A round-up of today's other stories in brief
IFG warns on property slowdown
Irish financial services company IFG Group says the property slowdown is affecting its business in Ireland but its non property-related businesses are performing well.
In an interim management statement yesterday, IFG forecast it would meet analysts' estimates this year of 25 to 26 cent earnings per share (adjusted), following "strong" sales in the first four months of 2008. Adjusted earnings per share were 24.17 cent in 2007.
IFG said the performance was particularly impressive in the context of a 10 per cent depreciation in sterling. The company said it was continuing to seek acquisitions.
Analysts said that, although the business was "dealing effectively" with the challenges of a difficult property market, a reduction in broker commissions by lenders would undoubtedly hurt the business.
Magners sales slump in UK bars
Sales of CC Group's Magners cider in UK bars slumped by almost a third in March from the same month last year, analysts said yesterday, citing data from research company ACNielsen.
The figures for the on-trade business declined 32 per cent in March after a 25 per cent decline in February, Liam Igoe, an analyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers, said in a note.
Mr Igoe has a "buy" rating on the stock.
CC introduced Magners in Britain in 2004, but is facing increasing competition from Scottish Newcastle, Goodbody said. - (Bloomberg)
Paul Wallace teams up with DD2
Former Irish rugby international Paul Wallace will head up British commercial property finance and insurance specialist DD2's operation in Ireland.
DD2 is opening a Dublin office and intends to do business here on an all-Ireland basis.
It has recruited Mr Wallace from Jones Lang LaSalle.
Domain registry hits 100,000
More than 100,000 ".ie" internet addresses have been registered, according to the IE Domain Registry (IEDR).
The Royal Hospital Kilmainham was the 100,000th registrant with www.royal-hospital-kilmainham.ie.
The IEDR said it was registering more than 3,000 domains a month in the first four months of the year - a record level of activity for the non-profit body.
IEDR chairman Prof Seán Scanlon said in the past five years the company's customer base had tripled while prices had dropped by 60 per cent.
Dell names chief financial officer
Dell yesterday named a new chief financial officer, closing the book on an accounting scandal that has dogged the world's second-largest PC maker.
The company said Don Carty (61) would step down as chief financial officer on June 13th and be succeeded by Brian Gladden, president and chief executive of Sabic Innovative Plastics. - (Financial Times service)
New blow to EU banana regime
The European Union suffered another defeat over its banana import rules yesterday when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) backed a US complaint over long-standing preferences given to former European colonies.
A WTO compliance panel, handing down a judgment in the case brought by the US, said the EU had failed to implement previous rulings in the case. - (Reuters)
