Irish exception to Vodafone write-down: Interesting to note that the Republic was not one of the territories in which Vodafone feels the need to write down the value of the goodwill associated with its acquisitions.
The question begs to be asked: what is the difference between Ireland, Germany, Italy and Japan?
The answer is one word: competition. For example, take Germany, where the bulk of the £28 billion (€40.8 billion) write-down has been apportioned.
Vodafone - which was once the number two player in a market of four - now faces intense competition from something like around a dozen players, including 10 virtual operators. As a result Germany will not be producing the sort of return predicted when Vodafone bought Mannesman in 2000 for £101 billion
Something similar has happened in Japan and Italy. But back home in Ireland, Vodafone remains dominant and the regulator's attempts to open up the market for virtual operators have been badly stalled. Mobile bills, needless to say, remain the highest in Europe and a write-down in the value of Vodafone Ireland is simply not on the agenda.
Deciphering the ComReg tea leaves
Current Account was struck by the comment from ComReg commissioner Mike Byrne that accompanied the recent publication of the findings of ComReg's survey on postal services.
Having outlined some of the key findings of the survey, the press release concluded by saying that Mr Byrne, commenting on the findings, said: "For consumers and businesses, it is imperative that Ireland's postal sector is competitive and provides a high quality service to consumers. The ComReg surveys are very useful as they provide information to consumers about the postal sector as it embraces further liberalisation."
The striking aspect of this comment on the findings of the survey is that it contains no comment on the findings. The question is: should anything be read into this?
The bookie's dilemma
You could be forgiven for thinking differently, but apparently running a quoted bookmaker is not fun and games.
Patrick Kennedy, recently appointed chief executive of Paddy Power plc, is a big fan of Liverpool FC.
Nothing wrong with that, you might say (unless you support Everton), but Paddy Power is also the official bookmaking partner on Liverpool's website.
This neat bit of marketing leaves Mr Kennedy in a quandary when his team takes to the pitch.
Every time Liverpool plays, it means that Paddy Power has a big exposure to winning bets placed by loyal supporters via the website.
So Mr Kennedy is left torn between cheering the team and worrying about the impact its victories are likely to have on his new employer's earnings.
Like we said, bookmaking is not all fun and games . . .
Big bill at Shanahan's
There was bad news this week for Shanahan's on the Green, one of the fanciest restaurants in Dublin, which was found by an employment appeals tribunal to have constructively dismissed a former waitress.
The woman in question, Nicola Kerr-Small, was awarded €5,000 over the circumstances of her departure in September 2004.
Shanahan's, best known for its "American- style steaks and seafood", is a place for those who like to combine giant-sized appetites with substantial wallets or the most generous of expense accounts. If you're on a diet, you shouldn't be there. And if you have to check the price list, you shouldn't be there either.
Shanahan's is often very busy, but that doesn't mean it's a money-making machine. It isn't and the latest filings show that Irish-American restaurateur John Shanahan is nursing big losses from his venture in the home country.
The restaurant is run by a US-registered company called JMS International, whose most recent abridged accounts show that it had a pretax losses of $407,178 in 2004 and $1.06 million in 2003. Retained losses at the start of 2005 stood at $10.27 million. By comparison, €5,000 seems very small.
