Previous Day
ICG considers €471m offer
Irish Continental Group (ICG) is set to be taken private following a decision by the ferry operator's independent board members to recommend a €471 million cash offer from its chief executive Eamonn Rothwell and four other members of the management team. Ciarán Hancock reports. p
ECB raises lending rate by 0.25%
The cost of servicing a mortgage rose again yesterday following
the decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to increase its key
lending rate by one-quarter of a percentage point. The latest
increase, the seventh since December 2005, brings the ECB's key
"main refinancing rate" to 3.75 per cent, writes
Marc Coleman , Economics Editor p
Eircom facing action from ComReg
Telecoms regulator ComReg is preparing to take enforcement action against Eircom to prise further concessions from the former State firm on local loop unbundling, the process to open up competition on its phone network. Arthur Beesley , Senior Business Correspondent, reports. p
Other Stories
EBS to form alliance with Britannia for distributing mortgages
EBS Building Society will form a joint venture with Britannia Building Society to distribute mortgage products through brokers in the Republic. Laura Slattery reports. pBupa's risk-equalisation claim rejected
Seán Quinn's attack on the VHI prompted sharp exchanges yesterday after the State health insurer went on the offensive to accuse Bupa's new owner of making "totally inaccurate" claims about its business. pEuroMillions game boosts Lottery's coffers
The National Lottery achieved record sales of €679 million
last year, boosted by a doubling in the sales of its EuroMillions
game. EuroMillions sales reached €145.3 million, up from
€59.1 million in 2005 and now account for 21.4 per cent of
revenue.
Ciarán Brennan reports. pAnglo expects earnings to increase by 40%
Anglo Irish Bank expects growth of close to 40 per cent in earnings per share in the six months to the end of March. pIrish investors buy UK event services group for £30m
Former Allegro Group boss Dermot Divilly and fellow investor Greg Lawless, together with the management, have bought the Arena Group, the UK's largest events services supplier, from Evenser in a deal worth £30 million (€44 million). pAim is like a casino, says SEC official
A spat between the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) loomed yesterday after an SEC commissioner, Roel Campos, described London's junior Aim market as a casino and claimed 30 per cent of its new listings were "gone within a year". "That feels like a casino to me, and I believe that investors will treat it as such," he said. pEU rejects Ictu complaint on firm expansion scheme
The European Union has rejected a formal complaint from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) about the Government's decision to retain and expand the Business Expansion Scheme. pFurther rate rise signalled by Trichet will have Irish flavour
As interest rates rise, we are becoming spectators to a monetary morality play, writes Marc Coleman , Economics Editor pIseq closes 2.61% up after strong rally
Market Report: The Irish market rallied strongly yesterday, outperforming its European rivals to close the day 2.61 per cent stronger at 9,548.84 as its recovery from last week's drop continued . pIn Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p
Market falls off the Chinese pig's back
Ground Floor: So far the Chinese Year of the Golden Pig hasn't lived up to its billing as a harbinger of prosperity. Hardly had the golden pig been ushered in than the Chinese stock market turned bearish, causing it to plunge by 9 per cent in a day, writes Sheila O'Flanagan. pToo many to please multi-party coalitions
Economics: Michael McDowell's quip about a Fine Gael / Labour-led coalition being a "slump coalition" is very wide off the mark, writes Marc Coleman. pCareful management needed to change to new telecoms network
Comment : The Irish telecommunications industry is at a crossroads. The networks and business models that have underpinned the industry for decades are about to undergo radical change, writes John Doherty. pShareholders in line for 'money-back' specials
Current Account: This week two listed companies appeared to become overcome with generosity when it came to dividing up the profits with shareholders. p
Irish firms onto a winner at racing festivals
Businesses have realised the value of sponsoring horseracing events, writes Barry O'Halloran pDairy industry must plan for milk quota-free future
Glanbia, the Kilkenny-based co-operative announced "solid" results last Wednesday with cries of derision from dairy farmers who claimed those profits were based on the low milk price they received in 2006. p
ICG's real treasure may be its €545m port site
Ferry group's biggest asset could be 33 acres it occupies in Dublin port, writes Ciarán Hancock pBig profit increase in last set of results
Irish Continental Group's (ICG)last set of results as a public company showed a sharp upturn in profitability as the benefits of a redundancy programme agreed last year with crew on its routes from Ireland to Britain began to flow. p
ECB hike pushes ladder a little higher
For first-time buyers, interest rate rises make affordability even tougher, writes Laura Slattery pIncreased rate means lower loans
Mortgages: Most lenders use borrowers' net incomes to assess how much they will advance. The repayments on the mortgage usually cannot exceed between 30 and 45 per cent of their net disposable incomes. As increases in interest rate push repayments up, it also means that the size of the mortgages first-time buyers can receive approval for will drop. pInvestors beware as recession risks rise
Serious Money: Volatility has returned to the world's financial markets and the "dash for trash" may finally be at an end. Global stock markets had been on a relentless upward march since last summer and US stock prices had gone a record 228 sessions without a daily pullback of 2 per cent or more, writes Charlie Fell. pRecent market volatility should not derail another good year
Investor/An investor's guide to the market: In assessing the prospects for 2007, Investor's view was that it would be another good year for financial markets, with equity markets doing particularly well, but that there could well be substantial volatility. Therefore, the recent fall in the markets and the spike in volatility should not in itself derail the likelihood that 2007 will turn out to be a good year. pQ&A
Dominic Coyle answers your questions. pIn Shorts
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p
Alertness needed to stay king of your domain
Neglected internet domain names are vulnerable to takeover - and once they're gone you might never get them back, writes Eamon McGrane. pTV in the palm of your hand
O2 is testing a digital television service for mobile phones
around Dublin, writes
John Collins pPlacing ads on search engines new growth area
Underlining the huge growth in spend on online advertising with the major search engines, Martin Murray, chief executive of Interactive Return, says that this year two of his clients will spend over €1 million each on search engine advertising. pOutlook good for tech sector
The outlook for employment in the European technology sector, including Ireland, is buoyant but a haemorrhage of jobs to low-cost locations looks set to accelerate, according to the annual IT confidence survey by Eurocom Worldwide in association with its Irish partner, Simpson Financial & Technology PR. pControlling the space on MySpace may finish it off
Wired On Friday: American superhero comics are, these days, rather aware that they've slipped from modishness. And so, in that desperate way, they are constantly peppering their scripts with trendy cultural references. This month, an alternative journalist bombards Captain America with questions: "Do you know what MySpace is?", she asks with a fashionable sneer, writes Danny O'Brien. pHollywood's copyright police must face new reality
Net Results: Although some tabloid journalists may not agree, it's generally accepted that the job of journalists is to report the news rather than make it, writes John Collins. pSony zooms in on growing cybershot camera market
Technofile: Archos, which makes some of the best portable media players available, has unveiled its latest offering, writes Mike Butcher pIn Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p
McCormack seeks cure for cancer policy
National charity's chief executive is worried by a fragmented approach to treatment and the HSE's organisational ability to deliver on control strategy, writes Laura Slattery pRed Bull man aims for fruitful cider bullseye
Spotting trends is Barry Connolly's business. And, as the man behind Red Bull in Ireland, his record is there for all to see. Now he is hoping to repeat the trick with a new product, Kopparberg pear cider. p
Maestro with a talent for inspiring millions
Gabrielle Monaghan on one of the hottest properties on the global speaking circuit pFirm uses peers to recruit staff
Fierce competition for job candidates in the Irish labour market is compelling employers such as Accenture to become imaginative about how they attract and retain staff. pTime to grasp full potential of online marketing
From a business perspective, the internet can be a double-edged sword. A few weeks ago we looked at the challenges posed by cybercrime, the so-called "dark side of the internet". On the flip side, the web enables businesses to market their wares to a global audience. p
