Business news
- C&C, Kerry Group the star performers19:23Independence Day celebrations in the US led to a slight slowdown in trade in Dublin yesterday, despite a reasonably busy news flow.
- Ryanair carries record 60m passengers14:04Ryanair carried a record 60 million passengers in the 12 months to the end of June, according to new figures released today.
- Dáil passes enforcement legislation13:28The Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009, which contains a number of tough new measures to ensure better compliance with company law, has been approved in the Dáil.
- Rogue trader costs oil broker $10m13:19An oil broker suffered losses of close to $10 million after a suspected rogue trader allegedly carried out unauthorised trading.
- Trading conditions still difficult - BoI13:14Bank of Ireland said today that trading conditions continues to be challenging while demand for new lending remains muted.
- Smurfit credit facilities extended12:06Lenders to packaging firm Smurfit Kappa have agreed to extend their revolving credit facilities on loans totalling €600 million.
- Zapa secures €2.5m funding11:50Zapa Technology, a new Irish company set up by former Alphyra chief executive John Nagle has secured €2.5 million in venture capital.
- Euro zone retail sales decline11:34Euro zone retail sales fell further than expected in May, data showed today, dampening hopes that an improvement in consumer spending might ease the recession.
- Údarás seeks end to spending restrictions11:29Údarás na Gaeltachta has called on the Government to lift restrictions which is preventing the agency from offering State support to companies in Irish-speaking areas.
- Euro zone PMI falls in June10:00Signs of a recovery in the euro zone's dominant services economy took a backwards step in June but business optimism hit a near two-year high on hopes that the worst is over, surveys showed today.
- Oil eases below €67 a barrel09:35Oil eased below $67 a barrel today, after a nearly 4 per cent fall in the previous session, pressured by a stronger dollar and investor concern about the economic outlook and energy demand.
- Services sector at 13-month high08:39Ireland's services sector shrank at the slowest pace for more than a year last month, according to new figures.
- Worldspreads confirms approach08:18Financial spread-betting firm Worldspreads said today that it has received an approach for its Irish division.
- Revenues down 31% at Grafton07:43Building merchants Grafton Group, which owns the Atlantic Homecare and Woodies DIY chains, saw first-half revenue decline 31 per cent to €990 million, it reported today.
The Irish Times
- Moody's cut Irish debt rating as deficit climbsRATINGS AGENCY Moody’s has cut the Republic’s credit rating and said the State faces a heavy debt burden for years to come.
- Johnson Johnson takes 18% stake in ElanUS PHARMACEUTICAL giant Johnson Johnson (JJ) will take an 18.4 per cent stake in Irish biotech group Elan in return for a $1 billion investment. The deal, announced yesterday, will also see JJ acquire Elan’s assets and rights in an Alzheimer’s disease therapy programme being undertaken with Wyeth.
- RTÉ staff in line for unpaid leave as part of €41m savings planRTÉ WILL offer staff unpaid leave among a range of cost-cutting measures to be launched over the coming weeks to help find savings of €41 million as the broadcaster aims to break even in 2009.
- INM sells a third of its stake in Indian publisher for €22mINDEPENDENT NEWS & Media (INM) has sold off a third of its investment in Indian publisher Jagran Prakashan (JPL), raising some €22 million for use as a “cashflow tool” to pay down debt and enhance its liquidity.
- ECB puts euro zone interest rates on holdTHE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) kept euro zone interest rates at 1 per cent yesterday, bolstering expectations they will stay there well into next year, and said it would start buying bonds next week.
- IFSC could become 'wasteland' without suitable financial rulesTHE FAILURE to establish a suitable financial regulatory system will turn the IFSC into “a waste-land” within 10 years, the chairman of a financial services consultative panel has warned.
- Senior banker says Hypo hid problems from boardMANAGEMENT AT troubled lender Hypo Real Estate (HRE) kept the bank’s mounting problems from the supervisory board, according to former Bundesbank president Hans Tietmeyer.
- Merkel insists on reformGERMAN CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel yesterday said she would not accept resistance to financial market reform, one day after her finance minister accused Britain of impeding an international overhaul.
- No green shoots, but ground for recovery is more fertileThe latest trends indicate that while economic activity continues to contract, it is doing so at a slower pace than before, writes JIM O'LEARY
- Abbott opens 'off patent' sales support businessABBOTT LABS yesterday officially opened its latest Irish operation – an international headquarters to support products in the US company’s portfolio that have come off patent.
- ESB borrows €365m in US bond saleSTATE-OWNED power company ESB has borrowed more than €360 million from US financial institutions through a bond sale. The group said yesterday it had raised $507 million (€365 million) in the US private placement market.
- Metro faces new delay over planning queriesTHE TIMETABLE for Metro North has been thrown into further doubt by An Bord Pleanála’s decision to request detailed additional information from the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) on key aspects of the project.
- Pension funds up 5.5% in first half of yearA STRONG second quarter has seen Irish managed pension funds grow by 5.5 per cent in the first half of the year. Growth of 11.3 per cent between April and June more than compensated for a weak start to the year, with funds shedding 7.5 per cent of their value in January and February.
- Client with multiple loans from Anglo claims he had no incomeIN THE COURTS: SECURING A judgment in the courts against someone who obviously owes you money can sometimes be the easy bit.
- In ShortA round-up of other business stories in brief...
- One More ThingMcDonald’s gets a new ‘image’; Madoff and the slow wheels of justice; Looking for a new financial regulator; No going rate for legal fees
- Software developer gets smartUNDER THE RADAR: Tim Duggan, Mercury Girl Inc : WITH 80 million smartphone users worldwide, the smartphone applications industry is worth about €1 billion a year.
- Elan stock rises on news of stake deal worth $1bnDUBLIN REPORT Iseq: 2,665.69 (-25.72) Settlement date: July 7th: PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP Elan, no stranger to large intraday share price movements, moved 19 per cent in the right direction yesterday, providing the big story of the day on the Iseq index.
- Ibec boss is in his elementTHE FRIDAY INTERVIEW: Danny McCoy, director general, Ibec
- IMF analysis underlines flaws in its earlier estimatesECONOMICS: Last week's startling figures raise questions about the quality of previousexternalpolicy surveillance, writes
JIM O'LEARY
- Planet BusinessA roundup of the world's business news in brief
- Canadian bank system gets the balance rightOnce considered boring for its fiscal conservatism, Canada has emerged as a model of stability, writes SIMON CARSWELL , Finance Correspondent, in Toronto
- 'Enforcement' is the key to keeping institutions in checkCANADIAN FINANCE minister Jim Flaherty says the enforcement of banking regulations is the sine qua non for the inherent strength of the country’s banking system.
- Something for everyone in Elan dealANALYSIS: Elan’s sale of rights to its Alzheimer’s drug programme will dramatically cut its debt, writes DOMINIC COYLE .
- It pays to invest time in checking out feesA 2 per cent fee may sound like small change, but over time this cost can significantly reduce the value of your investment, writes FIONA REDDAN .
- When the cost of caring for your pet starts to biteWith high veterinary bills crippling many pet owners in these recessionary times, pet insurance can be a life-saver, writes CAROLINE MADDEN .
- Enjoy market's upturn while stocks last - it's only cyclicalSERIOUS MONEY: In investment, there is no Holy Grail and there cannot be in highly competitive markets, writes CHARLIE FELL .
- Stamp of approval for An Post savingsQ&A: Your personal finance questions answered
- Sowing the seeds of business growthEnterprise Ireland's Leadership 4 Growth programmeaims to empower participants with the tools todrive international expansion, writes RENEE JONES .
- Turning to an expert to reverse a firm's fortunesAppointing a chief restructuring officer lets an indebted firm's managementfocus on the day-to-day business, writes DAMIAN RINGWOOD .
- Eco technologies offer big opportunities for economy, says environmental agencyNEW "ECO-INNOVATION" technologies being developed in Ireland and abroad offer a major opportunity for the EU economy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.
- Surfers pay 'little attention' to Google adsCOMPANIES RELYING on Google AdWords to sell their products or services online may need to rethink their strategies after new research on how people read webpages found that many rarely pay attention to the advertisements.
- Clouds gathering in world of IT servicesAt a briefing organised by Accenture in Dublin earlier this week, representatives from Amazon, Google, Salesforce.com and Microsoft offered a realistic appraisal of the technology industry’s latest buzzword, writes GORDON SMITH
- Imagine Cup's vision for training deviceFIVE STUDENTS from Trinity College Dublin flew to Egypt yesterday to compete in an international technology competition with a medical training device that was the brainchild of a Dublin-based eye surgeon.
- Are we witnessing the 'death of software'?CLOUD COMPUTING fundamentally changes the relationship between a business and its software provider, according to Dr Steve Garnett, head of Salesforce. com in Europe.
- When the tools of the trade take overNET RESULTS: I LOVE the onward roll of technological innovation - the new machinery, gadgets, applications, capabilities, possibilities. But that progress often also means loss - of crafts, skills, traditions, whole other worlds of activity, writes
KARLIN LILLINGTON
- Innovators offered chance to build own start-upsPOTENTIAL ENTREPRENEURS are being given the chance to develop their own high-quality start-ups with the support of a new intitiative.
- Creating a safe harbour for online surfingWIRED: European search engine start-ups face a quandary: is linking to infringingmaterial in itself illegal?
- A Treasure Trove For HackersNUMEROUS LAPTOP thefts have highlighted poor corporate security practices and privacy protection in recent months. Companies however may be overlooking a source of potentially serious data leaks: employees who work at home, writes
KARLIN LILLINGTON
- The times they are a-changin' INBOX: WELL, THIS is my last column for
The Irish Times. Inbox is going to the great column graveyard in the sky. So before I go I'd like to impart a few thoughts, not about what gadget to buy, but about how to think about technology in a way that may help you with your future decisions, writes
MIKE BUTCHER
Dublin Today »
| Company | Latest Price € | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| AGI THERAPEUTICS PLC - IEX | 0.11 | 15.79 |
| GLENCAR MINING Plc - IEX | 0.058 | 11.54 |
| PROVIDENCE RESOURCES PLC - IEX | 0.039 | 11.43 |
| READYMIX PLC | 0.2 | -4.76 |
| TOTAL PRODUCE PLC - IEX | 0.3 | -4.76 |
| PETRONEFT RESOURCES PLC - IEX | 0.16 | -11.11 |
Ford's focus on performance results in a RS that's in a class of its own