A round-up of today's business news stories in brief

Manufacturing prices fall 6.5% over year

Manufacturing prices fell 6.5 per cent in the year to November.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office showed factory gate prices fell 0.1 per cent during the month, compared to a rise of 1.3 per cent in the same month a year earlier.

The latest monthly fall contributed to a widening of the 5.2 per cent decrease in the year to October, bringing it to 6.5 per cent in November.

The biggest changes during the year were falls in basic chemicals, which declined 15.9 per cent; office machinery and computers, which fell 7.3 per cent; and pharmaceuticals by 6.3 per cent.

WorldSpreads sees profits rise by 22%

Financial spread betting firm WorldSpreads saw profits rise 22 per cent in the six months to September 30th.

The firm made €1.67 million in profit before tax during the six months, up from €1.37 million a year earlier. Revenues from continuing operations rose 30 per cent to €6.04 million, while international divisions accounted for €1.91 million in revenue, a 53 per cent rise. Basic earnings per share from continuing operations rose 28 per cent to €0.032 per share.

“Whilst volatility has returned to more historically normal levels, the group has still managed to maintain strong profitability,” said chief executive Conor Foley.

Judge may combine Madoff-linked cases

Mr Justice Frank Clarke said he may combine cases brought by investors that lost assets in a Dublin fund linked to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme to determine HSBC Holdings Plc’s duties as the fund’s custodian.

Mr Justice Clarke said he may consider “a single trial of that matter across the whole range of cases” to resolve whether a custodian bank has a fiduciary relationship to investors or the fund.

“A determination of the question” in a separate trial “is a matter with potentially far-reaching consequences, not just for these proceedings but also for the relationship between a custodian holding UCITS funds in Ireland and such funds and investors in such funds,” Mr Justice Clarke said.

Opec wants to keep oil at $70-$80 a barrel

The Opec oil cartel yesterday gave the strongest indication yet that it aims to keep oil at $70-$80 a barrel next year.

Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister and the group’s de facto leader, said the current oil price was “excellent” and he would like to “keep it that way” in 2010. “Everyone needs this price: this is the future,” the minister said. The cartel, which controls more than 40 per cent of the world’s oil output, agreed to leave production levels unchanged at least until March.

The decision was reached after Opec’s campaign to reduce supply doubled prices from a year-low of $32.70 in late January to $73.30 yesterday.

Exports declined 14% in October

Exports fell 14 per cent in October compared with a month earlier, while imports fell 7 per cent, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office.

Seasonally-adjusted exports for the month were €6.2 billion, while imports totalled €3.2 billion. Bloxham stockbrokers described the €2.9 billion trade surplus as “healthy”.

However, provisional data showed exports had risen in September by 11 per cent compared with August, while imports slipped 1 per cent in the same month. From January to September exports fell €35 million to €64.4 billion.

During that time, exports of computer equipment fell by 25 per cent, while electrical machinery declined 28 per cent.