A round-up of today's other stories in brief
New online boating cover from Allianz
Boating enthusiasts can now secure insurance online using Allianz Direct's new "quote and buy" facility for pleasure craft owners.
Figures from Allianz show that over a fifth of all insurance claims involving pleasure craft result from collisions on the water. There is an estimated 50,000 privately owned small boats in the Republic and the average pleasure craft is valued at €40,000. A collision without adequate insurance could leave owners facing a significant financial burden, according to Allianz.
B of I launches Evergreen fund
Bank of Ireland Life has launched the Guaranteed Evergreen Fund, which offers investors a capital guarantee on their lump sums after six years.
The Evergreen fund, which is also sold through a Bank of Ireland subsidiary New Ireland, is the best performing managed fund in the Republic in recent years. The minimum investment in the fund is €5,000.
Gareth McQuillan, head of marketing at Bank of Ireland Life, said he believed the Guaranteed Evergreen Fund would fill a gap left by with-profits investment products, which have become less attractive in recent years due to falling bonus rates.
20% worry 'all the time' about money
Irish people would rather talk about their health, weight and relationship difficulties with close friends and family members than talk about money problems, according to a survey by financial services provider GE Money.
However, 20 per cent of respondents to the survey said they worried "all the time" or "often" about money, with less than one in three people saying they never worried about it.
Simply Mortgages offers 7.9% loan
Mortgage broker Simply Mortgages is offering personal loans with interest rates starting at 7.9 per cent APR for loans of over €10,000. People borrowing less than €10,000 will be charged a rate of 9.9 per cent APR. Customers can borrow from €1,500 to €25,000 and spread repayments from one year to seven years.
Trinity Bio directors buy 4.5m shares
Directors in diagnostic products group Trinity Biotech have made sizeable investments in company stock, acquiring just over 4.5 million shares and significantly increasing their stakes.
Chairman and chief executive Ronan O Caoimh bought 1.75 million shares in the market and exercised options over a further 1.07 million shares. Trinity Biotech president Brendan Farrell also exercised options - over 526,875 shares - as well as buying 10,000 units in the market.
Chief operations officer Jim Walsh acquired 184,000 shares and exercised options over a further 750,000 units, while chief financial officer Rory Nealon exercised options over 200,000 shares. Non-executive director Denis Burger bought 10,000 shares.
ECJ adviser backs passenger payout
Airline passengers stranded by delays or overbooking are entitled to a hotel room, food and cash, a top adviser to the European Union's highest court said yesterday, dismissing a challenge by airlines to the new EU rules.
Airlines, many of them barely profitable, criticised the rules as harmful to their business and went to court to fight the EU regulation, which took effect in February.
The rules force airlines to compensate passengers for overbooking, long delays or cancellations with food, lodging, and, in some cases, hundreds of euro.
The attempt to block the implementation of the new rules was filed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the European Low Fares Airline Association, both of which represent airlines' interests.
- (Reuters)
Group sells rights to site for €59.1m
Clyde Road Partnership - a property company in which Real Estate Opportunities (REO) has a 25 per cent interest - has sold the development rights for a site in south Dublin for €59.1 million. The rights to the 1.4 hectare site at Central Park, near Leopardstown, have been bought by Devano Developments. The directors of Devano are listed in the Companies Office as Galway-based John and Marie Lally and Castlebar-based John Moran.
The deal represents an uplift of €2.5 million, or 2.7p per share, in the value of REO's stake in Clyde Road Partnership, according to Richard Barrett, a director of REO.
Roche cuts 35 jobs in Clare plant
Pharmaceutical giant Roche yesterday announced the loss of 35 jobs at its production plant at Clarecastle, Co Clare.
The job losses arise from the multinational closing the facility at the plant that produces the intermediate for the naproxen drug.
A company spokesman said yesterday that Roche Ireland will act in a socially responsible manner in dealing with the job losses.
NTMA to auction €600m in bonds
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said yesterday that it would auction €600 million of its 4.5 per cent 2020 treasury bond on September 15th. The auction is the NTMA's first since June 2004.
Chorus launches new Cork service
Cable company Chorus launched its high-speed internet service in Cork yesterday. The firm has upgraded its network in the region and promises to offer the service to almost 60,000 homes in the Cork region by the end of the year. More than 22,000 homes can access the service currently.
IIB cuts fixed mortgage rates
IIB Homeloans has cut its fixed mortgage rates following a fall in borrowing costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Magnet aims to invest €65m in Republic
Magnet Networks, a cable television and broadband company, plans to invest €65 million in the Republic by the end of 2008.
The firm will announce details of its investment strategy later this month and has already begun recruiting an additional 20 staff.
Magnet Networks, which is owned by the US entrepreneur Ken Peterson, is a start-up firm that aims to build fibre optic networks directly into households.
It has signed deals with several property developers that are constructing tens of thousands of houses in new estates across the Republic. The deals enable Magnet Networks to get first access to homes for its own fibre optic network, which is capable of supplying digital television, broadband and telephony.
Price rise expected for electricity and gas
A rise in the price of electricity and gas is expected to be announced today by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER).
The regulator recently said electricity prices were likely to rise by between 2 and 3 per cent, but some sources suggested last night the final increase might reach 4 per cent. The gas price for domestic customers could rise by as much as 20 to 25 per cent. The CER is expected to provide supporting documentation for both decisions. The private gas supplier, Vayu, this week called on the Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey to block any major rise in gas prices.
