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€464m wiped off Anglo value after risk warning
SOME €464 MILLION was knocked off the value of Anglo Irish
Bank yesterday after it said lending was slowing across all sectors
and that it was taking a further writedown on risky assets and
adopting a highly cautious approach to new lending. p
O'Brien buys more IN&M shares and is close to acquiring blocking stake
DENIS O'BRIEN has increased his stake in Independent News & Media (IN&M) to within a whisker of 20 per cent, bringing his interest in the company close to the level at which he could block any bid for the business from a rival camp. p
Buffet will not be buffeted by any looming financial storms
UNDETERRED BY exceptional volatility on the stock market and
jittery economic conditions, the combined wealth of Ireland's
billionaires has reached $20.2 billion (€13.15 billion). p
Other Stories
DAA in joint venture to build hotel at airport
THE DUBLIN Airport Authority (DAA) yesterday unveiled plans to build a €130 million four-star hotel and a 2,900-space, multi-storey car park in a joint venture with Tifco, an Irish company that operates five hotels, including Clontarf Castle. pState to spend €200m on new energy policy
THE GOVERNMENT has confirmed that it will spend €200 million over a number of departments to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. pEuro reaches all-time high against dollar and sterling
THE EURO rose to a record against the dollar after European Central Bank (ECB) president Jean-Claude Trichet said there was "strong upward pressure on inflation", signalling he is in no hurry to cut interest rates. pMcInerney profit unchanged as conditions slow
Profits at listed house-builder McInerney treaded water last year as conditions in Ireland and Britain slowed. pAppleby reminds court of powers in DCC case
THE DIRECTOR of Corporate Enforcement has reminded the High Court it can of its own volition make disqualification orders following the Supreme Court finding of unlawful insider dealing by DCC chief executive Jim Flavin in the sale of the DCC stake in fruit distributor Fyffes in early 2000. pAppleby not well placed to take on Flavin or Fyffes
ANALYSIS: The director of corporate enforcement may face a hard choice, writes Com Keena pApplications sought for digital TV multiplex licences
THE BROADCASTING Commission of Ireland (BCI) will today invite applications from companies interested in operating three commercial, digital television multiplexes. pMinisters to back North investment
Senior Government ministers will promote the upcoming US/Northern Ireland economic investment conference when they travel to the United States to celebrate St Patrick's Day, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said yesterday. pWarning higher labour costs discourage foreign investment
THE GOVERNMENT should resist demands for wage increases in national pay talks as higher labour costs would erode competitiveness and discourage foreign direct investment (FDI) into Ireland, Friends First chief economist Jim Power has warned. pIn short
A round-up of today's business new in brief pIseq lower as Anglo Irish warns of need for caution
DUBLIN REPORT: THE ISEQ was sent hurtling downwards yesterday as Anglo Irish Bank said it would write down more than 25 per cent of the value of its structured investment vehicle assets and spoke of "a high degree of caution" in selecting new business in light of the deteriorating US economy. p
Addressing an old-age problem
PLANNING FOR the future has been a much discussed topic, with pensions frequently topping the list. With good reason too. The population is living longer, with life expectancy for men predicted to increase from 76 years to 84.6 years by 2061. Meanwhile, women will live to 89, instead of 81.1 years. pTide ebbs for Nationwide
THE 125,000 members at Irish Nationwide Building Society must be wondering whether the society has missed the boat when it comes to its long-planned demutualisation and sale, writes Gretchen Friemann pSome light in the gloom
CROESUS/AN INSIDER'S VIEW: Over the past week many equity market indices have remained under pressure in response to an environment of slowing growth combined with sharp rises in commodity prices from oil to gold to foodstuffs. pQ & A
Dominic Coyle answers your questions pChildcare - the second mortgage
The high cost of creches and long waiting lists have put parents under pressure, writes Caroline Madden pBet on a bottoming dollar
EVERYTHING MUST go! Fifty per cent off. Sale, sale, sale. These slogans are familiar to the thousands of Irish shoppers who regularly swarm like bees to America's great shopping cities - New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco. It's no wonder they travel Stateside. pDownturn could prove to be self-reinforcing
SERIOUS MONEY: THE MONTH of February ended on a sour note for equity investors as the stock market in the world's largest economy recorded its fourth consecutive month of decline, leaving prices no higher today than the heady days of the late 1990s. p
Green is theme as IT tries to save costs, and planet
LONG BEFORE Europe began to show symptoms of the malaise gripping the US economy, the continent's biggest technology fair had already decided to strip down to its essentials and present a sharper image. pPowering down
INBOX: WHILE POLITICIANS and environmental campaigners rail against the transport and power industries, those of us in the technology world may have to start looking at our own actions in helping to save the planet. pCall for green to be norm, not niche
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS are becoming greener, but manufacturers have a long way to go to eliminate hazardous substances from computers and mobile phones and make them more energy efficient, Greenpeace said. pStartups for 10
NET RESULTS: Stanford University, seedbed for Yahoo and Google, holds a jobs fair specifically for startups, an idea Irish universities might take on board pGambling dressed up in a Wall Street suit?
WIRED: AFTER THE excitement of this week's Democratic nomination battle, eyes in the US are slowly beginning to turn to the real fight: the presidential race itself, and the battle for Congress that will take place on the same November day. pSpace invasion that generation took to its heart
The 30th anniversary of seminal arcade game Space Invaders is to be marked, writes Karlin Lillington pRevenue a taxing issue for social networkers
USERS OF social networking sites have often been warned about leaking private details online. However, the story took a new twist when it emerged in recent days that the Revenue is using the sites to gather information on the subjects of audits before carrying out their investigation. pYahoo delays takeover bid
YAHOO HAS extended a deadline to nominate board directors, buying it time to pursue alternatives to Microsoft's $41.7 billion (€27 billion) offer, while also giving Yahoo room to negotiate a friendly deal with Microsoft. p
Counting cost of war
THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW: JOSEPH STIGLITZ, Nobel Prize economist by Paul Tansey pFeel the pinch as credit tightens
Investors should be careful but not overly cautious about the building sector, writes Barry O'Halloran pC&C crisis brewing
PLATFORM: The repercussions of a takeover of Scottish & Newcastle by a Heineken/Carlsberg consortium will be felt internationally, not least in Ireland, writes Bill Murdoch pBaby boomers
Dairy companies with winning formula in infant milk powders target Far East, writes Laura Slattery pIctu must find solution to taxing issue
ECONOMICS: While workers may oppose tax increases, extra funds could provide world-class public services to benefit economy's competitiveness, writes Jim O'Leary pPlanet Business
QUOTE OF THE WEEK "What people earn in China is not big money, but what I do condemn is that then retailers all across Europe take those products in and make a huge killing. At least what I'm going to do is say, look, I'm buying cheap, but I'm going to pass them on cheap." - Businessman Ben Dunne p
A Youghal man for Four Seasons
NEARLY 40 years after emigrating from Cork to work as a barman at a hotel in Amsterdam, Jim FitzGibbon is one of the most powerful figures in the international hotels industry. pElectricAid spreads its net
I REMEMBER a phone call a few years ago from a jovial marketing manager with some bad news: "Sorry, Gerry, but it looks like we'll have no more rugby trips, though, if you like golf, we might fix up something." pDesigning the right business model
AVID WATCHERS of such highbrow reality TV shows as America's Next Top Model and Project Runway will be well acquainted with the heartache, criticism and rejection that young hopefuls, who truly believe they are the next Kate Moss or Jean Paul Gaultier, encounter as they try to break into the fashion industry. p
Hughes & Hughes' latest venture speaks volumes
THE LATEST chapter in the growth of Irish book retailer Hughes & Hughes will be written at the end of March with the opening of Terminal 5 (T5) at Heathrow. pAirport authority gearing up with massive profits from car parks
THE DUBLIN Airport Authority (DAA) was keen to stress yesterday that it is not back in the hotel business, following the announcement of a €130 million joint venture to build a 470-bed hotel and multi-storey car park. DAA quit the hotel trade in 2006 with the sale of the Great Southern Hotels, netting a profit after tax of €125 million in the process, and has no desire for a return. pSetanta has its eye on the ball whenit comes to spreading the word in US
DUBLIN-BASED Setanta Sports has hooked up with a New York-based Irishman to try to spread the word about the pay TV broadcaster among the soccer-playing public in the US. pAll the answers may be in London
ON MONDAY, exploration minnow MinMet gave notice that it would hold an extraordinary general meeting in London on April 11th to answer questions posed by a rump of shareholders. The meeting has been requested by Dublin-based Gerry Walsh, Newry-based investor Tom O'Gorman, Sweden's IGE Holdings, Ashdale Investment Trust Services and Davycrest nominees. pAer Lingus looking up as US airlines circle Heathrow
ALL HAIL Open Skies, the deal to liberalise air travel between Europe and the US. pSigns of better times
UNDER THE RADAR : CONNAUGHT SIGNS. ALAN DOWLING may not yet be 30 but already he has seen plenty of ups and downs in business. p
