France's second-quarter gross domestic product grew by 0.5% compared to the previous quarter, in line with earlier official estimates. The GDP growth of 0.5% was the third consecutive quarter that the economy had expanded by that amount, according to statistics body INSEE. INSEE has forecast economic growth in France this year of 1.6%, the strongest since 2011, as foreign trade proves less of a drag and the unemployment rate falls. | Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government will outlaw zero hour contracts in almost all cases in new legislation which will be prioritised during this Dáil term. In a speech to employers' group IBEC, Mr Varadkar said the Government would try in the budget to reward work and benefit those on middle incomes who pay the highest rates of tax. However, Fianna Fáil has said the agreement underpinning the Government commits to reducing the 5% rate of USC first. | Alphabet's Google said it would pay $1.1 billion in cash to acquire the division at Taiwan's HTC that develops the US firm's Pixel smartphones. The deal marks its latest push into hardware manufacturing. Google has sought to beef up its hardware capability with deals and product launches, and last year hired Rick Osterloh, a former Motorola executive, to run its hardware division. | Bank of Ireland UK has announced the purchase of Marshall Leasing Limited from Marshall Motor Holdings for £42.5m. When the deal is complete, Marshall Leasing will become part of Northridge Finance, Bank of Ireland UK's car and asset finance business. | US ratings agency Kroll Bond has confirmed plans to establish its European headquarters in Dublin. It is the company's first office outside of the US and the company is expected to employ around 100 people within the next three years. The company was established in 2010 and employs around 275 people in the US. KBRA has published over 8,000 ratings totalling $740 billion. | Global insurance company XL Group has chosen Dublin for its main European Union insurance carrier operations as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. XL Group has had insurance operations in Dublin since 1990. It now employs around 45 people here at its offices in St Stephen's Green and it hopes to employ up to 70 people by the end of 2018. Headquartered in Bermuda, the company has offices in 210 countries around the world. | Around 10,000 finance jobs will be shifted out of Britain or created overseas in the next few years if the UK is denied access to Europe's single market. This is according to a Reuters survey of 123 firms employing the bulk of workers in international finance. Frankfurt was by far the most popular destination for the new roles, the survey showed, with Paris a distant second.   |||