A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Tony Ryanstarts airline in Mexico
A new low-cost Mexican airline, VivaAeroBus, part-owned by Ryanair founder Tony Ryan and family, will start flying in October. VivaAeroBus, which will connect Mexican airports to a handful of US cities, will kick off with an initial investment of $50 million (€40 million) and two Boeing 737-300 aircraft bearing its vivid green and pink logo.
Owned by the Ryan family and Mexican bus company IAMSA and based in the wealthy northern business city of Monterrey, the airline hopes to carry a million passengers in its first year. It aims to have five planes flying by the end of the year and double its fleet in 2007. - (Reuters)
Executives' pay to be examined
The remuneration of about 30 semi-State chief executives is to be examined by a consultancy group to be appointed by the Minister for Finance Brian Cowen. The roles, workload and responsibilities of the chief executives will be compared with their private sector equivalents. The examination could lead to higher pay awards for the 30 specified positions.
Quarter Yahoo market value lost
Yahoo lost nearly a quarter of its market value, or almost $10 billion, (€8 billion) yesterday after a disappointing earnings report and product delays led many Wall Street analysts to cut stock ratings and profit estimates.
The turmoil at Yahoo, whose European headquarters are in Dublin, sparked its biggest one-day stock price fall since it began trading 10 years ago. It also provoked debate over whether other internet names were in similar peril, in particular whether the Google habit of outperforming could continue when it reports results today. - (Reuters)
PanAndean to drill Peruvian field
AIM-listed oil and gas producer PanAndean Resources has signed an exploration contract with the Peruvian state oil company, Perupetro SA.
Under the terms of the contract, PanAndean has been granted a seven-year term to explore Lot 114, which is located in central Peru, followed by a 30-year oil production phase.
Prize bond firm's profits rise 5.7%
The Prize Bond Company, which operates the State's longest-running prize draw, yesterday reported higher-than-expected bond sales in 2005. Gross sales for the year exceeded €133 million, which represents a 5.7 per cent increase on 2004. Within this, internet sales jumped by 58 per cent to reach €6 million.
EU rejects German VAT regime plan
Plans by Germany and Austria to beat rampant value added tax fraud by completely changing their tax collection systems were yesterday vetoed by Brussels, fuelling tensions over the issue. Laszlo Kovacs, European Union tax commissioner, said the proposal by the countries to depart from standard European VAT rules by introducing a so-called "reverse charge" system could not be allowed. - (Financial Times service)
JP Morgan's profit triples to $3.5bn
JP Morgan Chase, the third largest US bank, said second-quarter profit more than tripled, bolstered by investment banking and credit card income growth, sparking a 5.3 per cent jump in its stock. Second-quarter net income jumped to $3.5 billion (€2.77 billion), or 99 cent a share, from $1 billion, or 28 cent a share, a year earlier. - (Reuters)
