A roundup of today's other stories in brief.
Millionaires' global wealth grows 8.5%
The wealth of high net worth individuals (HNWIs), or people with financial assets of at least $1 million (€794,000) excluding their main residence, grew by 8.5 per cent in 2005, according to the tenth edition of the World Wealth Report.
The report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini found that there were 8.7 million HNWIs in the world in 2005, a 6.5 per cent increase on the numbers recorded in 2004.
The HNWI population grew most dramatically in South Korea, where it rose by 21 per cent. The number of Ultra HNWIs - people with financial assets of more than $30 million - grew by more than 10 per cent to 85,400.
Real estate firm sells off land site
Real Estate Opportunities (REO) has completed the sale of land held by a subsidiary for cash.
The disposal will lead to a rise of 7p (€0.10) per REO ordinary share when compared to the end-2005 valuation of the site, the company said.
Ellison fails to pay Harvard $115m
Harvard University has been left in the lurch by Larry Ellison, chairman of software group Oracle, who has failed to make good on a $115 million (€91 million) donation, 10 months after academics believed they could count on the money.
The Ellison Institute for World Health, which was gearing up to employ 130 staff by the summer of 2007, has been put on hold. Twenty research fellows and five top academics had been all but appointed, while three senior managerial staff who had been hired have now been dismissed.
The delays come amid uncertainty at Harvard following the imminent resignation of Larry Summers, its president, although fundraising during his leadership fell to a 16-year low in 2005. - (Financial Times service)
German producer prices soar 6.2%
German producer prices - an intermediary sign of inflationary pressure - quickened to its highest rate in nearly 24 years in May, Germany's federal statistics reported yesterday.
The news follows remarks by president of the Bundesbank, Axel Weber, that interest rates would have to be increased later this year to fight growing inflationary pressures.
The producer price index rose by 6.2 per cent year-on-year. The rise was driven by a May increase of 9.4 per cent in the prices of non-ferrous metals, which offset a slight easing in the price of oil prices that month.
Pan-African shares rise 4.65%
Shares in Pan-African Resources rose by 4.65 per cent yesterday after the company said there had been a 24 per cent increase from the previous resource estimate at its Manica gold project in Mozambique.
The shares, which are listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), rose by 0.25 pence to 5.63p (€8.24).
UK public sector borrows £7.4bn
British government borrowing has hit a record high, according to data released yesterday. The public sector net cash requirement stood at £7.381 billion (€10.8 billion) last month, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday, £2 billion higher than a year earlier.
Compared to a forecast of £4.9 billion, the figures suggest that UK chancellor Gordon Brown may fail to miss his borrowing target for a public sector net borrowing requirement of £36 billion this year. - (Additional reporting, Reuters)
