A wrap of some of the day's other news.
Industrial disputes rise in second quarter
The number of industrial disputes rose in the second quarter of 2005, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said yesterday. There were five disputes in that period, involving 758 workers, compared with only one dispute involving 86 workers in the first quarter of the year. The number of working days lost to industrial action in the year to June rose to 1,463. This is below the 5,370 days lost in the same period of 2004.
The construction sector accounted for 45 per cent of the total days lost in the first half of 2005.
Business campus opens in Athy
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, yesterday launched a €40 million commercial development in Athy, Co. Kildare.
The project, Athy Business Campus, will cover 16 acres, comprising 12 blocks - all fully serviced - by broadband and natural gas. The buildings will include 122 industrial warehousing and office units, one high-tech office block and a purpose built creche facility, due for completion in 2009.
"This development is a significant confidence boost for Athy and the surrounding areas," said Mr Martin. "It should not only facilitate new job creation, but also generate spin-off economic activities which are critically important in promoting ongoing regional development."
Telecoms firm 3C starts AIM trading
Irish-based telecoms firm 3C began trading on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) yesterday. The company raised £1.45 million (€2.1 million) before expenses by placing 72 million shares, or 22.7 per cent of the company, with institutional and other investors. The company will use the funds to launch new services, to improve its sales and marketing and for general working capital.
Lapp Plats shows small interim loss
Lapp Plats, the IEX-listed exploration firm, has reported an operating loss of £123,700 (€181,587) for the six months to the end of June. The loss reflected administrative expenses at the firm, most of which were linked to its May listing on the IEX and London's Alternative Investment Market. Chairman Michael Nolan expressed confidence that the firm would soon make progress in existing and new prospects.
WTO says US violating tax rules
The World Trade Organisation yesterday ruled that the US had failed to fully dismantle a WTO-illegal corporate tax subsidy, paving the way for the European Union to reintroduce punitive tariffs worth more than $300 million (€249.5 million) on US exports.
The six-year-old WTO battle over the controversial US tax subsidy known as the Foreign Sales Corporation scheme, has implications for the escalating transatlantic trade dispute over aircraft subsidies, because Boeing remains the largest beneficiary of the FSC tax break. - (Financial Times Service)
German car firms eye mutual stakes
DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen, Germany's two largest carmakers, have held talks about taking cross- shareholdings in each other.
The disclosure will reignite debate over economic nationalism in Germany and provoke concerns that the country is returning to cross- shareholdings to insulate itself from takeovers and international capitalism. - (Financial Times Service)
