Planet Business

Compiled by Laura Slattery.

Quote of the Week

"It is utterly appalling in this day and age that Aer Lingus should callously, and without any vestige of compassion, promote the killing of animals for fun and entertainment."

- The Irish Council Against Blood Sports doesn't take kindly to Aer Lingus's suggestion in a promotional e-mail that holidaymakers might "take in the atmosphere of a traditional bullfight" while in Madrid.

€2.436 millionTotal pay received by AIB chief executive Eugene Sheehy last year.

€135 millionEstimated amount telecoms and media tycoon Denis O'Brien will spend on doubling his stake in Independent News & Media.

€292Monthly sum that Asia's richest woman, Nina Wang, who died this week, spent on herself, despite owning an estimated €3.15 billion fortune.

Good Week

Irish Continental Group shareholders:Now have a choice of bids, as One51 and the Doyle Group say they are mulling an offer that will be not less than €20 a unit.

Europe:The value of stock exchanges in Europe (all 24 of them) overtook the value of US stock exchanges for the first time since before the first World War.

"Time-sensitive" business travellers:Aer Lingus expects they will be thrilled by the airline's decision to charge €10 for a seat in the first five rows, imposed merely so they can be fashionably on time for their very important meetings.

Bad Week

Eamonn Rothwell:The Irish Continental Group managing director's MBO bid of €18.50 per unit is trumped by One51 and the Doyle Group.

Microsoft:The European Commission is to force the software giant to hand over to rivals what it claims is sensitive and valuable technical information about its Windows operating system for only a tiny sum.

An Post:One in five companies are now seeking alternative ways to have post delivered, citing speed, efficiency and reliability as the main motivators for switching.

Nine out of 10 cats. . .

Survey of the week:

Half of the people surveyed about savings on behalf of Bank of Ireland have admitted to being tired of hearing about the cash lump sum that more than 500,000 Special Savings Incentive Account (SSIA) holders are soon to get their clutches on. It is now less than a month to go before the whole thing is over . . .

Spin of the week . . .

The "feel-bad factor" - now dominating Irish consumer sentiment, thanks to nervousness about job prospects, according to IIB Bank chief economist Austin Hughes.