ireland.com - The Irish Times

AIB sanctions disciplining of three executives
AIB has begun disciplinary procedures against three executives working at the bank who were found to have tax liabilities on funds of up to €48,000. p

Eircom sales staff misled rivals' clients - regulator
Eircom field-sales staff deliberately misled customers of competitors in an attempt to win back their business, the telecoms regulator said yesterday. p

Site sale to OPW netted huge tax break for Fyffes
Fruit importers Fyffes achieved huge tax savings when it sold the historic Battle of the Boyne site to the State, the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told yesterday. p

Other Stories

New investor raises Gresham holding
The individual who bought 3.7 per cent of Gresham Hotel Group through an Israeli bank last week is believed to have raised his holding to about 10 per cent of the company. p
Eurofood bound for European Court of Justice
A legal tussle for control of an Irish unit of insolvent Italian dairy firm Parmalat was steppped up yesterday when the Supreme Court said the the European Court of Justice would have to settle the issue. p
Kingspan upbeat on back of robust markets
Kingspan is trading in markets that are "more robust than they have been for some time", shareholders were told yesterday. p
M&S faces #8bn takeover by Green
Marks & Spencer, once the UK's most admired clothing retailer, is facing an £8 billion-plus (€12 billion) takeover bid from Mr Philip Green, a billionaire entrepreneur who already owns some of its closest rivals on the British high street. p
Kingspan, financials post gains as ISEQ edges up
Market Report: The market closed a touch higher yesterday, with volumes holding up well across the board. p

Story of the Week

Latest fiasco as damaging for AIB as Rusnak affair
Comment: Is there no end to it? Previous scandals in Irish public life have shown how once the can is open, all kinds of worms start crawling out. p
Tip-off mushrooms into full-scale scandal
History: It started when someone contacted Eileen Fitzpatrick, the head of AIB Investment Managers last August and ended with three senior executives facing disciplinary charges, and further damage to AIB's already tarnished reputation and a €800,000 tax bill. p
Institution run by the Irish business elite
Top Management: Several senior members of the business and banking community were involved in running AIB during the period covered by yesterday's statement. The bank has not disclosed the names of the five former senior executives involved with the offshore company Faldor or the five other executives identified as having "tax issues" nor has it indicated their level of seniority. Three of them still work for the bank. p
AIB: a litany of problems
On May 6th, AIB apologised for overcharging certain foreign exchange customers over an eight-year period but insisted senior management only learned of the overcharging in recent times. The bank has so far estimated its liability at €20 million, plus €5 million in interest. p
Opposition TDs fume at latest AIB scandal revelation
Reaction: The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority must immediately investigate AIB's operations following the disclosure of the fourth example of irregular conduct, Fine Gael charged last night. p
B of I to repay students ATM duty
Refunds: Bank of Ireland is to repay €390,000 in annual Government stamp duty on ATM cards to second-level student account- holders who, it said, were not given enough notice that the bank had stopped its practice of paying the €10 tax on their behalf. Refunds for stamp duty debited in April 2003 and April 2004 will be credited to approximately 35,000 accounts, or 19 per cent of the bank's second-level student account base, Bank of Ireland said yesterday. p
Board draws on top businesses and professions
Directors: AIB has a high-level board that must now decide what to do. p
Unacceptable deal allocations a 'thing of past' - Buckley
AIB statement: As already announced, an independent investigation into certain foreign exchange charges made by AIB has been established. The investigation will also cover any other pricing issues which may arise as part of the comprehensive trawl AIB is carrying out of pricing throughout its product range. p
AIB brought new issue to IFSRA in September 2003
IFSRA statement: An independent investigation into foreign exchange charges at AIB, established under the approval of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA), is being carried out by external accountants and is overseen by an independent assurer, Mr Lauri McDonnell. p

Business Features

Pharmaceutical association is pushing for new pricing system
The great and the good of Europe's pharmaceutical industry gathered in Dublin this week for the annual meeting of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Association (EFPIA), but the people who run the business are already focused on another meeting next week - with representatives of the EU Commission on June 3rd. p
Successful enterprise involves more than a good idea
Today marks the end of the current series of Business 2000, and somewhat unfortunately, the start of summer exams for many of you. p

Business Opinion

Endangered Celtic Tiger could roar again
Economics: Today marks the end of the current series of Business 2000, and somewhat unfortunately, the start of summer exams for many of you, writes Dan McLaughlin p
Greenspan still taking it easy at 78
Ground Floor : Years ago, when we talked about the advance of technology and the paperless office, we all believed that our working lives would be immeasurably easier, we would have more leisure time and - happy days - we would retire earlier! Naturally, that hasn't happened, writes Sheila O'Flanagan p
We get the banks that we deserve
Comment: The latest scandal to emerge from our banks raises some serious questions. The more obvious ones - such as how banks can overcharge certain customers, what controls were in place, who knew what and when - have already been raised, writes Roger Acton p

Friday Interview

Michael Dell's anointed heir aims to retain the 'Dell effect'
A tidal shift is taking place at the world's biggest personal computer maker Dell, though if you blinked you might miss it. Twenty years since founding the first genuine "build to order" PC firm from a room in his Texas home, company founder Michael Dell is relinquishing his position as chief executive officer. p
Murtagh takes bumpy ride east with Kingspan
When Kingspan expanded into the Czech Republic five years ago, the Kingscourt, Co Cavan-based company little realised exactly where it had bought. p

Technology

New system will overhaul New York's rescue response
Wired on Friday : Last week, New Yorkers relived the horror of September 11th, 2001 when the independent federal commission investigating the terrorist attacks came to the city to question current and former leaders of the Fire Department (FDNY), Police Department (NYPD) and Port Authority Police Department. Over two days of hearings, the city's inadequate communications system and agencies' poor planning came to light, writes Carol Power p
Galway project weaves meaning into the Web
Imagine if you could talk to the Web and it could understand. That is the promise of a potentially revolutionary project being pioneered at NUI Galway to turn today's Web into a semantic Web. This means a Web in which the information held on billions of Web pages will know what kind of information it is and how and when it is useful to someone. p
Software firms too small, says report
The majority of Irish software companies remain too small to enter international markets, according to an annual report on the indigenous software industry compiled by Dublin technology consultancy HotOrigin. p
Vodafone shines but operates in hotter climate
Mr Paul Donovan has had a two-and-a-half-year honeymoon period since taking the top job at Vodafone Ireland, one of the Republic's most successful firms. p
Dumping nerd pressure to find happiness in yoga
Net Results: It all sounds suspiciously like a Hollywood chick-flick script - dump the high-flying, high-paying technology industry job and run off to a tropical island to find happiness doing yoga, writes Karlin Lillington p
Consumers set to benefit from new competition on broadband
The broadband-starved Irish consumer is finally being asked to log on to high-speed internet at a reasonable price, following a spate of summer promotions announced this week by firms. p

Personal Finance

Are hedge funds going to be the next bubble?
Financial markets have always been prone to fashions and fads. Some smart investors simply try to spot the latest craze and make money by riding the wave of euphoria and relying on the "bigger fool" theory of asset pricing: there will always be an idiot to buy this from me at a higher price than I paid for it. p
Banks look good value as economy shows promise
Investor/An insider's guide to the market: Large financial institutions, both at home and abroad, tend to make newspaper headlines on a regular basis. This is not surprising given the pervasive influence that the banking and insurance industries exert on overall economic activity. p
Q&A
I wonder if you can clear up a problem? My understanding of the contributory OAP is as follows: as originally introduced, both the main pension and the spouse allowance were means test free. p
Protection plan is a luxury, not a necessity
The news that the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) is investigating why AIB charged 570 mortgage customers for payment protection cover without their approval should spur homeowners to check whether or not they are paying for such policies and whether or not they actually need them. p
Make sure to pack your parachute on new airlines
Pegging your holiday hopes on the promises of fledgling airlines or tour operators is a one-way ticket to disappointment, if the recent experience of Irish consumers is anything to go by. p

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