In Short

A round-up of today's other stories in brief...

Airline losses to top $5 billion as oil prices and slowdown take toll

Airline losses are forecast to exceed $5 billion this year with the industry expected to remain heavily in loss in 2009, under pressure from high oil prices and a sharp slowdown in the rate of growth in demand for air travel.

Giovanni Bisignani, director general of Iata, the global airline trade association, said yesterday that year-on-year growth in passenger demand had fallen to only 1.9 per cent in July, the lowest level for five years.

Air cargo volumes, considered a key barometer for world trade, fell by 1.9 per cent year-on-year in July, the second successive monthly decline. Asia-Pacific carriers, the largest players in the air cargo market, reported a 6.5 per cent drop in demand.

Weaker economic growth outside the US is being reflected in a deterioration in the outlook for both air travel and freight, and Iata said it had significantly revised down its forecast for traffic growth.

Industry losses are being increasingly exacerbated by growing overcapacity as rising deliveries of new aircraft leave airlines flying with more empty seats and capacity growth exceeds growth in traffic volumes.

Arris to to invest 45m in Cork

US telecoms group Arris is to invest € 45 million in a strategic research and development (RD) project for high-value video products for the cable industry at its Irish operations in Cork, which currently employ 52 people.

The project, which is supported by IDA Ireland, will represent a major strategic shift for Arris into higher-value video products for the cable industry, which is viewed as a crucial area for growth in the coming years.

Arris specialises in the design, engineering and supply of technology supporting triple- and quad-play broadband services for residential and business customers around the world.

Celotec to close Dublin print operation

Commercial printer Celotec is to close its Dublin operation, based in Chapelizod.

The firm is to go into liquidation and will hold a creditors' meeting at 9.30am on Friday, September 12th, at the West County Hotel in Chapelizod, Dublin 20, in order to nominate a liquidator to wind up the company's affairs and distribute its assets.

Celotec is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hasent Limited, which is jointly owned by James Harte and Gerard Gibney.

The latest accounts for Celotec filed with the Companies Registration Office indicate that in the year to May 31st, 2007, the firm reported a profit of €34,523.