http://www.ireland.com The Irish Times' Finance Top Stories en-ie Copyright 2008, ireland.com. The Irish Times 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 daily 2 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/ http://www.ireland.com/feeds/rss/rss_logo.gif Search for articles on ireland.com QUERY00 http://www.ireland.com/cgi-bin/dialogserver http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276383821.html THE ANNUAL rate of inflation fell to 4.3 per cent in April from 5.0 per cent in March, according to the Consumer Price Index published yesterday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Finance 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276383784.html LOSS-MAKING regional newspaper publisher River Media is trying to raise €10 million through the sale of a 20 per cent stake in the business. Finance 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276383804.html THE FALL in house building has hit profits at building materials and DIY group, Grafton, the company warned yesterday. Finance 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210286669324.html PRIVATE-EQUITY and fund management firm SVG Capital, owner of a 25 per cent stake in Dublin corporate financier Key Capital, has raised £320 million (€405.75 million) through a bond issue and the sale of assets to make new investments as capital markets recover. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276379268.html THE EUROPEAN Central Bank kept benchmark interest rates unchanged at 4 per cent yesterday, as expected, as policymakers weigh the risk of high inflation against concerns about euro zone economic growth. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276379259.html A sample of rhe goods and services that affect the consumer most. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276379270.html CHINESE COMPANIES will be encouraged to buy farmland abroad, particularly in Africa and South America, to help guarantee food security, under a plan being considered by Beijing. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210286669361.html UTILITY GROUP NTR has completed a reorganisation of its major operating units by merging its US ethanol unit with Nasdaq-listed Green Plains Renewable Energy and taking a stake of more than 40 per cent in that business. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210286669357.html THE HOUSES of the Oireachtas have issued a tender for an encryption system after it emerged that one TD has had two laptops stolen since the general election last June. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210286669328.html BANK ZACHODNI WBK SA, the Polish unit of Allied Irish Banks, said first-quarter profit declined 6.7 per cent after costs and provisions increased. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210284926634.html A FORMER Citroen car dealer has been prosecuted for price fixing by the Competition Authority in a case at Dundalk Circuit Court yesterday. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210284926733.html US ELECTRONICS giant Best Buy is to open its first store in the Republic next year, following its purchase of a 50 per cent stake in Carphone Warehouse, which operates 70 outlets in the State, for £1.1 billion. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210286669337.html A trade union has accused the Sir Anthony O’Reilly-led Independent News Media (INM) group of subsidising losses from its British business with profits from its Belfast operation. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210286669322.html REVENUES AT cable television and broadband provider UPC Ireland came to €58.9 million in the three months to the end of March, a rise of 4.8 per cent on the same period in 2007, according to results published yesterday. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210284170802.html COMREG HAS been given additional powers to regulate An Post, including the ability to seek financial penalties if it does not meet delivery targets. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210284926801.html More news in brief. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276383956.html DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 6,482.66 (+ 19.74). IRISH STOCKS closed up 19 points yesterday on a flat day for the equity markets across Europe. Other Stories 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276381827.html OVERVIEW: BRIAN COWEN and Gordon Brown have pledged to work "diligently and assiduously" to assist and promote economic progress in Northern Ireland, although the British prime minister stubbornly resisted calls to cut corporation tax in the North. US/Northern Ireland Investment Conference 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276381887.html CO-OPERATIVE COMMITMENT: THE THREE-DAY US-Northern Ireland investment conference, which concludes today, can strengthen economic ties between the US and the North and reaffirm the co-operative commitment to work together for peace, President George Bush told delegates. US/Northern Ireland Investment Conference 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276381884.html After the 'fact-finding', investment commitments must be secured, writes Frances McDonnell. US/Northern Ireland Investment Conference 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276381910.html NYSE will spend £3 million ($5.9 million) and double the workforce at its Wombat Financial Software business to about 200. US/Northern Ireland Investment Conference 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276381875.html US CONTRIBUTORS: A NUMBER of North American business figures were full of praise yesterday for the advantages of locating in Northern Ireland. US/Northern Ireland Investment Conference 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247408788.html It was a case of the judge, the tycoons, the economist and the tribunal at Dublin Castle this week, writes Colm Keena, Public Affairs Correspondent. Agenda 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247408781.html Even in a slowing economy, the need for foreign labour, although reduced, will continue, writes Paul Tansey. Agenda 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247408754.html THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW - Robert Finnegan, managing director, 3 : ROBERT FINNEGAN, managing director of mobile phone operator 3 Ireland, could justifiably be feeling a little smug. The subsidiary of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa has just signed up the 250,000th subscriber to its high-speed mobile network. Agenda 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247408761.html Name: Robert Finnegan Agenda 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247408745.html PLATFORM: In most transactions, the consumer has a choice of different payment methods, writes Feargal Quinn. Agenda 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210276381865.html Laura Slattery with a sideways look business this week. Agenda 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396079.html SALESFORCE.COM is making a big play to change the way software is developed, with a new strategy known as platform-as-a- service. The Californian company pioneered the model of software- as-a-service (SaaS), which sees software accessed over the internet rather than installed at a customer premises. Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396068.html A WATERFORD-based company has won the technology category at a major British heritage awards programme for its development of a hand-held multimedia guide to the Culloden battlefield site in Scotland. Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396072.html TECHNOLOGY FIRMS which export products which end up being used for military purposes could face fines of up to €10 million under new legislation which has just been enacted. Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247406237.html Legislation surrounding information and data leaks is seriously inadequate, writes Karlin Lillington. Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247406230.html WHEN THE state of California passed its now widely copied data disclosure law in 2003, it was the first state in the US to offer such protections for citizens and it set an international standard as well. More than 40 US states have since introduced similar laws. Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247406228.html WIRED ON FRIDAY: It's unclear who will suffer most in the next few months, the US or the rest of the world, writes Danny O'Brien. Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247406246.html IN BOX: IN THIS game, it’s sometimes hard to tell if a gadget or bit of software is actually of any use or not. Who knows, perhaps there really is someone out there who has been waiting for the electric dog- hair remover to come out in the shops? Or perhaps that electric toilet roll dispenser will find a whole new fan base? Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396059.html NET RESULTS: IT’S THE typical modern headache – you drive into town, you’d like to find a parking space as close as possible to where you will be carrying back your shopping or attending an event, and you have no idea if you’ll find a spot. Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396061.html More technology news in brief. Technology 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396127.html International finance houses have Ireland in their sights, writes Simon Carswell, Finance Correspondent. Personal Finance 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396142.html BANK OF Ireland said in its annual Wealth of the Nation report last July that there were an estimated 33,000 millionaires in Ireland. Personal Finance 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396155.html AN INVESTOR'S VIEW - CROESUS: Trading statements from CRH and Anglo Irish Bank point to challenging times ahead. Personal Finance 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396118.html SERIOUS MONEY: The bulls have returned to Wall Street . . . they were wrong last autumn. They will be wrong again, writes Charlie Fell. Personal Finance 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247396002.html Dominic Coyle answers readers' questions on nursing home fees and redundancy payments. Personal Finance 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247395911.html BUSINESS 2000: The Irish market is tiny, a drop in the ocean on a global scale, so many companies look further afield to achieve scale, writes Caroline Madden. Recruitment & Management 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247395907.html The Business 2000 column provides information for business studies teachers and students on the current business climate. Recruitment & Management 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247395896.html WHEN FINANCIAL services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers refurbishes its offices, foliage is a priority. Recruitment & Management 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247395903.html After 21 years, is our version of tripartite corporatism growing old instead of growing up, asks Gerald Flynn. Recruitment & Management 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247406406.html Whiterwater complex in the black; Denis O'Brien welcomes Carlos Slim; Dermot Mannion's good mood may not las; FBD investors scratching their heads; Sky Ireland talks to Setanta. Back Page 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247408180.html UNDER THE RADAR: DIARMUID SMYTH is just back from northern Canada where he completed the 225km (140-mile) Rock and Ice Marathon Challenge in Arctic conditions. Carrying all of his own equipment and food on a run for six days, in temperatures that dipped as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius, is Smyth’s preferred way of unwinding from the day job in the security business. Back Page 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0509/1210247406413.html Name: Diarmuid Smyth. Back Page 2008-05-09T12:15:06+00:00