EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you five things you need to know before 5 o’clock…

1. #BOND AUCTIONS: The euro has reached a 12-month low following weak demand at a German bond auction today: the country successfully raised €5 billion through the sale of new 10-year bonds but, nevertheless, saw its benchmark debt meet with poor investor demand.

2. #EXCHEQUER: The latest Exchequer report has been published by the Department of Finance this afternoon. The report, which outlines for the first time how the Government spent its funds throughout 2011, shows that the Exchequer deficit in 2011 was €2.75bn lower than in the previous year – when the impact of banking related expenditure is excluded.

While the tax take for 2011 was 2.5 per cent below target, the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan insisted it was still ”broadly in line with the estimates” set out in the Budget for the year.

3. #COURTS: A Ballina bar and restaurant began an unusual three month experiment yesterday – namely, hosting sittings of Tipperary district court. O’Donovan’s Bar has let out its function room to be used as a makeshift courthouse for Judge Aeneas McCarthy to hold sittings of Killaloe District Court which had been suspended since last September, forcing court users to travel to Ennis, 32 miles away.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie today, bar owner, Michael O’Donovan said: “It went very well, no problem,” and added that he was hopeful the sittings would remain in the pub but added that would be dependent on the decision of the Courts Service.

4. #CUSHY: A study commissioned by the Italian government has revealed that Italian MPs are the highest earners in the EU. The report shows that some MPs make €18,000 per month – several times the amount that Dutch MP earn.

The study does not include Ireland – where a TD’s salary begins at €92,672, plus expenses – however, it shows that Italians are by far the best-paid public representatives in Europe, with a basic salary of over €135,000 for members of the lower chamber of deputies.

5. #MURDOCH: As you might be aware, News Corporation chief executive Rupert Murdoch has recently joined Twitter.

You have to hand it to the 80-year-old for tackling new technology head-on, however – as might be expected – he has come across a few teething problems with the microblogging site (and with his own app)…