ireland.com - The Irish Times

World Bank offers Wolfowitz a pay-off
The World Bank's board was setting out its terms for Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president last night so as to avoid any decision to fire him after a damning report on his negotiation of a compensation package for his girlfriend, bank employee Shaha Riza. p

DAA to sell Birmingham airport share
Dublin Airport Authority will receive a €305 million windfall by selling its 24.125 per cent shareholding in Birmingham airport, writes Ciaran Hancock , Business Affairs Correspondent. p

Superquinn nets €142.5m in properties transaction
Superquinn has offloaded six of its properties in a sale and leaseback deal that has netted its owners €142.5 million from Friends First F&C, writes Ciaran Hancock . p

Tax expert questions lack of receipt by First Active
The High Court yesterday heard allegations that First Active, formerly known as First National Building Society, acted improperly with regard to communications concerning the opening of a savings account by one of its customers in 1995. Clare Shoesmith reports. p

Other Stories

Property developer backs €50m data centre
Property developer Thomas Healy is backing the €50 million development of Ireland's largest data centre in the former Verbatim factory in Limerick, writes John Collins . p
Wolfowitz haggles over terms of exit
President George Bush paved the way for Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of the World Bank with valedictory praise yesterday, as Mr Wolfowitz and the board remained locked in tense negotiations over his exit terms. p
Philip Lynch-led consortium poised to make offer for ICG
A bid for Irish Continental Group from a consortium comprising One51 Capital and the Doyle Group in Cork moved a step closer yesterday following a statement to the Stock Exchange by the ferry operator's independent directors. p
Revenues in South drive 7% rise in countrywide turnover at BT
BT's turnover in Ireland rose by 7 per cent last year to €1.09 billion in the year to the end of March. No breakdown of its revenues was given but BT said its operation in the South accounted for the majority of its turnover for the first time. p
Landsbanki in €88.2m takeover of Bridgewell
Merrion Capital owner Landsbanki is acquiring troubled UK stockbroker Bridgewell for £60.3 million (€88.2 million), a deal that gives it control of a second brokerage in the City of London. p
Buoyant car trade lifts March retail figures
Car sales and some other sectors defied weak consumer confidence to grow strongly in the month of March, the latest retail sales data suggests. According to the Central Statistics Office, overall retail sales recovered from a weak beginning to rise 1 per cent on February levels. p
Pfizer to seek planning permit for €170m plant
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer Ireland yesterday confirmed that it is to apply for planning permission for a €170 million facility on its site at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour which, if it goes ahead, will create between 70 and 100 jobs. p
Winners of ability awards announced
The 50 winners of the O2 Ability Awards 2007 were announced yesterday. The awards encourage Irish employers to recognise the contribution people with diverse needs make to business. p
Awards
The winners p
In Short
Other stories in brief: p

Agenda

Taxing matters
The major political parties have adopted disparate tax strategies to address weaknesses in the system as it evolved since 2002, writes Paul Tansey . p
Read my lips, you don't know Texas
Beltway Diary: 'Why on earth do you want to go to Texas?" "Why not?" I replied. "Because it is nothing like the rest of America," I was warned. I didn't like to point out that this was exactly why I wanted to go after seven weeks of city life. That and, of course, I have always wanted to be a cowgirl, writes Caroline Casey . p
Net effects
The Friday Interview: At 12.30pm today, David Went will step down from the stage of Irish Life & Permanent's (IL&P) annual meeting at Jurys Hotel in Ballsbridge, take questions from journalists, mingle with shareholders and take his leave of a company he has led for a decade. p
Tax system should respect family
On the face of it, this week's discussion over the fate of World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz is just another scandal about dodgy deals in high places. But the passions it has unleashed - Venezuela has left the World Bank - symbolise something deeper: a discord with a policy "consensus" among those affected by it, writes economics editor Marc Coleman . p
Time to change gear
Platform: It's come to this: the German owner of Chrysler, bleeding cash and facing untold billions in retiree healthcare costs, will shell out $1.5 billion to get a private-equity firm to take the auto-maker off its hands writes Steven Pearlstein . p
Pack turn against Wolf
In the days after World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz admitted his mistake in arranging a generous payment package for his girlfriend, angry employees at the bank launched an impromptu campaign. Blue ribbons started cropping up on lapels, taped to doors and as an image in e-mails - a symbol of support for the bank's ideals of good governance and transparency. p
Planet Business
Compiled by Laura Slattery p

Personal Finance

Red alert in China
SERIOUS MONEY: Act four, scene one of William Shakespeare's Macbeth contains the words, "Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble." The quote is an apt description of China's red-hot stock market, which has advanced by almost 250 per cent since the start of 2006. p
Speak out
CENTS & NONSENSE: The line is busy again. Ok, now I'm through but I'm on hold. The automated bank branch voice comes on: "Press 1 to buy our latest high-cost, low-profit investment product. Press 2 to become a credit slave. Press 3 to wait on hold for an hour and then be disconnected. Cash-cows, your business is important to us so please stay on the line." p
Rescue remedy for unhappy customers
Aggrieved consumers are increasingly turning to the Financial Services Ombudsman for satisfaction, and most are winning, writes Laura Slattery . p
The sum of DCC's parts
BEHIND THE CORPORATE VEIL: DCC, with a market capitalisation of €2 billion, is small compared with the near €20 billion capitalisation of the market's largest company, AIB. However, it is one of a small group of dynamic mid-capitalisation stocks in the €2 billion to €4 billion range that includes Kingspan, Grafton Group and IAWS, among others. p
Building society may face €6m bill
•Irish Nationwide The building society's total refund bill to commercial loan customers who were charged six months' penalty interest could be as high as €6 million, according to Financial Services Ombudsman Joe Meade. p
Offsetting capital losses
Q&A: I bought shares in Planestation Group plc back in 2001. In January 2007, I received a letter from Grant Thornton informing me that the company had been put into liquidation in July 2006 and that the shares had no value. My total investment was €31,944. p
THE FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN
How to get help. p
Banks in North told to improve account services
Bank customers in Northern Ireland should get a better deal after the Competition Commission this week ordered major improvements to personal banking accounts. The changes are likely to become UK-wide as a result of a review of the banking code currently being carried out. p
In short
Other personal finance stories in brief. p

Technology

Rolling with the times
Ever-changing technology means more options - and much confusion - when it comes to buying a video camcorder. Mike Butcher gets a close-up of the latest formats. p
Screen success
INBOX: If you have a brand new high-definition-ready camcorder, you're going to want to display the pictures in all their glory. That means a HD-ready TV, writes Mike Butcher . p
BLOGSPOT
Blog of the week: The tagline "don't live to geek, geek to live" might suggest that Lifehacker will only appeal to the hardcore techie. While many of its tips and tricks fall into the geek category, it's a great source of productivity enhancements - to use both at your PC and in the real world. p
Clicking with broadband
NET RESULTS: As broadband rollout slowly moves forward in the Republic, and as the signing of the Communications Regulations Act raises hopes for local loop unbundling, I was surprised to read that some 10 per cent of the US population relies on satellite connections for internet access. p
Data industry heats up
Expansion of the Irish data centre industry is being delayed by the high cost of Dublin premises and shortages of electrical power, writes John Collins . p
Hello, OpenMoko
WIRED: I often argue (in places where I hope nobody can hear me muttering to myself) about the difference between "interesting" and "successful" in the technology sector, writes Danny O'Brien . p

Recruitment & Management

Poster boys
In an enterprising role reversal, two fifth-year students have turned their business studies teachers into customers, writes Caroline Madden . p
How to keep staff and cope with pressure
More than 400 human resources professionals from Ireland and the rest of Europe will flock to Kilkenny next week for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) annual conference to hear how their organisations can best tackle competitive pressure and retain employees in a tight labour market. p

BackPage

One More Thing
Ciaran Hancock reports on Blue Ocean, airport charges, US real estate, Shannon airport redundancy package and Irish Life and Permanent's David Went. p
The bouquet business
UNDER THE RADAR: Ruth Monahan Hotelier's granddaughter makes a fashion statement with flowers. Interview by Ciarán Brennan . p

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