ireland.com - The Irish Times

AIB upbeat on earnings despite asset writedown
AIB's share price rose 3 per cent yesterday after the bank said its 2007 earnings per share (EPS) would grow by 13 per cent - in line with an earlier forecast - despite writing down the value of assets due to the credit crunch. p

Eircom may be split into four divisions
Eircom's owners are examining the possibility of splitting the telecoms group into three or even four separate units when they move ahead with the formal separation of its network from its customer service divisions, writes Arthur Beesley, Senior Business Correspondent p

Fitzpatrick buys out siblings' shares in New York hotels
Irish hotelier John Fitzpatrick has bought out the interests of his siblings in the family's two four-star properties in New York. Ciarán Hancock , Business Affairs Correspondent, reports. p

Other Stories

Bank of England cuts rates as ECB stays at 4%
A gulf opened up between Europe's two largest central banks yesterday after the Bank of England responded to the global credit squeeze by cutting interest rates while the European Central Bank (ECB) indicated another increase was still on the agenda. p
'Warren' €112m shopping spree in Edinburgh
Dublin property investment firm Warren Private Clients has bought a shopping centre in Edinburgh for €112 million (£80.5 million sterling). Simon Carswell , Finance Correspondent, reports. p
Change in stamp duty exercises most minds
Stamp duty was the issue on most people's minds during an online question and answer session on ireland.com yesterday. The new regime accounted for almost three-quarters of all the queries submitted.
Banks set to profit from VAT reform
Banks and other financial services companies won a potentially lucrative tax boost in the Budget when the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, launched an overhaul of VAT on property transactions.
OECD predicts Irish economic rebound to 4.5% growth in 2009
The Irish economic slowdown may be short with a rebound predicted in 2009 by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based economics think tank. Paul Tansey , Economics Editor, reports. p
Modest gains for low incomes
Analysis: We have become accustomed in recent years to budgets with very substantial packages of tax reductions and welfare increases. p
RBS predicts record profits
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the parent group of Ulster Bank and First Active, sought to reassure investors yesterday and allay analysts' fears, saying its results would be "well ahead" of market forecasts, with credit crunch write-downs of £950 million (€1.3 billion) well below those forecast. p
Energy firm Imera gets UK licences
Dublin-based energy firm Imera has been awarded licences by the UK regulator Ofgem to build two power interconnectors between Ireland and Wales. Laura Slattery reports. p
Siteserv doubles operating profits
Building services group Siteserv almost doubled its operating profits and more than doubled its turnover in the six months to the end of October, showing little sign of damage from the slowdown in the housing market. p
Shares experience good all-round day
Market Report: Key interest rate decisions influenced proceedings on the stock market yesterday, as did AIB's positive trading statement, with the Iseq index of Irish shares ending a good all-round day 2.35 per cent ahead. p
In Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p

Agenda

Fitzpatrick sees room to expand as hotels fill to brim
On Monday, in the lobby of his 92-room Fitzpatrick Manhattan hotel on New York's Lexington Avenue, John Fitzpatrick bumped into a couple from Dublin that he knows well. Ciarán Hancock , Business Affairs Correspondent, reports. p
Bush unveils plan to freeze subprime loan rates
US president George W Bush formally unveiled a plan yesterday to freeze interest rates on some subprime home loans for five years, setting up potential showdowns with mortgage security investors who could see their returns decline and Democrats who say the plan does not go far enough to help troubled homeowners. p
Gaeltacht caretaker
The Friday Interview: Last June, Údarás na Gaeltachta confirmed that it was in discussions with Silcotec Europe over the loss of about 40 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Carraroe, Co Galway. In Westport, Co Mayo, the printed healthcare packaging company Field Boxmore said it intended to lay off 42 staff. This was followed in September by the news that the Euró Iompú Teo coach conversion company in Gweedore was to close with the loss of 45 jobs. p
Room for improvement
Economics: Next year will be a tough one for the economy. The latest published forecasts see gross national product (GNP) growth of 2.5-3 per cent, which would be the slowest pace of expansion since the early 1990s, writes Jim O'Leary. p
Sticky wicket
Platform: The journey taken by Ireland's cricket team in 2007 was arguably the sporting story of the year. In March, they went to Jamaica to compete in the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time, writes Richard Gillis. p
Planet Business
Compiled by Laura Slattery p

Personal Finance

Nip and tuck for healthy finances
A few adjustments to your approach to money can reap major rewards without ruining the lifestyle you are accustomed to, writes Caroline Madden p
Insider optimism
A spate of insider buying has sparked hopes that we are seeing a correction in a long-running bull market, writes Proinsias O'Mahony p
Defiant economy
Croesus/The Investor's View: A curious aspect of the ongoing turmoil in the financial markets is the largely positive signals that are coming from the real economy. p
Hard times
Serious Money: Santa Claus arrived early on Wall Street, and November ended on a positive note. The Federal Reserve's chairman, Ben Bernanke, and vice-chairman, Donald Kohn, both spoke of the need for further monetary easing, while sultans from the Middle East injected much-needed capital into the ailing Citigroup, writes Charlie Fell p
Q&A
Dominic Coyle answers your questions. p

Technology

Alarm bells ring over data retention
Human rights concerns are at the heart of a challenge to controversial laws on the retention of phone call details, writes Karlin Lillington p
Tapping into the Valley
The 15 companies that travelled to California this week with the Paddy's Valley networking event have gained access to some of Silicon Valley's leading entrepreneurs and advisers, writes John Collins in Palo Alto p
System Dynamics in Oracle deal
System Dynamics, Ireland's largest and oldest IT services company, has become a member of the Oracle Partner Network, the only Irish firm to achieve such a status. John Collins reports. p
Sony raises its game
Executives at Sony's games division may not be carried away by last month's PlayStation 3 sales data but they could be forgiven a wry smile at the first good news for many years. p
Staying on board
Net Results: Many entrepreneurs dream of the moment when venture capitalists might appear with an offer to buy them out, especially if leaving the entrepreneur in control of the organisation they created with blood, sweat and tears, writes Karlin Lillington. p
Modern internet's days are numbered
Wired: One of the most recurrent phrases in tech culture is that "next year will be the year of the X", where X is always the same, but the next year is continuously changing, writes Danny O'Brien. p
Bagging the best travel case
Inbox: I'm sure I made a great impression recently when, after a meeting with a be-suited technology company executive, I left to catch my plane with a cabin bag which looked like it had fallen off a dust cart. It was time to replace it, but which one should I get? p
In Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p

Recruitment & Management

Make up your own business
"Feel the fear and do it anyway." This phrase stuck with Gillian Moore since she came across it while studying entrepreneurialism in fifth year in school. Now she has put it into practice with her cosmetics brand, Fuschia. Caroline Madden reports. p
Business relations
Thousands of family businesses across Ireland can perform better if relatives who work together can avoid confusion about their professional and family roles on the job, says an organisational psychologist at UCC. Adam Harvey reports. p

BackPage

Three-way fray for FM104
One More Thing: The race for FM104 appears to be at least a three-way contest. Vienna Investments and Liberty Global both met FM104 management this week and Belfast-based broadcaster UTV also remains in the running. p
Differing views on Grafton's fortunes
One More Thing: There were slightly differing views on Grafton Group this week from analysts at Davy and Citigroup. p
Fortune favours Anglo
One More Thing: Former Anglo Irish Bank colleagues David Drumm and Tiarnan O'Mahoney could not have had more contrasting fortunes last week. p
TG4 provides viewers with costly cúpla focail
One More Thing: We're all for the promotion of the Irish language but we can't help wondering if the taxpayer is getting value for money from TG4. p
Ryan family stake in VivaAerobus set to soar
One More Thing: Mexican low-cost airline VivaAerobus, in which the family of the late Tony Ryan has a 49 per cent stake, appears to be gaining altitude. p
Catering for all tastes
Under the Radar: While most 21-year-old graduates were either off partying or thinking about looking for their first job, Cora Barnes was busy setting up her own business with two friends. p

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