trading as the Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to post its worst June performance since 1930.

The Dow today has risen 50 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index has risen two points and the S&P 500 has advanced four points.

Being the end of the quarter fund managers are more disposed towards having commodities in their portfolios than financial stocks.

Crude oil futures rose close to $144 a barrel in New York and  the front-month August Brent contract on London’s ICE futures exchange was up $2.72 at $143.03 a barrel after earlier touching new record high at $143.91 a barrel.

The front-month August contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading $2.39 higher at $142.60 a barrel after earlier hitting a high of $143.67 a barrel.

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In Europe Monday, the Dow Jones 600 rose 0.7% and has fallen 21% in the first half of 2008. It lost 10% in June.

Banks granted 42,000 loans for house purchase, compared with 58,000 in April, the Bank of England said in London today. The result was the lowest since the bank's series began in 1999.  House prices fell the most in seven years in June, Hometrack said today.

UK consumer confidence fell in June to the lowest level since the London poll tax riots that preceded Margaret Thatcher's ouster in 1990

Eurozone inflation rose to 4% in June,making a rate rise to 4.25% a virtual certainty on Thursday.

Individual market performance was mixed.

In Dublin, the ISEQ has fallen 1.63%.

Irish Life & Permanent plunged over 10% after a downgrade from Standard & Poor's.

Anglo Irish and Bank of Ireland fell almost 6%.

Annual growth rate in Irish residential mortgages in May 2008 fell to 11.1% - the lowest rate since January 1992 - Central Bank 

Standard & Poor's, the international credit rating agency, issued a report today on Irish banks in the aftermath of the "rapidly weakening" Irish economy and contracting Irish and UK property markets.

The agency says the Irish banking system will remain solid, and that while increasing bad loans are a concern, they will not be enough to hit the banks' earnings.

"Medium-term prospects for the Irish banking system remain bright; however, over the... next two years, the weak economy will weigh on performance,"said credit analyst Nigel Greenwood.

S&P renewed its ratings on five of the six banks: AIB, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish, IIB Bank and Ulster Bank. But it lowered its rating on Irish Life & Permanent from A to A+, saying its Permanent TSB banking arm had been worse hit than other banks by the disruption in credit markets.

The report also changed the outlook for AIB and Bank of Ireland from positive to stable, meaning it sees an upgrade in their ratings as unlikely in the next couple of years. It also lowered Anglo Irish Bank's outlook from stable to negative, citing its focus on commercial property and warning that a sharp deterioration in the quality of its loans could put pressure on its funding position.

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Irish Life & Permanent plc and Merrill Lynch have concluded a transaction which sees Irish Life & Permanent acquire the 50% stake held by Merrill Lynch in the niche mortgage lender Springboard Mortgages. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Speaking today, Springboard Mortgages CEO Shane O’Sullivan, said that the company will continue to operate as a stand-alone business; “This transaction will have little impact on our day to day operations. However, it will reassure mortgage intermediaries and customers of the significant Irish support and commitment behind our operation.”