In Short

Other business stories in brief:

Consumer agency rebukes Ibec

The National Consumer Agency (NCA) has expressed concern at warnings by employers' group Ibec that price rises of 5 to 20 per cent on items like bread and cereals were on the way due to higher business costs, writes Martin Wall.

In a presentation to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business yesterday, the executive chair of the NCA, Ann Fitzgerald, said it was inevitable that shortages of commodities or crop failures would have some impact on grocery prices.

However she said that this impact should be proportional and should not become embedded into prices on a permanent basis.

"For example, a poor orange crop in Florida and California may lead to increases in the price of orange juice, but whether these increases would remain for the long term is questionable as other sources come on line, eg Brazil or Mexico."

Irish invest €5.5bn in UK

Irish investors spent almost €5.5 billion on UK property last year, surpassing the €3.3 billion they spent in their home market, according to new figures released by CB Richard Ellis.

Of the total 111 UK transactions, four exceeded €250 million in value, while 12 ranged between €100 and €250 million. The research also showed that more than half of the investments were in office properties.

In addition, Irish investors disposed of €1.98 billion worth of investment property in the UK last year through 47 transactions.

€40m reward for Goldman chiefs

Goldman Sachs yesterday solidified its position as the best-paying publicly traded investment bank in Wall Street history, disclosing that it awarded co-presidents Gary Cohn and Jon Winkelried about $53 million (€40 million) each in cash and stock compensation last year.

The sum is a whisker shy of the $54 million paid to chief executive Lloyd Blankfein, highlighting Mr Blankfein's closeness to Mr Cohn and Mr Winkelried and his desire to reward his top lieutenants following Goldman's most profitable year. Mr Blankfein's pay was disclosed in December. - (Financial Times service)

GM studies link with Chrysler

Fritz Henderson, General Motors' chief financial officer, has assembled a working group to study a possible purchase, allianc or other tie-up with Chrysler, according to GM sources.

Mr Henderson led a similar group last year that examined, then rejected, a possible alliance with Renault and Nissan.

A possible sale of Chrysler is on the table after DaimlerChrysler's announcement last week that it was considering "all options" for its troubled unit, which has also drawn preliminary expressions of interest from private equity investors. - (Financial Times service)

Elan results

In a report yesterday it was stated that Elan expected sales from its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri to be about €500 million this year at current take-up levels. The figure should have read€300 million.

BA orders long-haul aircraft

British Airways has placed its first order for long-haul aircraft for nine years. It said yesterday it had placed an initial firm order for four Boeing 777-200ERs for delivery in early 2009 and had taken options for a further four 777s for delivery in 2010. - (Financial Times service)