You have to know when to hold and when to fold . . . but how can you, without also knowing the current share price? Step forward Eircell and NCB Stockbrokers, which are providing free information on the share price.
Eircell customers can get a quote no more than 15 minutes out of date sent straight to the screen of their mobiles. If your phone is on Eircell, simply punch in the text message "TES" - presumably for Telecom Eireann Shareprice - and send it to 1744.
The following message will come back, pretty much instantly: "TE share price brought to you by Eircell and NCB Stockbrokers" along with the price and the time it was recorded. Strangely, the euro price is omitted from the message.
Meanwhile NCB's website provides a more detailed service on a special Telecom Eireann page replete with share price (delayed by 15 minutes) and graphs tracking the performance of the stock. It can be found at www.ncb.ie.
Unfortunately, both services appear to stop tracking the price when the Dublin market closes, although the shares continue to trade in New York.
For the New York price, the best bet is probably http://quote.yahoo.com/ - the Yahoo finance site. Type Telecom's ticker symbol, EIR, in the box and click the "get quotes" box. You not only get the US price (delayed by 20 minutes) but can also read news stories and see share graphs. Remember, the price quoted is in dollars and for a package of four shares.
