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

FBD to issue dividend on property sale

Shareholders in FBD will receive the first special dividend connected with a Spanish property sale agreed by the company in February on August 11th.

FBD said yesterday it was ready to pay the first dividend of €1.60 a share because it had received the first tranche of payment due under the €201 million sale of lands in the Costa del Sol.

The firm is selling part of building development land at the La Cala Resort in Mijas. An initial payment of €100 million has been received, with a further €21 million at the end of June.

Petrel reports €481,535 in losses

Petrel Resources, the oil company focused on Iraq, has reported a €481,535 pretax loss in 2005. This compares to a €350,295 loss in the previous year.

Executive chairman Dr John Teeling said 2005 was a year of significant development. Petrel was appointed project manager and developer of the Subba and Luhais oil field.

DCC rebrands Irish businesses

DCC has rebranded its environmental businesses in the Republic as Enva. The business takes in Atlas, Envirotech and Shannon Environmental Services.

Invest NI appoints board members

Invest Northern Ireland has made three new appointments to its board. John Brady is a non-executive director of several companies. Bryan Keating, a company director for more than 25 years, has recently become an "angel investor". Ed Vernon is head of corporate development at BT Northern Ireland.

Johnson & Johnson defends stent

Johnson & Johnson yesterday defended the safety profile of its drug-eluting stent, saying a three-year study showed "no significant difference" in the rate of blood clots when using its Cypher drug-eluting stent and a bare metal stent. It was responding to a Wall Street Journal article that said use was falling. - (Reuters)

Regulator warns against Stonewell

The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority has warned consumers not to accept investment advice or do business with Stonewell Finance, a Swedish firm not authorised to do investment business in the Republic.

Construction job growth holds up

Employment growth in the construction sector held up in April, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Employment grew annually by 2.6 per cent in April, up from 2.3 per cent in March, rebounding from a January low of 0.6 per cent.

Pipeline inflation eased in May

Pipeline inflation eased in May to 0.6 per cent, suggesting a moderation in overall inflation, according the CSO's latest wholesale price index.