Every weekday evening,TheJournal.ie brings you the five things you really need to know by 5pm.

1. #CREDIT RATING: Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Ireland’s credit standing from A- to BBB+. That is just three ratings above junk status – but the good news is that the outlook for Ireland is now “stable”. Meanwhile, Anglo’s chief says that the bank won’t need more than the €27bn already pumped into it. Which is nice.

2. #HOUSE FIRE: There is major traffic disruption around the Terenure/Rathgar area of Dublin this afternoon due to a severe house fire. Several tenders from Dublin Fire Brigade are attending the fire, which threatens to destroy a number of apartments in the terrace at Cremorne, off Terenure Road East.

3. #PHOTOGRAPHY BAN: Cork County Council is proposing a new by-law that will ban people from taking photographs in playgrounds. One local photographer has set up a Facebook page to oppose the law, telling TheJournal.ie that while he too is a father, he thinks the legislation is “hysterical”.

4. #ROYAL CORK: The Lord Mayor of Cork has confirmed that the Queen of England will be popping by for a Leeside visit on the last day of her trip to Ireland next month. There is no truth in the rumour that Cobh would be returned to its pre-1922 name of Queenstown in honour of the occasion.

5. #PDA: The soap opera of Brian McFadden’s love life has taken another sharp turn as he announced his split today with Delta Goodrem. After his recent album single and gushing Twitter tributes dedicated to her, we ask: Is the PDA (Public Display of Affection) always a deathknell for a celeb relationship?