In Short

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

Ryanair to try to stop pilots' court action

Ryanair will return to the Supreme Court on Monday in its effort to stop the Labour Court meeting later in the week to consider grievances aired by a number of its Dublin-based pilots.

The case, which centres on the question of the company's obligation to negotiate with its pilots through a trade union, came before the court yesterday for mention.

Ryanair yesterday said that pilots would next month be able to exercise share options over shares currently valued at more than €175,000. The options, the ninth tranche to fall due since the company floated in 1997, will yield a profit to qualifying pilots of almost €50,000.

British insolvency at record highs

The number of people in England and Wales unable to pay their debts hit a record high in the third quarter, further evidence that Britons are now paying the price for their borrowing binge of recent years.

Individual insolvencies rose 11.6 per cent to a seasonally adjusted 17,562 between July and September. That was up 46 per cent on the year.

Accounting slows all-island trade

Different accounting regimes north and south of the Border are hindering the development of an all-island economy, according to John Greely, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI).

Mr Greely said the legal and statutory environment in which the two countries operate is diverging considerably.

In some situations, such as audit exemption, the differences are such that they are in danger of creating an incentive for businesses to set up in the North, he said. Furthermore in the UK, the VAT exemption threshold is more than three times the current level for service providers in the Republic, he noted.

Refco creditors hunt payments

Creditors of Refco are seeking documents from executives of the bankrupt futures broker as they investigate a hidden debt and other payments made to company officials.

The creditors want more details on the $507 million investment made in Refco by a group led by Thomas H. Lee Partners and want to know how some of that money ended up in the pockets of now-suspended or departed executives. - (Reuters)

Franchise award for Action Ireland

Business coaching organisation Action Ireland has won the Service Franchise of the Year Award 2005.

The award is presented to the company that has demonstrated outstanding growth and development in the services sector of the Irish franchise sector.