In Short...

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

NI body welcomes end of goods order

The Belfast-based Consumer Council yesterday welcomed the Government decision to drop the ban on selling packaged groceries below their wholesale price.

Steve Costelloe, chairman of the council and board member of the National Consumer Agency, said it was good news for thousands of Northern Irish consumers who regularly cross the border to shop.

Dublin 12th best city to do business

Dublin ranks as the 12th best city in the world in which to locate a business, according to a report published yesterday.

The report, from real estate agents Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker, names London as the top city in which to do business.

The cities are scored on the basis of things such as access to markets, availability of qualified staff, communications and costs.

Amarin reports losses of $1.6m

Amarin Corporation, the neuroscience company that develops and researches new drug treatments, has reported a loss of $1.6 million (€1.36 million) in the three months to the end of September. This compares with a loss of $1.2 million (€1 million) in the same period last year. It said this was due to substantial investment in R&D and intellectual property, including the costs of preparing for and commencing phase three trials with Miraxion in Huntington's disease.

Glanbia to close 9 retail branches

Glanbia Agribusiness has announced that it is to close nine retail branches in counties Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork and Wexford in early 2006.

All of the branches are one-man operations. The company said yesterday that when retirement and redeployments were taken into account, the net job losses would be limited to two positions. The closures are part of ongoing strategic development of this division of Glanbia's business.

The plan includes a €6 million investment in a new Glanbia Country Life concept, to be rolled out in 13 locations next year. These new-look stores will carry a broader range of farm inputs as well as DIY and home and garden products.

New cross-border business park

Details were announced yesterday of the construction of a new business park to straddle the border at Crossmaglen in South Armagh, representing an investment of £25 million (€37 million) over the next ten years, and initially providing some 60 jobs within a three-year period.

The developers of the Liscalgot Business Park - as it is to be named - announced the location of four small businesses at the new cross-border complex, phase one of which is due for completion next year.

Ibec calls for local authority fund

Business lobby group Ibec yesterday called for the creation of an efficiency fund aimed at encouraging local authorities to improve the way they operate.

Addressing the Joint Committee on Environment and Local Government, Brendan Butler, director of enterprise at Ibec, said a framework needed to be set up to ensure local authorities were operating in an efficient manner.

He said rates charged to businesses currently varied significantly from region to region, placing an unfair burden on businesses. A financial incentive for local authorities that increased efficiency may help reduce the cost to businesses. "If things continue as they are no one is going to want to set up business in certain parts of the country."