Today's other stories in brief
Iseq lost €19bn in three months
Almost €19 billion was wiped off the value of the Iseq index of Irish shares in the third-quarter as the index's strong dependence on banking stocks caused it to underperform its peers.
In its third-quarter update yesterday, the Irish Stock Exchange said, despite the recent downturn in markets, liquidity remained robust and trading volumes performed strongly.
However, it did say that the number of new debt listings slowed in September as a result of the uncertainties in global markets and the depressed market conditions.
The value of equities traded in the three months to the end of September exceeded €51.6 billion, an 81 per cent increase on the same period last year, while the average daily number of equity transactions more than doubled to 7,175.
Companies raised €219 million in the quarter, bringing the total for the year so far to more than €6.2 billion.
Carroll raises stake in ICG
Property developer Liam Carroll has taken his stake in Irish Continental Group (ICG) to 26.11 per cent, spending another €193,125 on the company's shares.
Mr Carroll bought 750 shares at a price of €25.75.
Drilling boost for Lundin
Lundin Mining said the drilling results from the Lombador zinc zone at its Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal had exceeded the company's expectations in terms of thickness and mineralisation.
It said new copper concentrations had been found at the site, and ongoing drilling would continue to search for undiscovered zones of high-grade zinc and copper within the Lombador site.
Collins Stewart
The managing director of Collins Stewart's Dublin operation is Mr Gary McCarthy and not Mr Gary Collins as incorrectly reported in Wednesday's edition
Fewer jobs in construction
Employment in construction has fallen for the fifth month in succession, according to figures published by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.
The index, which measure employment in private firms employing five or more people, fell by 2.4 per cent in August, compared with the same month last year. Employment in the sector last increased year-on-year in February.
New bond from Government
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has said it will raise a minimum of €3 billion in a new, long-dated bond - the first Irish Government issue in over three years.
Chief executive Michael Somers said yesterday: "We have a loan of €6 billion, which we have to repay next week. It is related purely to the refinancing of this loan."
This is the first time Ireland will tap the debt market since it raised $500 million in 2005.
Somers said the NTMA was looking at either a 10-year or a 15-year bond, which was expected to be finalised next week. - (Bloomberg)
Ryanair complaint
Ryanair has submitted a complaint to the European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes about what it describes as "blatant price fixing" by Lufthansa, Swiss, Air France and KLM in the operation of fuel surcharges.
Commenting on the move, Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary said: "In a six-hour period on September 25th, four airlines which account for some 30 per cent of the European short-haul market all increased their fuel surcharges by another €5."
British Airways was recently fined by the British and US governments for price-fixing, and Ryanair has called on the European Commission to investigate the latest round of fuel surcharges.
