A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Tullow Oil on cusp of agreeing $10bn deal with Uganda
Tullow Oil is close to signing an agreement with Uganda that paves the way for a $10 billion oil project to begin now that the country’s elections have taken place, one of the firm’s directors said.
“We’re very close to signing off an agreement with the government of Uganda,” Tullow’s exploration director Angus McCoss told an industry conference yesterday.
Tullow is waiting for formal approval from Kampala for its acquisition of stakes in oil fields from a former partner, and for its subsequent plan to bring in new partners, French oil major Total and Chinese group CNOOC.
Uganda has so far given both parts of the deal its blessing but said it wanted to find a basis for resolving a tax issue before it gives the final go-ahead. Mr McCoss said the company would start drilling in March. – (Reuters)
Wal-Mart's US sales down again
Wal-Mart Stores has posted its seventh consecutive quarterly drop in sales at existing US stores and said it will take some time to turn around sales.
Sales at US stores open at least a year fell 1.8 per cent but overall sales – including overseas units – rose 2.5 per cent to $115.6 billion.
The world’s largest retailer has struggled with pricing as it has lost customers to dollar stores while it is also still recovering from a poorly executed decision – which has since been reversed – to pare down the number of items it offered.
“Some of the pricing and merchandising issues in Wal-Mart ran deeper than we initially expected, and they require a response that will take time to see results,” chief executive Mike Duke said in a statement.
Graduate services aided by Accenture
Accenture is offering a free consultancy service to Irish businesses that want to set up graduate programmes. The consultancy business expects 1,500 placements to be created, said Susanne Jeffery, Accenture HR director. The offer is being made as part of National Employment Week.
Recruitment firm Sigmar has said it will offer free recruitment services including sourcing, screening and selecting of graduates for the Accenture-supported programmes. The organisations have also produced a graduate career advice video “to help Irish graduates compete more effectively in the recruitment process”.
Factory gate prices up by 1%
Factory gate prices rose by 1 per cent in January, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office. This compares to an increase of 0.7 per cent for the same month a year earlier.
On an annual basis, factory gate prices rose by 1.3 per cent, the CSO said. During January 2011 there was a 1.8 per cent rise in prices for meat products, while other food products such as bread and confectionery also rose. Prices for pharmaceutical products were up 1.3 per cent.
A 4.5 per cent decline was noted in prices for fish products, while prices for chemical products and beverages were down 2.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.
Annually, prices paid for meat products rose 8.1 per cent.
