In Short

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

Friel to leave Merrion to set up new firm

Merrion Corporate Finance director Cathal Friel is leaving the stockbroker to establish a boutique investment vehicle with former Goodbody Stockbrokers executive Mark O'Donovan, writes Ciarán Hancock.

Called Raglan Capital, it is understood the investment group plans to focus on turnaround situations at companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Mr Friel's departure was announced to staff at Merrion earlier this week. He joined the broker in 2001 and has specialised in media deals. He was involved in the sales of Lite FM, the Meath Chronicle and the Leinster Leader group.

Mr O'Donovan left Goodbody Corporate Finance about two months ago, having joined the firm in 2000. He specialised in technology investments and previously worked with Wang and Siemens.

It is understood that they will be joined at Raglan by John Bowe, a research analyst with Merrion.

Total Produce head paid €668,000

Carl McCann, the chairman of Fyffes spin-off Total Produce, received a remuneration package of €668,000 last year.

The company's annual report shows this included a basic salary of €409,000, a €149,000 bonus, benefits of €16,000 and pension-related payments of €94,000, and relates to duties carried out for Fyffes during 2006, as the demerger of Total Produce did not take place until last January.

Total Produce chief executive Rory Byrne earned €581,000, which included a basic salary of €325,000. Finance director Frank Gernon received €571,000, which included a basic salary of €312,000.

All three resigned as executive directors of Fyffes on December 30th last year.

Small rise for US consumer prices

Underlying US consumer prices rose less than expected last month, easing concerns that higher energy costs would exert inflationary pressure on the broader economy.

Economists said this made it more likely that interest rates would remain steady.

Core consumer prices rose by just 0.1 per cent in May. This lower-than- expected rise came in spite of rising energy costs pushing the overall consumer price index up 0.7 per cent. - (Financial Times service)

Nymex shares leap on talk of sale

Shares in Nymex, the third-largest US futures exchange, jumped yesterday on speculation that it is a target. Its shares rose as much as 6 per cent on a report that it is in informal talks with NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Börse and Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Bancrofts delay Murdoch proposals

The Bancroft family is struggling to draft proposals that would guarantee the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal in the event of a sale to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

The family were expected to send a draft to News Corp this week. The delays highlight the potential difficulties in reaching an accommodation between the Bancrofts and News Corp, which has offered $5 billion (€3.73 billion) for the Dow Jones group. - (Financial Times service)

Independent News & Media

In an article in Business This Week yesterday, it was reported that Independent News & Media (IN&M) will give £1 million a year to Queen's University Belfast between 2007 and 2010. This was incorrect. IN&M will give £1 million over four years.