Bath 38 Northampton 8

Some good news for Bob Diamond (and goodness knows he could use some): despite all the criticism sent his way Barclays' brand has apparently increased in value by $4.2bn over the past year, at least according to the fifth edition of the BrandFinance Global Banking 500 – an annual review of the world's top banking brands published in trade mag The Banker. It's moved up to seventh place (from tenth) although is still behind HSBC (in third, down from first). The biggest faller will surprise no one: Goldman Sachs which fell from seventh to 16th.

Nick Easter would be "honoured" to captain England in the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations after Lewis Moody picked up a knee injury.

Outlook It wasn't all that long ago that the economic debate in the UK was paralysed by the fear that the credit ratings agencies were about to remove our cherished AAA rating. This was the nub of the row between Labour and the Conservatives during last year's election campaign: just how much deficit reduction was needed to save our credit rating and how quickly?

Analysts at the credit ratings agency Moody’s Analytics have issued a stark warning that even with budget deficit programmes and savage cuts in public spending across the eurozone some of the weaker peripheral nations will still default on their debts, requiring a "restructuring".

... although England's rugby captain reveals to the <i>IoS</i> that he has no idea what the draw is!

England's captain has played in two World Cup finals but he still relishes the excitement before kick-off and is now an old hand at beating Aussies. Hugh Godwin meets Lewis Moody

The ratings agency Moody's has said it may cut Portugal's rating by one or two notches within three months, citing weak growth prospects as the government seeks to cut its debt.

Outlook: Warnings for Britain everywhere you look. The downgrading of Ireland's credit rating yesterday was based on Moody's view that their austerity cuts will so stymie growth that the economy may not produce enough tax revenue to finance debt repayments. Meanwhile, in the US, the latest employment data shows the "jobless recovery" continuing.

Lloyds banking Group's exposure to the troubled Irish economy pushed its shares sharply lower in trading yesterday, as the Moody's credit ratings agency issued a radical downgrade of Irish government debt.

As European leaders prepared for a crucial summit, markets and credit agencies piled the pressure on Spain and the euro once again yesterday – with a turbulent end to a dramatic year in prospect.

Although he counts as a Bebop pioneer, James Moody's work had the elements of basic jazz at its root.

The US economy expanded at a faster pace than previously estimated during the third quarter, official figures showed yesterday, but recovery hopes were tempered by evidence that the housing market remains hamstrung by tight credit conditions.

Like a man who turned up expecting to be centre stage only to be left stuck in the wings Andrew Sheridan found England's sweeping, guns-blazing 35-18 victory over Australia on Saturday as much a shock as a memorable occasion.