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

Vodafone to scrap roaming charges in UK

Vodafone will scrap "roaming" charges for its Irish bill-paying customers using their phones in the North and Britain from Tuesday, meaning all calls will cost the same whether they are made from the Republic, the North or Britain. Connection charges for prepaid customers using their phones in the North and Britain will fall by 63 per cent, Vodafone said.

It comes a month after O2 Ireland dropped roaming charges for customers travelling to the North, but only for business customers in Britain.

Greenspan in book deal with Penguin

Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has signed a deal to publish his memoirs with the Penguin Press after a fierce bidding war.

Penguin said it would publish his book in 2007, but gave no details on how much he would be paid or whether he would use a ghostwriter. Sources said bids had topped $8 million (€6.7million) . - (Reuters)

Opec keeps high oil production level

Oil fell $2 yesterday to slip below $60 as Opec agreed to keep pumping near full throttle despite high crude stocks in the US.

Opec president Edmund Daukoru confirmed there would be no change to the group's 28 million barrel-per-day production ceiling as it works to bring prices within consumers' comfort zone and fill supply disruptions. - (Reuters)

€10m upgrade for Portmarnock Hotel

As much as €10 million is to be spent upgrading the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links, its manager Hotel Partners said yesterday.

The money, put up by owner Capel Developments, will pay for 39 extra suites and bedrooms, a spa facility and enhancements to the golf course.

Rise in profits for Johnston Press

Johnston Press, which yesterday reported a rise in pretax profits for 2005, believes it now has "critical mass" in the Republic's newspaper market.

The company has reported pretax profits of £151 million for 2005, up from £149 million, an increase of just over 1 per cent. Revenue was up to £520 million, from £519 million. The company said its Irish acquisitions had exceeded all expectations.

However, its overall advertising revenue was down 3.7 per cent. Chairman Roger Parry said there no early sign of recovery.

ACCA urges equality for women

The business community has a duty to ensure that all women are treated equally to their male counterparts and that shifts in legislation which have empowered women are upheld for everyone, the ACCA International Women's Day lunch heard yesterday.

ACCA president Gerry Loughnane outlined the case of a female migrant worker who was paid less than €1 an hour for an 80-hour week and was sacked when she complained. He said it was up to businesses to ensure the values women have fought for are upheld.

Rabobank profits up 16% to €2bn

Dutch co-operative bank Rabobank, which owns ACCBank and Rabodirect, has reported a 16 per cent rise in after-tax profit to €2 billion compared with €1.79 billion the previous year. It said cost-cutting and an increase in sales had underpinned growth but increased competition in the Netherlands weighed on earnings.

It said it would continue to expand overseas. It did not disclose figures for its Irish businesses.