A look at today's other news in brief

IAWS spin-off begins trading on IEX

Shares in IAWS spin-off Origin Enterprises added 75 cent yesterday on their first day of trading on Dublin's IEX.

The stock, which was also admitted to London's AIM, started trading at €3 and closed yesterday at €3.75.

As many as two million units changed hands.

Origin, the holding company for IAWS's agribusiness, is the 28th company to list on the IEX, Dublin's enterprise exchange for smaller companies. With an initial market capitalisation of €399 million, it is one of the largest companies to list on the index.

Dragon Oil signs rig contract

Exploration group Dragon Oil has signed a two-year contract for the refurbishment and operation of its platform-based drilling rig, which is due to start drilling a development well at the group's Lam 13 platform in offshore Turkmenistan in the fourth quarter.

Aer Lingus member reappointed

Aer Lingus yesterday announced the reappointment of Ivor Fitzpatrick to its board. In a statement to the stock exchange, it said Mr Fitzpatrick would serve on the board until the group's annual general meeting.

Profits at Carphone Warehouse down

Carphone Warehouse yesterday revealed a near 10 per cent fall in full-year group profits, but said its Irish business enjoyed a year of good growth.

The mobile-phone retailer does not break down its figures by region but said Ireland had fared well, with connections growth above the group average. Overall, it reported pretax profits of £123.1 million (€181.5 million), compared with £136.1 million a year earlier.

Cork firms urged to join waste agency

Companies in Cork were yesterday urged to register with an agency that puts firms seeking to dispose of waste packaging and byproducts in contact with companies that may be able to make use of the waste.

Maeve Bowen of Waste Matchers said more than 400 companies in Cork had registered so far.

Anheuser-Busch shares hit new high

Shares of Anheuser-Busch hit an all-time high yesterday after a newspaper report said the largest US brewer could be targeted for a shake-up by hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management.

The New York Post reported that Pershing has raised $2 billion (€1.48 billion) for a fund that will be dedicated to targeting a shareholder activism assault on "one specific, iconic, American company". - (Reuters)