STAGING a full recovery from the Greenspan jitters, Wall Street led the way into the end of year bull run this week. On Tuesday, the Dow lunged forward 40 points. This sparked similar jumps the next day in London and Dublin, with the FTSE rising by 39 points and the ISEQ by 24 points.
By Thursday, the Dow was really into its stride. Stocks rose by 126.87 points to close at 6473.64, the second biggest net gain in US history. The rest followed, and yesterday morning the London FTSE opened at 4096.4, an all time trading high.
Company news was dominated by Irish Life, which said it would double its insurance business in the United States through the acquisition of the Illinois based Guaranteed Reserve Life Insurance.
The deal, which will cost Irish Life $163 million (£99 million), will contribute some £4 million to profits in the nine months of next year after the acquisition is completed, and up to £7 million in a full year.
The market remained relatively unmoved by the deal, creeping up just a couple of points in the immediate aftermath.
Among the other financial institutions, Bank of Ireland rose on the back of the Wall Street surge, while AIB stayed reasonably steady.
Bank of Ireland also pleased Sharholders on Tuesday, with the announcement that it is to relocate the headquarters of three subsidiaries. Lifetime Assurance and Bank of Ireland Finance will move into the bank's Baggot Street HQ, and the ICS building society will go to an as yet undisclosed loaction.
The vacated buildings will be sold or, in the case of leased buildings, the lease will be sold. The buildings are currently worth several million pounds, and even allowing for the expense of refurbishing the Baggot Street head quarters will add significantly to [the bank's bottom line.
Meanwhile, Waterford Wedgwood is ready to stump up £3 million for a 9.1 per cent stake in German porcelain manufacturer Rosenthal, with an option to take a further 15 per cent before the end of 2000. In 1995, Rosenthal had sales of over £115 million but managed to lose £7.6 million.
Waterford Wedgwood chairman, Dr Tony O'Reilly, tried to ease worries about the alliance, insisting that "together, we can restore the fortunes of Rosenthal to the benefit of employees and shareholders alike", while the firm's finance director said that in the early years the deal would have a "neutral" effect on earnings.
Irish bonds looked stronger by the end of the week, on the back of good performance by US Treasuries. They surged ahead on Monday after Europe's leaders finally agreed a financial stability pact to underpin the euro by yesterday afternoon the 6.5 per cent bond due in 2001 had gained 15p to 101.50, and the 8 per cent bond bond due in 2001 was up 30p.
