In Short

A roundup of today's other business news in brief:

Stock exchange trading hits new record

Trading volumes in equities quoted on the Irish Stock Exchange rose to a new record high in 2008 despite the massive fall in values.

As equity markets remained volatile, the number of individual trades increased by 46 per cent to more than 2.5 million. This resulted in an average daily trading figure of just under 10,000 in 2008, up from 6,795 in 2007.

However, as the market capitalisation of the listed companies declined from €93.5 billion to €32.4 billion at the end of 2008, the value of trading on equity markets fell by 43 per cent to €112 billion.

Merrion completes buyout

The management of Dublin-based stockbroker Merrion Capital have completed a buyout of Landsbanki Islands’ 84 per cent interest in the business.

Merrion announced yesterday that the transaction, which was announced in October, had been approved by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

The management team, which is led by chief executive John Conroy, now owns 100 per cent of the business.

No financial details of the buyout were disclosed. Merrion’s management is believed to have negotiated a steep discount to the €90 million the troubled Icelandic group had paid since 2005 to acquire the shares from Merrion’s founders and other equity holders. Landsbanki was due to pay €20 million in March for the final 16 per cent.

Value of exports falls by 4% in November

The value of Irish exports fell 4 per cent last November to €7 billion while a decline in domestic consumer spending contributed to a 2 per cent drop in imports.

On an unadjusted basis the value of imports in November was 28 per cent lower than the same month in 2007 while exports were down 8 per cent, according to external trade data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Alan McQuaid, economist with Bloxham stockbrokers, said although the seasonally-adjusted trade surplus in November declined to €2.6 billion in November from €2.9 billion in October, it was still the third-highest surplus recorded in 2008. During the first 11 months of 2008, the cumulative trade surplus amounted to €27.1 billion, €2.4 billion higher than the surplus over the same period in 2007.

New partner at Dublin law firm

Dublin-based law firm Eversheds O’Donnell Sweeney has appointed Alan Murphy as its new managing partner. He succeeds Francis Hackett, who was managing partner for six years.

Mr Murphy is a partner in the firm’s property division having joined in 2001 as a commercial property expert. Commenting on his appointment, Mr Murphy said: “I believe expert and focused legal services will be essential to our clients to help them manage their businesses through the current downturn.”

A native of Monaghan, Mr Murphy (38), studied English, History and Law at Queen’s University in Belfast. He trained as a solicitor in Sligo and qualified in 1995.

Ford sees no sign of recovery

Ford Motors posted a deeper than expected quarterly net loss yesterday, but said it would have sufficient cash to fund its turnaround without seeking government loans.

But the company sees no sign of a recovery yet. It burned through $5.5 billion of cash in the fourth quarter, about in line with what analysts were expecting, even as it underscored the dire environment facing car makers. It expects to return to at least breakeven in 2011.

– (Reuters)