A round-up of the day's other news stories in brief.
Construction employment hits new high
Employment in the construction sector reached a new high in July, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). New CSO data also show that average wages in construction continue to rise sharply, despite a slight decline in the number of hours worked.
The CSO said yesterday that employment in private construction companies rose by 1.9 per cent in July when compared with the same month of 2004.
In June, the annual increase was 2.9 per cent.
Average weekly earnings for clerical and operative construction workers increased by 6.3 per cent to €742.25 in the 12 months to June.
For adult unskilled workers, weekly earnings rose by 6.9 per cent to €713.76. Skilled operatives saw their weekly earnings grow by 4.3 per cent to €860.37 over the year.
Dunne raises Jurys' stake
Developer Sean Dunne confirmed yesterday that he had raised his stake in Jurys Doyle to 27.49 per cent following heavy share buying on Thursday. Mr Dunne is now in a position to block special resolutions at the company, although he is still unable to vote on his proposed purchase of lands from Jurys for €260 million. Mr Dunne is thought to have stayed out of the market yesterday, but he is known to be determined to raise his stake to 29.9 per cent.
He is also known to be seeking corporate finance advisers to assist him in meetings with other shareholders. He approached Davy's corporate finance arm with a view to engaging the firm, but Jurys, which uses Davy as its company broker, objected to the relationship.
The Beatty family, which also bought shares on Thursday, said yesterday that it now had a stake of 9.456 per cent. Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that David Kennedy, the senior independent director at Jurys Doyle, has raised €949,164 by selling shares in the hotel group. Mr Kennedy sold 49,956 shares on Thursday at €19.00 per share. Shares in Jurys fell by 51 cent to close at €18.39.
Property firm to list on IEX
Property management company Irish Estates is to seek a listing on Dublin's IEX market at the end of the month.
The company said yesterday that it was applying to have 23.6 million shares admitted to the exchange.
It is also due to be admitted to London's Alternative Investment Market (Aim).
Unilever to review strategy
Consumer goods giant Unilever has announced a strategic review of its west European frozen-food business, which analysts say is set to see a sell-off for up to €2 billion.
The businesses under the spotlight include BirdsEye in Britain, Findus in Italy and Iglo across Germany, the Netherlands and other northern European countries.
The review is unlikely to affect the group's Irish operations, which employ 650 people. - (Reuters)
Euro zone growth forecast cut
The European Commission will cut its economic growth forecast of 1.6 per cent in the euro zone this year because of high oil prices which slow growth, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.
Mr Almunia said during a visit to Hungary that the 1.6 per cent growth forecast, made in April was based on the assumption that crude oil prices would be $50.90 (€41.60) a barrel on average this year.
