Today's other stories in brief.
Oil falls below $70 as Dean loses strength
Oil tumbled nearly $2 a barrel and ended below $70 as Hurricane Dean lost strength, easing concerns of supply disruptions from Mexico and the US Gulf where oil installations were threatened by the powerful storm.
US crude was $1.70 down at $69.42 a barrel, the first time it has fallen below $70 since July 2nd.
It had dropped 86 cents in the previous session after forecasts showed that Dean was moving towards Mexico and would skirt the US Gulf that is home to half of the country's refining capacity and a third of its oil production.
London Brent crude fell $1.21 to $68.65.
"Some lengths may have been kept just in case there was some damage to installations in Mexico. As soon as the market realised that there would not be any damage, correction has continued," said Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix.- (Reuters)
Czech minister takes euro point
The Czech Republic will probably refrain from setting any target date for euro adoption this year after finance minister Miroslav Kalousek said he might abandon his efforts to pick 2012 as an official goal.
"I seem to be in a minority," Mr Kalousek said in an interview after parliament approved a package of fiscal reforms aiming to trim the fiscal deficit toward the EU's ceiling of 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and get the country's euro adoption efforts back on track.
Kalousek has been at odds with the independent and largely euro sceptic central bank (CNB) which has advised the government against announcing any target date after abandoning a previous 2010 goal. - (Reuters)
Virgin Media boss resigns suddenly
Virgin Media chief executive Steve Burch has resigned with immediate effect for family reasons, the group said in the latest blow to the troubled British cable operator.
The announcement follows Virgin Media's move earlier this month to postpone a sale of the company due to concerns over the volatile credit market and analysts said uncertainty over the group's future could make it harder to find a replacement.
Mr Burch successfully led the former NTL-Telewest through two large deals and a relaunch but was caught up in a high-profile row earlier this year with fierce rival BSkyB that cost the group customers. - (Reuters)
Metacafe gets $30m funding
Metacafe, a video-sharing start-up that pays users to upload clips to its website, said it has received $30 million in funding from venture capital firms including Highland Capital Partners and DAG Ventures.
The third-round funding comes after the Palo Alto, California-based company received a total of $15 million from Accel Partners and Benchmark Capital.
Metacafe said the money will help it expand globally, as well as help it increase the range of videos posted by users, who are paid through its Producer Rewards programme.
Users who upload videos to Metacafe are paid $100 after the clip has been viewed 20,000 times. Then they are paid $5 for every 1,000 views thereafter. - (Reuters)
Irish Life appoints new analyst
James Forbes has joined Irish Life Investment Managers as a senior equity analyst. Mr Forbes was previously a senior investment manager with Hibernian Investment Managers.
