In Short

A roundup of today's other business news in brief

25 job losses as Merrion Captial Group restructures

Merrion Capital Group may cut about a third of its workforce as part of restructuring, according to a source.

About 20 to 25 people are believed to be poised to accept voluntary redundancy from the Dublin-based firm.

Departing executives and staff will receive €245 per share held in the group, giving an overall value for Merrion of about €30 million, added a second source. The brokerage has 118,901 shares in issue, according to filings. – (Bloomberg)

MBNA consults staff on changes

Credit card firm MBNA said yesterday it is consulting its employees about changes to its business here that may result in job losses.

MBNA, part of Bank of America, said the process was part of a regular review and that the company was committed to the Irish market. Bank of America employs 1,700 people here. Of this, 1,000 are in its MBNA card services division.

Microsoft reports 48% rise in profits

Microsoft Corp reported a 48 per cent rise in quarterly profit, as strong sales of Windows 7 helped it beat Wall Street projections.

The world’s largest software company reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $4.52 billion, up from $3.04 billion in the same quarter last year.

Microsoft is benefiting as growth returns this year in sales of personal computers.