• Whitbread bid hangs in balance

  The UK Department of Trade and Industry today struck a blow to Whitbread's battle for Allied Domecq's pubs by referring its bid to the Competition Commission. p
  

• Media group and France Telecom consider offer

  France Telecom and NTL, the group which has bought Irish cable operator Cablelink, are in talks that are expected to lead to NTL launching an £8 billion bid for the residential cable assets of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), the UK cable operator. p
  

• Adare continues expansion with £12m acquisition

  Printing company Adare has moved to expand its franchise of design, print and copy centres through the purchase of Kall Kwik Printing in the UK. p
  

• Iona chief blames teething problems for fall in profit

  Irish software company Iona Technologies said yesterday its second-quarter revenues rose 33 per cent to $24.6 million (€24.2 million), but profits fell 55 per cent to $1.2 million. The company said it had concentrated on building sales and managing its expenses in the quarter. p
  

• Euro `may go below' parity with dollar

  One of the German government's economic advisers yesterday said that the euro could fall below parity with the dollar, but a top Bundesbank official said the decline in the single currency was no cause for concern. Mr Horst Siebert, one of the government's "five wise men" panel of independent economic advisers, said the euro might trade at 90 cents to the US dollar. p
  

• McLoughlin says he will go after demerger of Crean

  The chief executive and chairman of James Crean, Mr Ray McLoughlin, is expected to retire after the process of demerging the food and printing and packaging company is complete. Shareholders, in a protracted meeting, yesterday approved resolutions to change the printing and packaging division into a separate company, OakHill Group. p
  

• iMac sales boost Apple's profits

  Apple computers rode the popular iMac to another strong quarter, reporting yesterday a profit of $114 million before a one-time gain from the sale of stock. p
  

• Bank aims to make Frankfurt beautiful

  Frankfurt is home to Germany's central bank and the European Central Bank. Many of Germany's top companies are based there. But, as 400,000 commuters a day will tell you, it is not exactly Europe's best place to live. p
  

• EU fines BA for illegal marketing

  The European Commission has fined British Airways (BA) €6.8 million for illegal sales practices and abusing a dominant market position, a spokesman for the EU's executive said yesterday. p
  

• NTMA may become national claims agency

  The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has won substantial new powers under legislation proposed by the Government. p
  

• ISME vows to be honest, then ejects press members

  The business lobby group, ISME, vowed yesterday to become a respectable, trustworthy and honest organisation with a strong voice as a social partner - then ejected all members of the press from its annual general meeting. p
  

• Existing role of Central Bank supported by FG

  Fine Gael has rejected a central recommendation of the McDowell report on financial regulation that a new organisation separate from the Central Bank be established to regulate the sector. Such a move would have seriously adverse consequences for the financial services industry in Ireland, and particularly the IFSC, it warns. p
  

• Woods sees bright future for energy from waves

  Wave energy captured off the Irish coastline could supply up to 40 per cent of national demand according to the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, who has announced details of a North/South wave energy research project worth an initial £190,000. p
  

• McDowell defends regulator recommendation

  The McDowell report on financial regulation was not an attack on the Central Bank's past record in financial regulation and was not intended in any way to give a verdict on the performance of any body, according to the man who chaired the group. p
  

• Stockbrokers gear up for sell orders

  Stockbrokers are bracing themselves for a busy few days as private investors begin to trade their Telecom Eireann shares. The shares closed unchanged at £3.70 (€4.70) in Dublin yesterday as dealing activity began to gather pace. Some analysts suggest the shares could turn marginally weaker though over the next week or two, depending on how many investors decide to take an early profit. p
  

• The ins and outs of selling Telecom

  Shareholders in Telecom Eireann should start receiving their share certificates from today. Posting started yesterday but with 574,000 certificates or statements to send out, it could be some days before all shareholders have received confirmation of ownership. p
  

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