ireland.com - The Irish Times

Pressure mounts on Nationwide boss
Irish Nationwide managing director Michael Fingleton is under increasing pressure to execute the sale of the building society after it emerged that he will have to leave its board when he turns 70 next January. p

ESRI suggests drop in house prices will not harm spending
The downturn in housing prices is unlikely to impact adversely of consumer spending, according to research presented yesterday with the ESRI's quarterly economic commentary. p

CSO indicates economy grew 4.5% in first half of 2007
The economy grew at 4.5 per cent in the first half of the year, figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office indicate. p

Other Stories

Private bin firms to take on Dublin council
Two private waste-management companies are pledging to go all the way to the European courts to halt Dublin City Council's attempt to reorganise the industry in the capital. p
EU plans study on tax harmonisation
The European Commission is examining how the harmonisation of corporate tax rates would affect business in Europe. The move comes despite repeated denials by the commission that it planned to pursue such an approach. p
Incentives will mean costlier electricity, says ESRI
Consumers and businesses will have to fund a number of extra incentive payments to power companies after the all-island energy market is introduced next November. p
Irish firm in deal with top US recruitment site
Irish software firm Candidate Manager has announced a partnership with one of the leading US recruitment websites, Careerbuilder.com. p
'Culture of serial objection' warning
One of the major developers of the multi-billion euro Cork Docklands project has warned that the Government and the various parties involved need to start working together as a matter of urgency or investors may take their money elsewhere. p
Robinson calls for radical audit watchdog for NI
The North's Minister for Finance, Peter Robinson, has proposed the setting up of a "radical" overarching economic watchdog group that could save the Northern Ireland exchequer £700 million over the next four years. p
120 new jobs for Naas as Enfer expands
Animal biotech group Enfer is set to create 120 new jobs over the next 18 months in Naas, Co Kildare, where it has doubled the size of its facility in a €10 million investment. p
Ryanair says pilots to get big pay rise in new deal
Ryanair has agreed a four-year pay deal with its full-time pilots in Dublin that it says will improve the pay of its captains by more than €25,000 a year. p
Barrett now king of Ashford Castle
Property developer and hotelier Gerry Barrett has completed the €50 million acquisition of the upmarket Ashford Castle Hotel in Cong, Co Mayo. p
Babcock & Brown Air floats in NY
Dublin aircraft leasing company Babcock & Brown Air floated on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday with an initial market capitalisation of $772.9 million (€546.39 million). p
Group seeks to raise €30m for Singapore assets
A consortium chaired by former KPMG head Ron Bolger has unveiled plans to raise up to €30 million in Ireland for property investments in Singapore. p
DAA awards €180m T2 contracts
Dublin Airport Authority has awarded €180 million worth of contracts to seven groups for the construction of Terminal 2. The contracts cover areas such as concrete, steelwork, cladding and logistics. Work on the new facility will begin next week, the DAA said yesterday. p
Crisis affects Irish banks, agency says
Irish banks have "extremely low or in some cases no direct exposure" to the crisis in the US sub-prime mortgage market, according to a senior banking analyst at ratings agency Moody's. p
$22m in standby credit for Kenmare
Mining and exploration firm Kenmare Resources has established a $22 million (€15.54 million) standby line of credit due to a delay in revenues from its titanium mine at Moma in Mozambique. p
Solid showing by banks propels market
Dublin report: The market powered ahead yesterday, closing 2.3 per cent stronger on the back of a solid session for the banks. p
In Short
A round-up of today's business news in brief p

Agenda

Lie of the land
ECONOMICS: International experience tells us that swings in housing markets are typically associated with swings in economic performance. Economic growth is usually robust during housing booms and weak during housing busts. In fact, a downturn in new homebuilding is often a warning sign of an oncoming recession writes, Alan Ahearne p
Ace venturer
The Friday Interview: For one of eight partners in one of Europe's largest venture capital firms, former Esat Digifone boss Barry Maloney is disarmingly frank about the nature of venture capital, writes John Collins p
Fighting dirty
A row is brewing between Dublin City Council and private sector waste management firms over control of household rubbish, writes Barry O'Halloran p
Driving change
Platform: Perhaps it was inevitable that there would be a strike this year against one of the "Big Three" car companies - General Motors (GM), Ford and Chrysler, writes Steven Pearlstein p
Planet Business
Compiled by Laura Slattery p

Personal Finance

Making the most of your pension
To coincide with Positive Ageing Week, Claire Shoesmith looks at what happens when you reach retirement age and your pension is available for collection p
Home truths
Croesus/The Investor's View: Bank of Ireland issued a keenly awaited preclose trading update on Tuesday. Normally such updates are not given as much attention as an actual results announcement, but amid the current credit market turmoil, any fresh news is carefully pored over by analysts and investors alike. p
Q&A
Dominic Coyle answers your questions p
The views of Wall Street's cheerleaders will prove comical as the US economy is gripped by recession Pride before a fall
Serious Money: The turmoil that gripped financial markets in recent months is deemed to be at an end and the probability of recession has been downgraded as the US Federal Reserve, under the leadership of Ben Bernanke, circled the wagons and delivered a more-than-expected half-percentage point reduction in short-term interest rates, writes Charlie Fell p
Equity release - a new lease of life?
While releasing some of the equity in your home may seem like an attractive option if you are in need of cash, such schemes are not suitable for everyone, writes Claire Shoesmith p

Technology

Techies showcase inventions
From an automated, wireless medication dispenser to anti-roll technology for SUVs and internet messaging applications, eight university technology projects in search of commercial investors and partners will debut at this year's Informatics Technology Showcase. p
Catering for Babel
Wired: I'm in Montreal, the capital of Quebec, and slowly adjusting to a city that looks for all intents like one of its American counterparts - except for nods to strange commonwealthisms (Esso, not Exxon; serviettes, not napkins) and the rich French- Canadian accents spilling over the bars, restaurants and hotel lobbies, writes Danny O'Brien p
Not so fair play
Inbox: Ever since the appearance of software allowing users to take a normal music CD and "burn" the tracks into the digital MP3 format, music has gone digital, writes Mike Butcher p
Photo negatives
Net results: In the age of digital images, fast uploads and downloads, and a plethora of public profile and photo storage websites, just how much control does an individual have over their own image? writes Karlin Lillington p
Blogspot
In the brave new world of blogging, anyone who has been self-publishing for a couple of years is considered an elder lemon. On that criterion, Doc Searls is a grandfather of online media - as relevant now as he has been for the past 20 years, writes John Collins p
VoiceSage wins new deals in Britain
A Cork-headquartered software firm has signed up five of the top 10 debt collection agencies in Britain to use its automated voice messaging software in the 12 months since it entered the market. p
Irish internet pioneer on Icann board
An Irish internet pioneer has been appointed to the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann). p
Operating profit of for ThirdForce
Irish e-learning business ThirdForce generated €9 million in revenue during the first six months of its financial year and has reported an operating profit of €653,000, compared to a €1.9 million loss for the corresponding period last year. p
In Short
A round-up of technology news in brief p

Recruitment & Management

Standards high on consultants' agenda
Finding a way to ensure high professional standards in consulting is one of the main talking points of an international conference being held in Dublin this week. p
Financial firms seek cream of graduate crop
Every autumn, the graduate "milk round" begins, with Irish, British and multinational companies descending on third-level campuses and career fairs eager to sign up the cream of the latest crop of graduate students. p
'Mature' students live up to their name at last
'Mature student" - it sounds like a contradiction in terms, right? Not so here at Insead, writes Niall Dunne p

BackPage

Channel 6 may switch ad sales to TV3
One more thing: Channel 6 is believed to be in talks with TV3 about using the Ballymount-based broadcaster's advertising sales house in a bid to boost its flagging advertising revenues. p
Barrett eyes London for G brand
One more thing: Happy with the success of the G Hotel in Galway since its launch in November 2005, property developer Gerry Barrett is preparing to take the hip brand to Dublin and London. p
Ryanair looks for judicial reviews
One more thing: Ryanair's legal department is working overtime at present. The low-fares airline lodged papers seeking leave for two judicial reviews yesterday - one in relation to planning permission for Terminal 2 at Dublin airport and the other challenging the aviation regulator's recent determination on airport charges. p
Downgrades for financials
One more thing: With the share prices of Irish financial stocks declining by up to 31 per cent in the year to date, analysts at Merrion and NCB have issued downgrades for the sector to clients. p
BT Ireland targets big guns
One more thing: Having lost out to Eircom up North recently in the competition for a €100 million civil service telecoms contract, BT Ireland's new boss, Chris Clark, is hoping to repay the favour in the Republic. p
The right call
Under the radar: For parents, the need to keep in contact with children by means of a mobile phone is matched by reluctance from a safety perspective for parents who cannot control the calls or texts their children make or receive. p

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