In Short

A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

Dells rows back on Windows Vista

PC manufactuer Dell has rowed back on a decision to offer only Windows Vista on the systems it sells to consumers in the US. Responding to requests from customers on its IdeaStorm customer feedback website, Dell has once again started offering PCs pre-loaded with the previous version of the Microsoft operatingsystem Windows XP.

A Dell spokeswoman said the decision had no impact on the Irish market.

8% passenger rise for Aer Lingus

Although the number of passengers flying with Aer Lingus rose by 8 per cent in March to 731,000, the airline's passenger load factor - which measures the proportion of seats filled - dipped by 2.3 per cent to 75.5 per cent.

Short-haul passenger numbers increased by 8.2 per cent to 636,000, and the number of long-haul travellers grew by 6.7 per cent to 95,000.

However, the rise in passenger numbers was outstripped by the airline's increased seat capacity, which jumped by almost 13 per cent to 1.484 million in March.

Heavey package worth £1.1m

Tullow Oil's chief executive Aidan Heavey received a total remuneration package worth £1.1 million (€1.6 million) last year, according to the company's annual report.

The package included a base salary of £510,000, a cash bonus of £306,000 and a bonus in the form of shares worth £167,868.

This compares to Mr Heavey's 2005 remuneration of £855,830. His base salary for 2007 has been increased to £610,000.

Chief financial officer Tom Hickey's remumeration last year totalled £660,300, compared to £491,080 in 2005.

Anglo Irish to open private bank

Anglo Irish Bank is to launch a private bank in the UK focusing on high net worth investors with upwards of $5 million (€3.6 million) of investable assets.

The bank plans to replicate the business it has in Ireland whereby it offers wealthy investors the chance to take investment opportunities in structured property deals, private equity deals and other alternative investments.

The bank recently backed the £457 million (€673 million) Somerston Hotels UK corporate finance deal of which £73 million of equity was fully taken up by private clients.

David Murray, managing director of private banking at Anglo Irish in the UK, said the bank's aim was to use deals to target customers who wanted to invest a slice of their wealth - rather than compete with other private banks to manage their entire wealth. - (Financial Times service)

New Central Bank chief announced

The governor of the Central Bank John Hurley has announced the appointment of Tony Grimes as the bank's new director general. Mr Grimes will take up the position when Liam Barron retires in August.

Mr Grimes is currently assistant director general of the bank, with responsibility for market operations.

B of I acquires US property asset

Bank of Ireland Private Banking has acquired its first US property asset for €54.5 million on behalf of its clients. The property is a 312-unit complex located north of Boston.

It consists of apartments aimed at the rental market, rather than owner- occupiers and has an average occupancy rate of 97 per cent.