A round-up of other business news.
Outlook for employment rebounds
The outlook for employment rebounded slightly last month after a dip in August, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute's (ESRI) latest employment and vacancies survey.
As many as 11 per cent of private sector firms reported vacancies last month, up from only 7 per cent in August, as a significant increase in service sector companies reporting vacancies helped offset reported declines in all other areas of employment.
The percentage of service sector firms with vacancies increased by 10 percentage points to 15 per cent. Meanwhile the percentage of construction and industry sector firms actively trying to fill vacancies both decreased by 4 percentage points.
Firms reporting vacancies in the retail sector slipped 3 percentage points to 2.5 per cent.
The survey also showed that the most difficult to fill positions were those in the construction sector, specifically quantity surveyors.
Ormonde Mining appoints Mihalop
Gold exploration group Ormonde Mining yesterday appointed Dr Paul Mihalop as a non-executive director.
Dr Mihalop, a metallurgist by profession and formerly chief executive of Navan Resources, will take up the position immediately.
Innerworkings wins Manley prize
Innerworkings, a company that specialises in improving the performance of IT professionals worldwide, was yesterday named as winner of the 2005 David Manley Award for the most inspiring emerging enterprise.
The company, which was founded in 2003 and is based in Dublin's IFSC, was awarded a prize worth €80,000 yesterday. The runners up were BiancaMed and PharmaStox.
The award was set up in honour of the late David Manley, a former president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
Pan Andean group defers income
Oil and gas exploration and production group Pan Andean Resources said yesterday that monthly income of $200,000 (€166,272) will be deferred for at least three months because of the effects of tropical storm Rita.
In a statement to the stock exchange, the group said that while its production facilities survived the storm damage and remain intact, it is possible that the restart of oil production on one of its platforms will be delayed as lift boats are diverted to emergency situations.
Fraud charge for former Refco chief
Federal prosecutors charged the former chief executive of Refco with securities fraud yesterday as its shares fell sharply for a third consecutive day.
The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York charged Phillip Bennett with securities fraud over hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions owed to the company by an entity he controlled. - (Reuters)
Carrefour sales rise by 7.2%
Carrefour, the world's number two retailer, posted an in-line 7.2 per cent rise in third quarter sales and said it remained committed to low prices and winning market share despite a tough economic climate.
The French retailer had sales of €21.276 billion, helped by petrol sales at a time of high crude prices and despite price cuts amid fierce sector competition. Like-for-like sales grew 1.2 per cent.
