A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Anglo agrees to buy back bonds

Anglo Irish Bank has agreed to buy back $225 million (€170 million) of bonds in euro and yen. Acting through its UK branch, Anglo Irish will pay face value for €59 million of its covered bonds due May 2012 and its ¥12 billion of July 2012 floating-rate notes, it said yesterday.

Covered bonds are typically backed by property or public-sector loans as well as the issuer’s promise to pay.

Anglo Irish has already swapped some of its subordinated bonds maturing in 2014, 2016 and 2017 for new notes at a discount of as much as 80 per cent.

The bank, which is owned by the State, is restructuring its debt after nearing collapse because of property loans. It needs an estimated €34 billion in capital.

Concern at EU bill for bank customers

An Oireachtas committee has raised concerns that bank customers could end up footing the bill for an EU-led consumer protection initiative in the sector.

In a report published yesterday, the European Scrutiny Committee accepted that the EU deposit guarantee proposals would allow for greater security for bank customers, but also questioned how it would be funded.

The EU rules, if finalised, would require financial institutions to ringfence 1.5 per cent of "eligible deposits" by 2020, with the aim of protecting consumer deposits in the event of a bank collapse.

The Republic already has such a deposit guarantee scheme, but it requires just 0.2 per cent of deposits to be ringfenced.

$4.2m profit for Intel in Shannon

Intel's Shannon-based research and development plant increased profits by 18 per cent to $4.2 million (€3.2 million) last year, writes Gordon Deegan.

Turnover at Intel Shannon Ltd increased by 33.7 per cent to $51 million in the 12 months to the end of December 26th, 2009.

Intel announced a €50 million investment at the research plant last year, planning 134 jobs developing "the most advanced silicon technology on the planet".

The accounts show that operating profits increased by 27 per cent to $4.1 million. It increased its workforce from 188 to 207, with the number engaged in RD increasing from 150 to 154.

The company has said it wants to employ 300 at the centre before the end of 2012.

WPP to buy Blue State Digital

WPP, the global advertising agency with its headquarters in Dublin, has agreed to buy US-based Blue State Digital, the agency that developed the Obama for America online campaign in the 2008 US presidential election.

Blue State Digital specialises in advocacy, membership and fundraising campaigns, WPP says.

The agency's sales have grown more than 30 per cent a year since it was founded in 2004. – (Bloomberg)