Planet Business

Compiled by Laura Slattery.

Quote of the Week

"I am really excited about my new position and am looking forward to the challenge."

-12-year-old company director Abbi Beckett, from Lancashire, who was headhunted for the post of head of play at UK family holiday group Eurocamp. Instead of a six-figure salary, share options and pension plans, she will be paid in toys.

The Numbers

$15 billionThe combined earnings of the world's top 25 hedge fund managers last year, an average of €60 million per hedge fund manager.

€2.2 millionthe average revenue lost every year to fraud by airlines around the world, with a total cost to the industry of €440 million, according to a survey by Deloitte.

1,554the number of new students registered by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI), surpassing last year's record intake of number crunchers by almost 25 per cent.

Good Week . . .

PenneysGeometric print mini-dresses for €13 Balloon sleeved metallic macs for €29... Profits at the Primark fashion empire rose 28 per cent in the first half of 2007, as shoppers lapped up their catwalk-inspired cut-price collections.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR)The winners of the bidding war for Boots, the British chemist chain and "important national institution", which (in a separate development) is soon to launch a £3 million advertising campaign featuring remedies for such delightful body issues as excessive sweating, stained teeth, dandruff and sore nipples.

Irish stamp collectorsEagle-eyed philatelists have spotted a printing error on one of the stamps in An Post's new book of international airmail stamps, making them highly collectible.

Bad Week . . .

Spanish holiday home ownersIrish investors could get burnt by their enthusiasm for a place in the sun, as sharp falls in Spanish real estate stocks prompted fears that the country's property market is overheated, oversupplied and, well, just over.

CadburyLast summer's salmonella scare, which sparked the recall of more than a million chocolate bars, came back to haunt the "glass and a half of milk" confectioner as it learned that it would face prosecution from Birmingham City Council for its failure to report the contamination sooner.