A round-up of other business news in brief....
Minister seeks details on credit refusal
The Minister of State for Trade and Commerce Billy Kelleher has called for submissions from businesses that have been refused credit by banks.
The submissions will feed into work being carried out by the Government’s Credit Supply Clearing Group, which is tasked with identifying solutions where it finds that the flow of credit to viable businesses is blocked.
“It is clear that access to credit remains a significant issue and it is essential that we have hard facts to establish patterns for the banks to address,” Mr Kelleher said.
Submissions can be emailed to creditsupply clearinggroup@entemp.ie.
Profits tumble at Johnston Press
PRE-TAX PROFITS at Scottish media group Johnston Press, which has regional newspaper assets in Ireland, dipped 56 per cent to £27.5 million (€31.3 million) in the first half of the year.
They fell as income from classified adverts shrank because of the recession.
Among the group’s 13 Irish titles are the Kilkenny People and the Limerick Leader.
Revenues were down 25.4 per cent year-on-year at £218.6 million. It said a new three-year finance facility of £485 million has been negotiated with lenders.
It had warned earlier this year that if it failed to sell its Irish business it could breach the financial covenants of its debt facilities during 2009.
Record jobless could affect Japanese poll
Japan’s unemployment rate yesterday hit its highest level since records began in 1960, underscoring the economic problems that could result in a political earthquake in the country’s Sunday’s general election.
Widespread dissatisfaction with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the sharpest recession in decades have set the stage for what polls say could be a landslide victory by the decade-old Democratic party.
LDP candidates are battling to persuade voters to keep faith with the 53-year-old ruling party – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Rebranding for accountancy body
The Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland is rebranding itself as Chartered Accountants Ireland, with effect from September 1st.
The name change will coincide with the opening of the organisation’s new training and administrative headquarters on Dublin’s Pearse Street.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland will remain the legal title of the body.
'Cash for clunkers' deal a hit in US
Consumer spending in the US rose in July as Americans jammed car showrooms to take advantage of the “cash for clunkers” programme while avoiding other purchases. The 0.2 per cent gain in spending was in line with forecasts and followed a 0.6 per cent increase in June, the commerce department said yesterday in Washington.
Excluding cars, purchases were flat. Consumer sentiment was little changed in August, a separate report showed.
Car dealers benefited from the Obama administration’s incentive plan, which ended this month, while retailers such as Kohl’s and JC Penney struggled to lure customers shaken by mounting job losses. – (Bloomberg)
