InShort

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

House price inflation cools over summer

Rising interest rates and an increase in second-hand properties coming onstream have contributed to a slowdown in house price inflation over the summer months.

According to Marian Finnegan, chief economist with Sherry Fitzgerald Group, the average price of second-hand properties rose by 2.6 per cent in the third quarter of the year. This brings the total increase over the first nine months of the year to 17.9 per cent.

The slowdown was particularly evident in the second-hand market in Dublin, where the average house price rose 1.5 per cent between July to September.

Londis in line to meet profit target

Convenience grocery store chain Londis said it is on target to achieve its profit growth objectives for 2006 after generating sales growth of 7 per cent so far this year.

Speaking yesterday at an annual retailer conference for the company's employees, joint chief executive Stephen O'Riordan said that while the company had started its financial year on a very positive note, rising business costs were still a challenge.

The group, which employs more than 6,000 staff in more than 330 stores around the State, last year recorded a 62 per cent increase in profits.

Northern Rock to meet forecasts

UK mortgage lender Northern Rock announced yesterday that it is on track to meet forecasts which place its total attributable profit for the year at £357 million (€528 million).

The bank said that new business increased by 18 per cent in the third quarter, in line with targeted growth. This brought the total pipeline of new business at the end of September to £6.5 billion.

Within this, new residential pipeline business rose 21 per cent to £6 billion.

Clare Aviation centre gets €4.5m

Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has invested €4.5 million in the Shannon Aeradio centre in Newmarket-on-Fergus in Co Clare. To mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the long-distance aviation communications centre, new equipment worth €4.5 million has been installed.

Dragon Oil improves drilling

Exploration group Dragon Oil said yesterday it is on track to achieve "substantially improved" production by the end of the year. The company, whose main focus is the Cheleken Contract Area, offshore Turkmenistan, said for the first time it was using two drills simultaneously which resulted in an increase in production and efficiencies.

College signs pilot training deal

The Waterford-based Pilot Training College of Ireland has signed a €4.5 million agreement with FlightSafety International, the world's largest training organisation in the aviation sector. Under an exchange programme, Irish pilot students will now travel to FlightSafety International's Florida centre to complete an eight-week training module, while US students will travel to Waterford to convert their US pilot's licence to its EU equivalent.

Oil drops 3% to $61 a barrel

Oil fell 3 per cent to $61 a barrel yesterday as healthy fuel inventories in top consumer the US countered plans by Opec members Nigeria and Venezuela to trim output. US crude settled down $1.88 at $61.03 a barrel - (Reuters)