A round-up of today's other news stories in brief...
Oil price falls on gloom on US economy
Oil retreated further from the $100 a barrel mark yesterday as gloomy US jobs data heightened concern over the health of the US economy. Equities markets and the dollar also fell after a government report showed the US jobless rate rose to 5 per cent in December - its highest in more than two years.
US crude dropped $1.36 from the previous day's close to $97.82 by last night. London Brent crude lost 79 cents to $96.81. "The jobs data . . . may be viewed as another negative sign for the economy, which in the long run will actually hurt oil demand," said Tom Bentz of BNP Paribas. - (Bloomberg)
Dragon Oil roars to new record
Dragon Oil said yesterday it had exceeded its target of producing 40,000 barrels of oil per day from its field in offshore Turkmenistan. The firm's chairman and chief executive Hussain M Sultan, said the firm had produced 40,038 barrels of oil, a new record, on December 31st.
New car sales rose 4.5% in 2007
The motor industry sold 186,450 new cars last year, a 4.5 per cent increase on 2006, according to the latest figures. The Society of the Irish Motor Industry said the most popular new car make last year was Ford, followed by Toyota. Ritchie Capital settles legal row
Ritchie Capital Management, the US hedge-fund manager with two bankrupt Dublin companies, will pay $10 million to settle a legal row with life-insurance policy buyer Coventry First LLC.
The accord, which ends a dispute over policies Coventry sold to Ritchie, was approved at a hearing in New York.
The settlement applies to Ritchie Risk-Linked Strategies Trading (Ireland) Ltd. I and II, which filed for bankruptcy in June.
The two companies were designed to buy life insurance policies risk for a larger hedge fund controlled by former American football star Thane Ritchie. - (Bloomberg)
Ryanair passenger numbers climb
Ryanair carried 18 per cent more passengers in December than in the same month of 2006, the airline said yesterday. Passenger numbers rose to 3.95 million last month.
Ryanair's load factor, or the proportion of seats filled, was 79 per cent for December, down from 81 per cent a year earlier.
Inflation well up on ECB target
Euro-zone inflation stayed well above the European Central Bank's target in December, as expected, but economists said signs of an economic slowdown would keep interest rates unchanged in 2008. A first estimate from the EU's statistics office, Eurostat, showed yesterday that consumer prices among the countries using the euro last month rose 3.1 per cent year-on-year, the same as in November. - (Bloomberg)
New corporate treasurers chief
John Finn has been appointed president of the Irish Association of Corporate Treasurers for 2008. Mr Finn is managing director of Treasury Solutions Ltd, a Cork-based corporate finance and corporate treasury consultancy.
Gazprom sets eyes on Nigeria
Gazprom, Russia's state-owned energy group, is seeking access to vast energy reserves in Nigeria in a move that will heighten concerns among western governments over its grip on gas supplies to Europe.
