CurrentAccounts

Scraping the barrel for old software stars: Politicians at yesterday's meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business were keen to hear from State agency Enterprise Ireland if we can soon expect to see some new stars in the Irish technology firmament.

The body's chief executive, Frank Ryan, was only too happy to oblige. He told the committee that many up and coming software players were already breaking the €20 million-a-year turnover barrier, with the possibility of some of them reaching €50 million and €100 million before long.

"One of the areas of strongest growth is software and services, and you have companies that we believe will be household names in the future, just like Iona and Baltimore," he said.

Baltimore's name is mud in the households of those who invested in it, while you could have bought shares in Iona yesterday for $2.60, a sharp fall from the $50-plus at which they once traded.

South Wharf windfall could benefit insurer: The number of institutions and individuals who stand to benefit from South Wharf's potential windfall runs to just under 1,340. Assuming the company succeeds in its efforts to buy out the freehold in its €300 million, 25 acre Ringsend site for €750,000, they should all be quids in. Dublin Port, the landlord, will be out of pocket by something like €299 million.

Among their number is Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurance (IPBMI) which holds some 239,429 shares. Set up by the Oireachtas in 1926 and owned by its members, the IPBMI underwrites the insurances of local authorities, health bodies, VECs, higher education institutions and other public bodies like - perhaps - Dublin Port?

German exile averted: Current Account can be certain that one small group was content this week to see Ryanair run into difficulties with its planned expansion at Lubeck in Germany. It has been an open secret at the airline for some time that it wants to locate a new base in the area, which is close to Hamburg.

So open was the secret indeed that Ryanair said last month it might have to exile some of its less co-operative pilots from Dublin to its new hub in the 12th-century town if they didn't sign up to a new training deal.

The banishment plan now looks to have been scuppered, however, with a German court's decision to block an extension to Lubeck's runway, casting doubt over Ryanair's plans to base aircraft in the town.

Could the Gods be smiling on the pilots after all?

Dotcom vets hit Miami: European investors, along with ageing US baby boomers, have helped turn Miami into one of the hottest property markets in the US. Rocketing prices and rampant speculation have led many to compare Miami's property market to the technology bubble of the late 1990s.

But the parallels do not end there. Some of the characters are also the same.

Jim Clark, founder of Netscape, and Thomas Jermoluk, former chairman of Excite@Home, now jointly run a Miami property firm called Hyperion Development Group.

Just as they were among the early Silicon Valley pioneers who survived the dotcom crash with at least some of their wealth intact, the pair was also quick to spot the potential of urban regeneration in Miami.

Their 35-storey seafront condominium tower, which they call Blue, was among the first of dozens of projects now under construction in the city.

While some of the more recent developments are struggling to secure financing and analysts warn of oversupply, Blue has already sold out at prices of up to $800,000 a unit.

As every veteran of Silicon Valley knows, making money is all about the timing. - (Financial Times Service)