Finfacts Ireland Business & Finance Portal

Markets News Afternoon: Shares fall in Dublin; Inventories at US wholesalers unexpectedly dipped in December indicating rise in demand

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:55:13 GMT

Markets news on stocks, currencies and oil; Inventories at US wholesalers unexpectedly dropped in December, indicating distributors had trouble keeping up with demand.

Bank of Scotland Ireland to close Halifax network with loss of 750 jobs; Entry to Irish mortgage market in 1999 resulted in significant increase in competition

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:30:59 GMT

Bank of Scotland Ireland is to cut 750 jobs from its Irish workforce of 1,600, with most of the redundancies due to take effect by July. The bank plans to close down the retail network which it operates under the Halifax brand. But it is expected that 850 jobs will remain in the corporate and commercial banking sections. The entry to the Irish mortgage market in 1999 resulted in significant competition for existing players.

Honohan says Government will provide further significant capital funding to the Irish banks in coming weeks

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:29:52 GMT

The governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, said today that Government will provide further significant capital funding to the Irish banks in coming weeks.

Annual volume of Irish retail sales fell 14.1% in 2009 - -down 18% in value terms; Sales rose 0.4% in December

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:28:23 GMT

The CSO reported today that the annual volume of Irish retail sales (i.e. excluding price effects) fell 14.1% in 2009 when compared to 2008 and dipped 18.0% in value terms. There was a monthly increase in volume in December of 0.4%.

Markets News Tuesday: Shares fall slightly in Europe and Dublin; German consumer prices dip in January; UK retail sales stall

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:02:33 GMT

Markets news on stocks, currencies and commodities.

German merchandise exports fell 18.4% in 2009; Year marked biggest drop in trade since 1950 - - China becoming the world's top exporter; Exports up 3% in December

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:24:52 GMT

German merchandise exports were valued at €803.2bn in 2009 and imported commodities were valued at €667.1 billion in 2009. German exports in 2009 were 18.4% and imports 17.2% below the respective 2008 levels. This was the highest decline recorded in foreign trade in relation to both imports and exports since 1950 and in 2009, China becoming the world's top exporter. Exports were up 3.0% in December, compared with the previous month.

Tuesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - February 09, 2010

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:43:51 GMT

Principal news stories from the Irish Independent, Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Financial Times and New York Times.

US Employment Trends Index rose in January for the fifth consecutive month; Trend points to the resumption of jobs growth soon

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:10:55 GMT

The US Conference Board Employment Trends Index rose in January for the fifth consecutive month. The index now stands at 93.2, up 1% from December's 92.3, but still down 0.7% compared to January 2009. The trend points to the resumption of jobs growth soon.

The Big Tilt: Western companies unprepared for the rise of Asia; Senior executives should move to region

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:10:20 GMT

The Big Tilt: Two-thirds of respondents in a survey of 1,017 executives from around the world believe that the global recession is accelerating the shift of economic activity towards Asia. But few say their companies are well-prepared. This is the main finding of The big tilt: the rise of the East and what it means for business, a special report by the Economist Intelligence Unit due to be published on Thursday, February 11th. The report recommends that senior executives move to the region.

Dow Jones Industrial Average closes below 10,000 level; First crossed threshold in March 1999

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:33:11 GMT

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 10,000 on Monday, for the first time since November, hit by falls in all its financial components on concerns about the recovery and sovereign debt problems. The blue-chip measure of 30 stocks, dropped 103.84 points, or 1%, to 9908.39, led by a 3.5% dip in Bank of America. It had first crossed the level in March 1999.

Markets News Afternoon: Shares up slightly in Europe and US

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:03:18 GMT

Markets news on stocks, currencies and oil.

Economist George Lee abandons broken Irish political system; Resigns from Dáíl and Fine Gael

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:24:33 GMT

Former RTÉ economics editor George Lee today announced that he has resigned from the Dáíl and from the Fine Gael party, nine months after winning a landslide bye-election victory in Dublin South. In a Dáíl with a large number of members who are incapable of competently discussing the key economic issues of the day, the resignation at a time of economic crisis coincident with a broken political system, will hardly motivate competent outsiders to participate in the legislative process.

AIB Bank error in account classification results in overcharging on 40,000 accounts - - requiring average refunds of €100

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:31:34 GMT

The Irish Financial Regulator says in accordance with its statutory Consumer Protection Code, AIB has reported an error that occurred in the classification of the accounts of some customers. AIB estimate that 40,000 accounts may require refund with an estimated refund value of €4m plus compensatory interest. The average refund is expected to be €100. However until the full rectification process is complete, it is not possible to quantify the total number of accounts and potential refunds.

Irish Consumer Sentiment rose in January

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:00:14 GMT

The overall KBC Ireland/ESRI Irish Consumer Sentiment Index was higher in January at 64.6. This compares to a figure of 53.3 in December.

Markets News Monday: G7 to canvass support for global banking levy; Aer Lingus traffic rose in January; German manufacturing turnover fell in December

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:09:40 GMT

Markets news on stocks, currencies and oil; Finance ministers from the G7 countries - - Canada, US, Japan, Germany UK, France and Italy -- the world's most advanced nations, agreed at the weekend, in Iqaluit, northern Canada, just south of Arctic Circle, that the idea of imposing levies on banks to help insure the global economy against future financial crises, should be explored.

IBEC calls for 10% rebate on commercial rates for Irish retailers from cash-strapped local authorities

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:45:36 GMT

Retail Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the Irish retail sector, today urged that this year all local authorities give retailers a 10% rebate on commercial rates bill, given the very serious challenges the sector is facing. However, there is no proposal as to how the cut will be funded by the cash-strapped local authorities.

Monday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - February 08, 2010

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:55:07 GMT

Principal news stories from the Irish Independent, Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Financial Times and New York Times.

Asia 2010 growth forecast upgraded - - region will be responsible for 60% of global growth of 4.4%; World's Emerging Markets will account for 75% of growth

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:08:00 GMT

Asia was the first region to emerge from the Great Recession last year. It is also the first region where the incoming data justify a forecast upgrade this year according to US investment bank Morgan Stanley, which has boosted its 2010 GDP growth forecasts for Japan (by 1.4%), China (1%), India (0.5%), Malaysia (0.5%) and Thailand (0.3%). The bank now see Pan-Asia motoring along at a 7.4% pace (from 6.6% previously) and Asia excluding Japan (AxJ) at 8.8% (previously 8.2%). The main trigger for this upward revision was a stronger-than-expected surge in external trade around the turn of this year, which should also lead to stronger capex (capital expenditure) and, especially in India, a better outlook for domestic demand. The region will be responsible for 60% of global growth of 4.4% in 2010 and the world's Emerging Markets will be responsible for 75% of growth.

Competitiveness of Eurozone economies: Long tradition of tensions

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:42:55 GMT

Deutsche Bank Research says that in recent months, soaring government debt has shaped public debate over economic policy in the Eurozone. One often overlooked aspect is that the deficits of some countries are not only attributable to crisis-related revenue shortfalls and higher spending or poor budget policy. They are partly also due to reduced growth prospects resulting from a country’s lack of competitiveness. The differences in competitiveness are increasingly becoming a problem for EMU (European Monetary Union), especially since the gaps between the member states have grown over the past few years. Meanwhile last week, BusinessEurope, the pan-European business group representing 40 national business organisations in 34 countries, slammed governments for paying lip service to the goal of completing the European Union’s single market and for an EU budget that gives undue weight to agriculture over economic competitiveness.

Irish construction activity continued to fall sharply in January but at slowest pace in five months

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:05:28 GMT

Business conditions in the Irish construction sector continued to deteriorate in January. Both activity and new business fell sharply, despite the respective rates of contraction easing, while jobs were again cut at a considerable pace. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) -- a seasonally adjusted index designed to measure the overall performance of the construction economy -- rose to 36.1 in January, from 33.1 in December, its highest level since last August. However, the reading still represented a substantial fall in activity during the month as wider economic conditions remained fragile. Activity has decreased in each month since June 2007.