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

Circle Oil gets $30m to fund drilling plan

Circle Oil said yesterday it had signed an unsecured convertible loan agreement for $30 million (€22.4 million) with Kuwait-based KGL Petroleum to help fund its work programme.

The loan is for a period of five years and is convertible into ordinary shares of the AIM-listed company at an exercise price of 25 pence per share. It carries a coupon of 6 per cent.

Circle Oil is committed to drilling a minimum of nine wells on its Moroccan and Tunisian licences up to the middle of 2009, together with all the ancillary seismic and technical studies that go with such a programme.

North's private sector expands

Northern Ireland's private sector picked up speed again last month, expanding faster in May than it had done in April.

According to the latest Ulster Bank Purchasing Managers' Index for Northern Ireland, business activity in the private sector increased in May for a 50th consecutive month. However, while the rate of growth remained robust and improved on April's seven-month low, it is still below the UK average.

The survey also found that companies in the North added to their staffing levels for a 15th consecutive month.

Prices may cause UK rate increase

British interest rates may need to rise again if signs of price pressures and capacity constraints stay high, Bank of England governor Mervyn King said yesterday.

In a speech to business people in Wales, Mr King said there was no simple answer to the question of where interest rates would go but warned it would be unwise to borrow so much that repayments are only affordable at initial levels.- (Reuters)

Oil rises to more than $69 a barrel

Oil rose well above $69 (€52) a barrel yesterday, after a sell-off of more than $2 at the end of last week, buoyed by news leading exporter Saudi Arabia would keep Opec supply curbs in place through July.

Some analysts had predicted Opec would begin easing output restrictions to take advantage of prices hovering around $70, near a nine-month high. The determination of Opec's biggest producer to maintain cuts undermined those forecasts. - (Reuters)

GE, Microsoft discussed Dow bid

General Electric's NBC Universal and Microsoft explored a competing bid for Dow Jones, but the idea was dropped about a week ago, sources said yesterday.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is offering $60 (€45) per share, or $5 billion, and GE and Microsoft had discussed matching that bid. - (Reuters)