A roundup of today's other business stories in brief:
Live Register shows small new year drop
The number of people on the Live Register fell marginally from 156,700 in December to 156,300 in January when seasonal factors are taken into account. It compares to an increase of 300 in December, according to the Central Statistics Office.
Davy Stockbrokers said yesterday that the Live Register data seemed to indicate that the labour market was tightening. "The Live Register trends suggest that either job-seekers had no problem finding work in the final quarter, and/or the rate of firing declined," said Davy.
However, the number of people made redundant last month rose by 726 to 2,807, according to the Department of Enterprise and Employment.
IBOA, B of I agree to pension talks
The Irish Bank Officials' Association (IBOA) has accepted an invitation from the Labour Relations Commission to enter into fresh talks with Bank of Ireland later this month.
This follows the Labour Court's recommendation last week that the bank and its unions hold further negotiations in an attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute over the closure of its pension scheme to new employees.
The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) will facilitate the negotiations, which are to last no longer than three months, and wrote to all parties yesterday inviting them to participate.
The IBOA has agreed to begin talks on February 15th, the earliest start date suggested by the LRC.
EBS reinstates mortgage test
The EBS Building Society said yesterday it had reinstated its previous policy on stress-testing mortgage applications following discussions with the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Earlier this week it emerged the building society had reduced the test threshold from a 2 per cent increase in rates to a 1 per cent increase.
Managed funds grow in January
Managed pension funds grew by an average of 0.7 per cent in January according to Rubicon Investment Consulting. The rise was attributed to solid equity market gains driven by positive economic data on both sides of the Atlantic and mergers and acquisition activity in Europe.
Number of PRSAs nears 100,000
The Pensions Board said that, at the end of December, 95,045 PRSAs had been taken out with a total asset value of €835.28 million.
€214,000 damages in iTouch case
A Co Derry firm has been awarded €214,000 damages, including €10,000 in aggravated damages, by the High Court for infringement of its copyright of an electronic point of sale software system known as iTouch.
Retail Systems Technology Limited, of Campsie, Eglinton, Co Derry, which employs 31 people in Campsie, Belfast and Dublin, had brought its claims against PJ McGuire, Shop, Bar and Catering Equipment.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly noted the iTouch product first went on sale in September 2003, but Retail had only first discovered the infringement in February 2005 when they saw the iTouch product, with some minor changes, on the defendant's stand at the Catex Exhibition held at the RDS in Dublin.
Mr Justice Kelly said there was no doubt the defendant's product was to all intents and purposes a reproduction of that of the plaintiff .
