Compiled by Laura Slattery
The numbers
5,276
The number of new Irish companies set up
during the first three months of 2007, with construction and civil
engineering remaining the top industry for start ups.
$682 million
Amount of US venture capital flowing into YouTube-esque
online video sites, sparking fears among Silicon Valley financiers
of a new mini-bubble in the "Web 2.0" industry.
$30 billion
The size of the official carbon credits market, which trebled
last year as rich countries rushed to offset their carbon
emissions, according to the World Bank.
Quote of the week
We can't run a 21st century economy using 20th
century technology." IrelandOffline chairman Damien Mulley despairs
at statistics showing that almost half of businesses still using
dial-up and ISDN internet access tried and failed to get
broadband.
Good week
Philip Green
Arcadia clothes group boss reaped the rewards of
"the Kate factor", whipping up front page and evening news hype for
his TopShop chain courtesy of model Kate Moss.
Boo.com
The dotcom disaster story has been reincarnated under new
owners, ditching fashion in favour of hotel bookings. Chief
executive Ray Nolan celebrated the rebirth by sending one-word text
messages to executives at rivals including Expedia and Travelocity,
saying "boo!".
Premiership football clubs
Promotion to the Premier League is worth £60 million
each to Birmingham, Sunderland and one other football club to be
decided, up from £40 million as a result of a new television
rights deal, according to Deloitte.
Bad week
Rupert Murdoch
News Corp's "friendly" offer of $5 billion for Wall Street
Journal owner Dow Jones was rejected by the controlling Bancroft
family by a small majority.
Hollywood studios
The 32-digit encryption code that allows people to
crack the copy protection on high definition DVDs was posted on
popular site Digg.com to the fury of the entertainment
industry.
Phrase of the week
The pink plateau
Much like the glass ceiling that makes it difficult for women
to secure the top jobs in business, the pink plateau prevents gay
people from reaching the highest echelons in the boardroom,
according to some commentators following the resignation of oil
giant BP's chief executive Lord Browne this week. UK business
magazine Management Today said there were no openly gay chief
executives at companies listed on the FTSE 250 share index.
