A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

China's central bank criticises bad debt claim

China's central bank, The People's Bank of China, has strongly criticised an international accountancy firm's report on the country's bad debt problem.

The Ernst & Young report, which asserted that China's total liabilities for non-performing loans may be more than $900 billion (€696 billion), far higher than official estimates and outstripping its massive foreign exchange reserves, has reignited debate about Beijing's efforts to clean up the banking sector.

The bank said the report is "ridiculous and barely understandable" and at odds with the firm's own auditing of Chinese banks.

"The so-called research report not only seriously distorts the current image of China's banking assets but also fails to jibe with the results of the firm's audits of many Chinese financial institutions," an unnamed bank official said. - (Financial Times service)

Industrial output falls slightly - CSO

Industrial output fell marginally during the first three months of the year, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office confirmed yesterday.

While up 2 per cent on the first quarter of last year, output between last January and March was down 0.8 per cent on the preceding quarter.

Reacting to the figures, Ibec's chief economist, David Croughan, warned that industry was under pressure from growing competitiveness abroad and rising domestic costs.

"While some of the sheltered sectors enjoyed strong growth, it was obvious that some significant sectors facing global competition were struggling to maintain market share," he said.

Unemployment in OECD group down

Unemployment continues to fall amongst the world's leading economies, according to the latest figures published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) yesterday.

Unemployment in the 30-member group of leading industrialised countries fell to 6.2 per cent in March, down from 6.3 per cent in February and 6.7 per cent in March 2005. The most significant fall occurred in Germany, where unemployment fell from 8.9 per cent in February to 8.7 per cent in March.

In its composite leading indicators - also published yesterday - the OECD said that economic activity in the group expanded moderately in March.

Exploration firm raises €4.47m

Exploration group Ormonde Mining has raised €4.47 million through the placing of 15.2 million new shares, equal to about 10 per cent of the existing issued share capital.

The company said yesterday it will use the funds to develop its gold mining business in Spain, in particular to conduct a feasibility study at the La Zarza copper-gold project and advance its gold-tungsten interests in Salamanca.

Dublin to host seafood congress

Dublin is to host next year's World Seafood Congress, a "showcase" for the $60 billion (€46.5 billion) international industry.

The congress, which took place in Sydney, Australia in 2005, is to be held by the International Association of Fish Inspectors, and hosted in the Republic by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Enterprise Ireland and the Food Safety Authority .

Minister of State for the Marine John Browne said: "This exceptional win will strengthen Ireland's position as a serious player on the global seafood stage."