Monti could argue both sides of Ryanair's bid: Goldman Sachs adviser and former EU competition commissioner Mario Monti may well be on board for the Government's effort to fight Ryanair's approach for Aer Lingus, but that does not mean be approves of the battle.
If some of his previous utterances are anything to go on, Mr Monti might well be in favour of Michael O'Leary's grand plan to create an all-singing all-dancing giant of an Irish airline.
Three years ago, Mr Monti told a conference in Brussels that he understood the need for consolidation in the industry as airlines looked for "synergetic" solutions. While Mr O'Leary is always unlikely to use big words such as synergetic, his Ryanair-Aer Lingus plan bears all the hallmarks of a such an approach.
We might add, however, that Mr Monti said in the same speech that "a balanced and even application of the competition rules" would bring consolidation on the right path. Whether the creation of an airline in control of 70 per cent of the traffic at Dublin airport can be consistent with that is doubtful.
Airport authority digs deep to fund Pier D
Lots of digging has been going on out at Dublin Airport over recent months as a new Pier D facility is constructed - and not just figuratively.
Archaeologists have been called into action to inspect some of the items found in the soil as construction on the project continues. The presence of an array of items is not really a surprise, considering a castle once stood where the arrivals hall is now located.
It's unlikely, however, that the debt-laden Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) will get much of a financial windfall from any of the finds. The most significant discovery so far is half an oyster shell, which dates from medieval times. Oysters were a big part of the Irish diet between the 11th and 17th centuries.
More interestingly, the shells themselves were used to make building mortar. With an overall bill for the new terminal, including enabling works, of more than €600 million, one wonders has the DAA found an innovative way to cut down on building costs by returning to the oyster shell form of construction?
Another find was half a clay smoking pipe, crockery and drainage pipes from the 1920s and 1930s. So, with drainage already in place and a new cheap oyster-based mortar product, there may be no need for that new higher passenger charge after all.
Babcock's Eircom fund
Babcock & Brown gave a taste of things to come at Eircom this week when it unveiled plans to float a £300 million (€444 million) infrastructure fund in London. The Australian group is putting a portfolio of 22 private finance initiative (PFI) projects - the UK equivalent of our public private partnerships - into the fund.
The fund will then spend another £113 million on other PFI assets, and has first choice of other Babcock assets and contracts. On its shopping list is the new Dublin Central Criminal Court project on which Babcock is the preferred bidder.
The new fund is modelled on six similar funds launched in Australia by Babcock, which are focused on specific asset classes and are attractive to investors such as pension funds looking for predictable returns.
Babcock is unlikely to have completed its dismembering of Eircom in time to include its network in the current fund but, in time, Ireland's telecommunications backbone will make a nice seed investment for a UK listed fund focused on telecommunications infrastructure.
Desmond's idle millions
Somebody else aware of the vogue in infrastructural assets is Dermot Desmond, who has offloaded London City Airport for a profit of up to €960 million. Most interest has focused on what chumps Mowlem - who sold it to Desmond for €35 million in 1995 - now look.
But perhaps the more interesting question is what will Desmond do with his money. Having exited a major infrastructural investment, he is unlikely to rush back into the sector. Assuming he does not want enter the fray at Aer Lingus, he may just bank his cash and get back into the infrastructure game when prices turn. But €960 million is a lot of cash to have sitting idle. Still, it's a nice enough problem to have and not one likely to cost the kaiser too much sleep.
