A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Pfizer moves production to Cork plant
Pharmaceutical group Pfizer has said it will transfer part of the production of its UK unit to Cork, following the closure of a plant in Kent after 53 years.
The group is to cease all manufacturing at the site in Sandwich, which has been home to one of its key research and development programmes with the loss of more than 400 jobs.
Pfizer has been scaling back its operations at the English site - its last manufacturing base in the UK - since January 2005. Production is expected to move to Ireland, where there is spare capacity, depsite a recent restructuring, and to two plants in the the United States.
Union to meet Arnotts' managers
Shop workers' union Mandate will meet Arnotts' management to discuss the implications of the news that Boundary Capital and Anglo Irish Bank are to take a 45 per cent stake in the business.
Union official Linda Tanham said yesterday that she had scheduled a meeting with the company, where Mandate has 800 workers.
She said workers fear that Arnotts has been focusing on its €750 million property development plan for Dublin's north inner city rather than on its core retail business.
Carroll ups stake in ICG to 20.42%
Property developer Liam Carroll has added to his stake in ferry firm Irish Continental Group (ICG) with the purchase of a further 31,777 shares.
This brings his stake in ICG to 20.42 per cent. Mr Carroll bought the majority of the shares at €25 - €1 above the current offer price - and 427 units at €24.80.
Production begins at Providence well
Providence Resources said production has commenced at the A1 well at its High Island A268 site in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Texas coast.
This comes a week after production commenced at the A2 well on the same site. Providence has a 5 per cent interest in the project.
AGI treatment gets approval
AGI Therapeutics said yesterday the US Food and Drug Administration had accepted its investigational new drug filing for arverapamil, a treatment for diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.
John Devane, AGI's chief executive welcomed the approval, saying advancing a product into phase three is a major milestone for any pharmaceutical company. He said the company is already in the advanced stages of initiating patient enrolment.
Pan Andean gas find is commercial
AIM-listed Pan Andean Resources has declared its gas discovery on High Island 52 in the Gulf of Mexico commercial.
In a statement yesterday the company said the exploration well drilled at the site had encountered more than 160 feet net pay of hydrocarbon column in three separate sections. Production is expected to commence at an initial level of 5 million cubic feet of gas per day.
Pan Andean already has interests in producing assets in the area.
High gold price boosts Celtic
Irish-registered mining group Celtic Resources said it expects production will reach record levels this year, which combined with high gold prices and increased demand, make the outlook for the group very positive.
Releasing its interim results yesterday, the company said it expects production will reach 90,000 ounces this year.
The company yesterday reported net profit of $15.9 million (€11.4 million) in the six months to the end of June, down from $38.5 million in the same period last year.
