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

Anglo Irish raises rate on saving account

Anglo Irish Bank has increased the rate on its Regular Saver account from 5 per cent to 5.5 per cent, meaning Anglo now matches AIB for the most competitive rates on regular savings accounts.

Anglo has also passed on the full quarter-point increase in interest rates made by the European Central Bank (ECB) to its 30-day notice account savers, where the rate increased from 3.4 per cent to 3.65 per cent. Rates on its Easy Access account increased from 2.75 per cent, while the rate on its seven-day notice account went up from 2.8 per cent to 3.1 per cent. The minimum balance of €1,000 no longer applies on these accounts.

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) will also pass on the full quarter-point increase. Its Monthly Saver rate will increase from 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent from September 1st.

Northern Rock will increase the rate on its Demand Online account by 0.15 percentage points to 3.75 per cent from August 30th.

Property interest remains strong

Interest in Irish property remains strong for investors, despite anecdotal evidence that larger investors are diversifying their portfolios away from the asset.

More than €10 million has been invested in Hibernian's Irish property fund in the first four weeks since the fund reopened in July, the life and pensions company has said. The fund reopened following an investment by Hibernian in the AIB Bankcentre property in Ballsbridge earlier this year.

The Irish property fund, which is managed by Hibernian Investment Managers, has given investors a return of 14.8 per cent in the last 12 months and is now valued at more than €250 million.

Other properties in the fund include A-Wear and HMV on Dublin's Grafton Street, Wallis on Patrick Street in Cork and 2 Harbourmaster Place at the IFSC in Dublin.

Pensions body criticises new tax

The Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) has warned that a new tax will hit most holders of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) and people with low pension funds.

PRSA holders, company directors and self-employed personal pension holders can invest their pension in an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) instead of having to buy an annuity from a life assurance company on retirement.

A deemed distribution tax will apply to ARFs from 2007. Holders of ARFs will be assumed to have drawn down 1 per cent of their fund, rising to 3 per cent, and will be liable to income tax at their standard rate on this money even if they have not accessed the fund.

The tax is designed to stop high net worth individuals enjoying tax-free investment returns without ever having to draw down from the funds.

"While we appreciate the Government motivation, the big problem is that this tax discriminates against most PRSA holders and those with relatively low funding in their ARF," said Rachael Ingle, chairwoman of an IAPF subcommittee.

Students tempted with text top-ups

AIB is giving first-year third-level students €50 call credit when they open and use an AIB Student Plus account.

To secure the credit, students must make two text top-ups using the AIB text top-up service and complete 10 other transactions on their account before December 31st. Eligible students will then receive the credit on January 31st, 2007.

The Student Plus package also includes overdrafts at a reduced rate of 10.33 per cent APR and personal loans at a rate of 8.99 per cent APR.

The AIB student credit card has an introductory APR of 6.9 per cent on purchases for 12 months.