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<title>KBC: Business News</title>
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<description>Latest Business News</description>
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    <title><![CDATA[ISEQ loses more ground on Greek crisis]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The ISEQ plunged again today amid talk of a bank run in Greece and fears of contagion spreading around Europe, including Ireland.

The index fell 58.47 points to 3,026.01.

European shares extended their losing streak as worries over Spanish lender Bankia caused its shares to fall more than 20pc, hitting markets and adding to growing fears of contagion from Greece's economic crisis. The pan-European FTSE 300 index was down 1pc, close to a four and a half month low of 983.95 points reached on Wednesday. Spain's benchmark IBEX index fell nearly 2 percent to its lowest level since mid-2003, as shares in Bankia slumped following a report in the El Mundo newspaper that its customers had withdrawn more than 1 billion euros from their accounts over the past week.

Paddy Power has issued a strong trading update that signals a continuation of very positive momentum across the business. Group net revenues are up 28pc year-to-date in constant currency terms, driven by 31pc growth in online revenue and 26pc growth in retail revenue. The revenue performance across all divisions remains ahead of Davy's expectations. This compares with the broker's forecast for growth of 28pc, albeit the forecast includes Euro 2012 while clearly the year-to-date number does not. This suggests that an acceleration of growth is likely between now and the end of June, implying further potential upside to our revenue growth forecast. Gaming net revenues have grown 25pc year-to-date. Online active customers for paddypower.com have grown 41pc year-on-year (yoy). Shares in the bookies jumped 85c to E48.19.

Ryanair will report 2012 results on May 21st. Ryanair's recent EGM amended its 5pc buyback authority in order to accommodate the possible re-purchase of ordinary shares. Authority has been received for 5pc of the existing issued share capital, which is worth E315m at the current share price. Ryanair continues to use its strong free cash-flows to return capital to shareholders. "Minimal intra-European capacity growth because of capacity retrenchment and bankruptcies should provide a fertile environment for yield improvement this summer. However, Ryanair will have to navigate UK tax increases and also potentially significant rises in Spanish passenger taxes. Together with no winter visibility, this would imply some caution in 2013 notwithstanding the positive developments overall in the business model (i.e. trading down) and supply constraints," said Davy analyst, Stephen furlong.

Shares in the airline fell 29c to E4.10 and Aer Lingus was down 1c at E0.97.

Marstons, the UK pub and brewing company, announced a 7.6pc increase in revenue in its Interim Results to end March. In the 32 weeks to May 12th, it noted a sales advance of 2.3pc though commented that trading over the last nine weeks has been "slightly below last year". "Following C and C's results yesterday, we will not be making material changes to our forecasts. While its Q1, like Marstons, will likely be subdued compared with last year's strong showing, this should be offset by growth from the key summer months in Q2 and increasing importance of its developments outside the UK and Ireland," said Goodbody's. C and C's shares fell 5c to E3.47.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 17:43:51 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Fitch: Top banks may need USD566bn]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The world's top 29 banks may need a total $566 billion to meet tougher new capital rules, cutting returns by a fifth and forcing them to curb investor payouts and raise customer charges, Fitch Ratings said today.

The credit rating agency studied 29 banks named by world leaders (G20) as being globally systemically important financial institutions (G-SIFI) and required to hold core capital buffers of up to 9.5 percent by the start of 2019.

The list includes Barclays, Deutsche Bank , Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase , and UBS.

Fitch said the banks represented $47 trillion in assets and may need to raise $566 billion common equity to hit core ratios of around 10 percent to satisfy new global Basel III requirements being phased in over several years from January.

"Banks will likely pursue a mix of strategies to address these shortfalls, including retention of future earnings, equity issuance, and reducing risk-weighted assets," Fitch said.
Return on equity (ROE), a key indicator of profitability, could fall from a median 11 percent seen in recent years to about 8-9 percent under the new capital regime, Fitch said.
This would be below the average cost of equity, put at 10-11 percent by analysts.

"For banks that continue to pursue mid-teen ROE targets, for example 12-15 percent, Basel III creates potential incentives to reduce expenses further and to increase pricing on borrowers and customers where feasible," Fitch said.

HSBC said on Thursday it had an ROE near 11 percent in the first quarter, below the 12 percent target it set itself a year ago.

Fitch said banks could also seek riskier activities to bump up ROEs.

While banks have until the start of 2019 to meet Basel III requirements, many lenders will comply earlier due to investor and market pressures, Fitch said.

A typical bank would be able to meet its capital shortfall by retaining earnings for three years, it estimated. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:48:21 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[IMF to review Greece after election]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The International Monetary Fund will not return to Greece to review its loan program before Athens holds fresh elections on June 17, an IMF official said today.

"We take note that elections have been called and we look forward to being in contact with the new government when it has been formed," David Hawley, IMF deputy director of external affairs, said at a news briefing.

Without additional support, Greece may run out of money before the end of June to pay government salaries and social welfare programs. It depends on a 130-billion-euro support program from the IMF and the European Union.

But the IMF only disburses funds if a country complies with economic reforms tied to the program. The Greek public have overwhelmingly rejected the austerity measures, throwing into question the future of the IMF/EU bailout program.

The IMF official repeated the calls from its Managing Director Christine Lagarde for European leaders to reach a comprehensive solution to the euro zone crisis.
The IMF has called for four actions - strengthening of financial defenses against contagion, measures to support demand in the short term including an accommodative monetary policy, country reforms to promote competitiveness and a clear plan for euro area integration and risk sharing.

Hawley said that the European Central Bank has further room to support growth by lowering its key interest rate, given the weakening economic conditions. Growth has stalled in the euro area and several countries are in recession.

"Further unconventional policy measures could also be needed," he added.

The ECB has already bought bonds aggressively but Germany's Bundesbank has resisted cutting its benchmark rate below 1 percent or buying more bonds, insisting instead that indebted countries rely upon reform programs to rebuild market confidence in their economies.

Hawley declined to comment on the worsening stress in the European banking system, and liquidity problems at some Greek banks. Depositors have accelerated withdrawals from Greek banks in recent days amid speculation Greece may leave the euro zone. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:39:35 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Wall St lower after Philly Fed data]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[.S. stocks extended losses as data showed manufacturing in the in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly contracted in May, adding to concerns about the global economy as Europe's debt crisis threatens to worsen.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 51.16 points, or 0.41 percent, to 12,547.39. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index dropped 7.36 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,317.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 20.10 points, or 0.70 percent, to 2,853.94.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:26:11 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Aer Lin Regional to fly to Birmingham]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Aer Lingus Regional today announced it is to open a new route from Ireland West Airport Knock to Birmingham.

From 11th June 2012, Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Aer Arann will provide daily flights from Knock to the Midland's UK city.
 
Commenting on the announcement, Aer Arann Interim Chief Executive Sean Brogan said, "We are delighted to add the Birmingham-Knock route to our network. We're confident that there will be strong demand from both business and leisure travellers in the West of Ireland for direct, convenient and cost effective access to Birmingham. Likewise business and tourism in the West of Ireland will benefit from direct connectivity with Great Britain's second largest city."

"We look forward to providing our customers with a quality service, ensuring excellent value and frequency from 11th June," he added.

Welcoming the announcement, Aer Lingus Chief Commercial Officer Stephen Kavanagh said, "Aer Lingus is delighted be extending its Aer Lingus Regional network to include Birmingham-Knock. The addition of this new service further demonstrates the continued success of the Aer Lingus Regional franchise."

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 15:38:15 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Merit to create 200 Galway jobs]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Medical device manufacturer Merit Medical Systems today said it plans to create 200 new jobs at its new E20 million facility in Galway.

Merit, which manufactures and markets proprietary medical devices for cardiology, radiology and endoscopy, will add the jobs over the next five years as part of an IDA Ireland supported investment that will see the expansion of its research and development at the Irish subsidiary.

The company, which has employs 379 people at its Parkmore West facility, will be recruiting for roles in R and D, shared services, operations support and manufacturing, and almost a third will be aimed at third-level graduates. The company set up in Ireland in 1996.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the expansion was a "real vote of confidence" in the company's Irish operation.

"It is also a significant endorsement of Ireland as a location for investment and highlights the importance of economic stability," he said.

Merit chairman and chief executive Fred Lampropoulos said the Galway facility's track record in developing new products over the past 16 years were contributing factors to the decision to invest further.

"In addition, we believe the proven commitment of the Irish management team and workforce will help to ensure that these latest developments will be implemented successfully and result in the facility increasing its already significant role in our global business," he said.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 15:21:30 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Key US economic index falls in April]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[A gauge of future U.S. economic activity fell in April for the first time in seven months, according to an industry survey today that indicated a struggling economic recovery.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index decreased 0.1 percent to 95.5, the first drop in the monthly index since September 2011. The index rose 0.3 percent in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to increase 0.1 percent.

"The indicators reflect an economy that's still struggling to gain momentum," said Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board. "Growth is slow, but choppy, and consumers, executives and investors are looking for more progress."

Employment growth slowed in April, with employers adding 115,000 new jobs to their payrolls, the smallest amount in six months. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 15:16:23 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Spanish bank may be wound down]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Bankia SA's black hole may be so big that Madrid's only option for the Spanish bank will be to wind it down.

Spain's government plans to clean up, downsize and sell Bankia within three years, but the strategy could be short-lived as the bank's capital gap may be larger than the 15 billion euros so far identified, government and financial sources say.

"The bank faces two options," said a financial source with direct knowledge of the bank's situation. "First, to be wound down. Second, to be wound down. The question is how small it will be at the end."

Major Spanish banks such as Santander, BBVA and La Caixa are also pushing for the lender to be downsized and cleaned up, allowing them to grab more market share or even buy it out.

"It's clear that they would see a liquidation process with a good eye," said the financial source.

The government, which nationalised Bankia last week after months of uncertainty over its capacity to weather the financial storm, has still to make its plan public and the lender's new chief, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, is expected to present his vision to the Bank of Spain by the end of May.
In the meantime, Bankia shares languish well below the level of last year's flotation.

The stock fell sharply on Thursday after a newspaper reported it had lost 1 billion euros of its 111 billion euros in retail and corporate deposits in the past week.
Bankia, Spain's fourth-biggest lender with more than 10 percent of bank deposits, said its clients can be absolutely calm over the deposits they hold, while Spain's Economy Secretary said there had not been an exit of deposit funds.

The financial source said Goirigolzarri's aspiration for the bank will likely be to convert it into a smaller, more solid and profitable entity and later auction it, a model already applied in the mid-1990s when the Spanish government intervened in Banesto only to later sell it to Santander.
"Bankia can generate 2 billion euros in profit a year. Even after the balance sheet reduction and a serious clean up, it could probably still generate 600 million euros a year," the source added.

-oirigolzarri, who took the helm of Bankia last Thursday after former Spanish economy minister and International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato stepped down, needs to embark as soon as possible on a drastic reduction of the bank's balance sheet and a quick sale of big chunks of the lender.
The European competition authorities will likely order Bankia to implement further heavy cuts on its network of several thousand branches and possibly sell off business units to compensate for receiving state aid.

Finally, the government is under intense public pressure to reduce the taxpayers' bill by selling the more than 5.4 billion euros worth of stakes the bank holds in major Spanish companies such as Iberdrola and Mapfre.

The Socialist opposition said last week it would back the Bankia takeover on condition public funds would be recovered at some point. Yet public anger at the banks is rising after seven other lenders had to be bailed out by the state at a time when education and health spending are being cut.

The lender's auditor Deloitte identified several gaps in Bankia's accounts and it is still not clear whether its rescue will cost the government more than the 15 billion euros it initially planned to inject.

A senior government source last week estimated the size of the state intervention at up to 10 billion euros.
That would come on top of the conversion of a 4.47 billion euros loan into shares, which will give the state 45 percent of Bankia, with an option to take another 3 percent, and 100 percent of its parent company Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA).

Loaded with bad loans from a decade-long real estate boom, the bank needs to raise about 1.3 billion euros by June to comply with stringent European Banking Authority capital rules.

It also needs to find at least 6 billion euros by the end of the year to comply with two financial reforms presented by Spain's centre-right government in February and last week.

Two senior sources familiar with Economy Minister Luis de Guindos' thinking said the government had yet to make a decision over the bank's future and would first want to know exactly the final size of Bankia's financial hole.

"The government is still looking at its options: whether to clean up the bank, strengthen it and relaunch it, or whether to clean it up, strengthen it and then sell it by chunks," one of the sources said.

Another senior government source however cautioned there was nothing to indicate that the mandate of Goirigolzarri was to shut down the lender instead of strengthening it, noting Bankia's strong brand and network.

But with the banks weighing heavily on Spain's public finances, the state may be left with no alternative other than breaking Bankia up and selling it off in chunks.
Such a drastic solution would however come with high costs for Spain's public finances, as the bank is one of the most exposed to Spanish sovereign debt, with 29.2 billion euros' worth of paper. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 14:47:48 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Euro slides on Greek euro exit woes]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The euro slid to a four-month low against the dollar today and was expected to remain under pressure as concerns grow about problems facing some periphery euro zone banks and the prospect of contagion if Greece exits the euro.

-rowing aversion to risk drove investors towards the safety of the U.S. dollar, which rose to a four-month high against a basket of currencies, while the euro also dropped to a three-month low versus the yen.

Talk of possible Spanish bank downgrades pushed European equities sharply lower. Shares in Spanish lender Bankia fell more than 20 percent following a report in the El Mundo newspaper that its customers had withdrawn more than 1 billion euros from their accounts over the past week.

This followed news on Wednesday that the European Central Bank had stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks because they had not been successfully recapitalised.
Investors were increasingly worried that Greece could leave the euro following a second election to be held on June 17 as voters looked likely to opt for parties opposed to the terms of its international bailout.

The euro dropped to $1.2667, its lowest level since mid-January, past stop-loss sell orders below $1.2680 and on course for a test of its 2012 low of $1.2624.
"If we get a bad outcome (from the second election) then the probability of Greece leaving increases, which could lead to a sell-off of the Euro, trading to a target of around $1.15," said Geoff Kendrick, strategist at Nomura.

Higher yields for Spain at an otherwise well-received bond auction on Thursday reinforced concerns that its borrowing costs may become unsustainable as markets worry that the crisis could spread to other indebted euro zone countries.

Data on Thursday showed Spain contracted by 0.3 percent in the first quarter, putting it firmly in recession after it shrank by the same pace in the fourth quarter.

The dollar index climbed to a four-month high of 81.682 as investors sought safety, while the euro also fell to 101.59 yen on trading platform EBS, its weakest since mid-February. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 14:33:22 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[US jobless claims hold steady]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits were unchanged last week, according to government data today that will do little to ease concerns about a recent slowdown in jobs growth.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits held steady at a seasonally adjusted 370,000, the Labor Department said.

The prior week's figure was revised up to 370,000 from the previously reported 367,000.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 365,000 last week. The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, fell 4,750 to 375,000.

"We are really not showing much momentum in the labour market at this time," said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4Cast in New York.
Futures for U.S. stocks added to losses following the data's publication.

The data comes on the heels of three straight months of slowing employment gains. Companies added 115,000 new jobs to their payrolls in April, the fewest in six months.
Thursday's report on claims covered the week for May's payrolls survey. The four-week average of new applications fell marginally between the April and May survey periods, suggesting not much change in labour market conditions.

Still, many economists think the April report gave an overly dim view of the economy, and pin the pull-back in job creation as payback for a mild winter that boosted gains in prior months.

The U.S. Federal Reserve appears disinclined to ramp up its support for the economy anytime soon unless the recovery stumbles. Minutes from the Fed's April meeting released on Wednesday supported that view. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 14:07:39 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[ISEQ plunges as contagion fears grow]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The ISEQ plunged this morning amid talk of a bank run in Greece and fears of contagion spreading around Europe, including Ireland.

By 12:45, the ISEQ was down 33.81 points to 3,050.67.

European shares extended their losing streak as worries over Spanish lender Bankia caused its shares to fall more than 20 percent, hitting markets and adding to growing fears of contagion from Greece's economic crisis. The pan-European FTSE 300 index was down 0.9 percent at 984.22 points by 1026 GMT, close to a 4-1/2 month low of 983.95 points reached on Wednesday. Spain's benchmark IBEX index fell nearly 2 percent to its lowest level since mid-2003, as shares in Bankia slumped following a report in the El Mundo newspaper that its customers had withdrawn more than 1 billion euros from their accounts over the past week.

Paddy Power has issued a strong trading update that signals a continuation of very positive momentum across the business. Group net revenues are up 28pc year-to-date in constant currency terms, driven by 31pc growth in online revenue and 26pc growth in retail revenue. The revenue performance across all divisions remains ahead of Davy's expectations. In the core online business, sports-book net revenues are up 30pc year-to-date. This compares with the broker's forecast for H1 growth of 28pc, albeit the forecast includes Euro 2012 while clearly the year-to-date number does not. This suggests that an acceleration of growth is likely between now and the end of June, implying further potential upside to our revenue growth forecast. Gaming net revenues have grown 25pc year-to-date (Davy H1 forecast: +22pc). Online active customers for paddypower.com have grown 41pc year-on-year (yoy). Shares in the bookies jumped 79c to E48.13.

Ryanair will report 2012 results on May 21st. Ryanair's recent EGM amended its 5pc buyback authority in order to accommodate the possible re-purchase of ordinary shares held in ADS form. Authority has been received for 72.8m ordinary shares, or 5pc of the existing issued share capital, which is worth E315m at the current ordinary share price. Ryanair continues to use its very strong free cash-flows to return capital to shareholders. Having already spent c.E190m of cash on buybacks since August, the amended authorisation should give it more firepower and flexibility given the less than 50pc non-EU ownership rule. We expect further announcements of special dividends in its FY 2013 year, perhaps as early as the May 21st results. "Minimal intra-European capacity growth because of capacity retrenchment and bankruptcies should provide a fertile environment for yield improvement this summer. However, Ryanair will have to navigate UK APD tax increases and also potentially significant rises in Spanish passenger taxes. Together with no winter visibility, this would imply some caution in initial FY 2013 guidance notwithstanding the positive developments overall in the business model (i.e. trading down) and supply constraints," said Davy analyst, Stephen furlong.

Shares in the airline fell 6c to E4.33 and Aer Lingus was flat at E0.98.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 12:51:53 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Irish bond yields surge to 7.5pc]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The yield demanded by investors to hold Irish bonds surged to 7.5pc today amid fears of a run on Greece's banks ahead of what many are saying is inevitable Greek exit from the euro.

Irish yields had weathered the Greek storm well up to now, never straying above the 7pc mark but analysts say that investors now fear a Greek exit would quickly affect other peripherals, including Ireland.

-reeks are reportedly lining up at ATMs and financial institutions to withdraw their euros in what some analysts have already described as the start of a run on the banks. More than a billion euros have been withdrawn just in the last few days.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 12:45:18 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Euro shares battered on Bankia fears]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[European shares extended their losing streak today as worries over Spanish lender Bankia caused its shares to fall more than 20 percent, hitting markets and adding to growing fears of contagion from Greece's economic crisis.

The pan-European FTSE 300 index was down 0.9 percent at 984.22 points by 1026 GMT, close to a 4-1/2 month low of 983.95 points reached on Wednesday.

Spain's benchmark IBEX index fell nearly 2 percent to its lowest level since mid-2003, as shares in Bankia slumped following a report in the El Mundo newspaper that its customers had withdrawn more than 1 billion euros from their accounts over the past week.

The worries over Bankia caused the euro zone STOXX banking index to fall by more than 3 percent, adding to losses incurred on Wednesday after the European Central Bank said it had stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks because they had not been successfully recapitalised.

-reece is set to hold fresh elections on June 17 after voters rejected austerity measures imposed on it by the European Union and the IMF, which has heightened fears that it will have to leave the euro zone.

Investors are also worried by the possibility of contagion from a Greek exit from the euro spreading to other countries such as Spain or Italy.
"It's not Greece leaving the euro that is the major issue, it's the domino effect," said John Bearman, chief investment officer at British firm Thomas Miller Investment, which manages roughly 3 billion pounds ($4.8 billion) worth of assets.

Concerns over Spain were highlighted by data showing that the country had slipped back into recession during the first quarter, while the country's medium-term borrowing costs rose sharply during a bond auction.

Tensions within the European banking system were also exposed by the fact that key euro zone three-month bank-to-bank lending rates had edged higher on Thursday for the first time since the European Central Bank pumped in ultra-cheap, three-year funds in December.
Royal London Asset Management's European equities fund manager Neil Wilkinson said he had reduced his exposure to financial stocks in recent weeks, as a result of the worsening European debt crisis.

Wilkinson, who manages around 425 million pounds worth of assets, said his portfolio was 70 percent invested in northern European equities markets such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, with a small amount in Italy and Spain.

Wilkinson said he owned Italian bank Intesa and Spanish pharmaceuticals group Grifols, but was otherwise shying away from stocks in countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 12:26:47 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Austerity continues to hammer spending]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The Government's policy of austerity continues to adversely affect many aspects of the domestic economy with consumer spending in particular in chronic decline.

That's according to the latest Consumer Market Monitor, published by UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and the Marketing Institute of Ireland, which shows that many measures of the consumer economy are still showing decline, driven by falling disposable incomes, as the austerity measures in the recent budgets take money out of the economy.

Speaking about the results, Professor Mary Lambkin, Professor of Marketing, UCD Smurfit School, said consumer spending is down and retail sales continue their sliding trend.

"The government's austerity measures may be working in terms of correcting the overall fiscal situation, but there is no evidence of any spontaneous growth in the consumer economy. If growth is the objective, then some stimulus will have to be provided," he said.

The figures show that disposable income is substantially down. Income tax take for the first quarter 2012 was up 26pc on the same period last year. While a significant portion of that was due to a technical reclassification of PRSI receipts by Revenue, it is undeniable that there has been a substantial reduction in the disposable income of Irish consumers. 
In addition, utilities and other local charges increased in cost by 8.3pc and energy products rose in cost by 9.1pc in the first quarter year-on-year, leaving Irish consumers with less purchasing power.

VAT receipts were up 5.8pc for the first three months of 2012 compared to the same period last year, and March 2012 receipts were up 12.6pc. This has been heralded by some commentators as indicating a rise in consumer spending, and as vindication of the strategy of raising the VAT rate from 21pc to 23pc.

"The fact is that at least half of the items that attract VAT are essential items over which consumers have no control -such as fuel, transport, and essential services such as health insurance and professional fees. Much of this increase in VAT receipts is simply due to price rises in those services, and does not necessarily indicate a revival in retail activity.
'In fact, general consumer spending is maintaining a downward trend in 2012, and latest estimates suggest that it will fall by a further -1.5pc to -2.0pc this year. It is hoped however that this four year decline may have run its course by next year as real disposable incomes begin to stabilise-- a growth rate of a very modest 0.2pc is forecast for 2013," professor Lambkin said.

Confidence has picked up slightly in the first quarter of 2012, climbing to -21 in March 2012. However, it is still six points lower than it was for the same month in 2011, (-15). 
Consumer confidence in the UK remains weak also, with a further reduction in February and March 2012 on the already weak levels in the second half of 2011. In contrast, U.S. consumer confidence surged in the first quarter to its highest in more than four years as the economy improved.

Retail sales, excluding the motor trade, continued their downward trend in Q1 of 2012. Sales volume decreased by -2.2pc compared with Q1 in 2011, while value decreased by - 1.3pc from the same period in 2011. This represents a continuation of the trend in 2011 when retail sales fell by -2.6pc in volume and by -1.8pc in value. 
The number of new cars sold was also down by -8.6pc on the first quarter of 2011, at 36,081 units. However, sales of second hand cars increased to 9,578 in the first quarter of 2012, up 2.7pc on the first quarter last year.

Speaking at the launch of the results, Tom Trainor, Chief Executive of the Marketing Institute of Ireland said, 'This year is expected to remain very challenging for the retail sector. However, there appears to be a consensus among retailers that we are now approaching the bottom of the recessionary cycle so hopefully things may pick up in 2013. The recent and impending arrival of several international retailers here such as Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch is also taken as evidence of confidence in the future of the retail sector.'

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 12:02:48 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Howlin: Half asset sale cash for jobs]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, has said that half of the total money raised by the sale of state assets will be used for job creation and the other half will be used to raise funds for other stimulus projects.

Speaking on RTE Radio this morning, he said that in all the Governments talks with the Troika of bailout lenders, the Government has emphasised the need for investment in jobs and growth.

"We now need to have further stimulus and we are looking at what is available to us. We said we a re going to use part of our reserve pension fund, we want to use part of the sale of State assets," he said.

He added that in the beginning, the Troika had insisted that all of the proceeds from the sale of state assets must be used to retire debt.

"We said 'no' and we've argued consistently that a proportion of the proceeds be used for investment. What I've put on the table now is that we use 50pc of the assets money and to set aside a fund that could leverage further money," he said.

He said that the fund would be used as collateral and that it would ultimately be used to pay down debt.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 11:42:59 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Aviva to sell some business in overhaul]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[British insurer Aviva will sell under-performing businesses in a strategic overhaul after irate investors forced out its chief executive last week, it said today.

Aviva's new strategy, to be set out in full in July, aims to shore up its capital base against its greater exposure to the troubled euro zone than rivals and to boost a share price which is down over 36 percent in the past year.

Aviva will get rid of those of its 45 units "where the prognosis for the future is not ideal," said Executive Deputy Chairman John McFarlane, in charge since CEO Andrew Moss became the most prominent victim of a "Shareholder Spring".

Britain's second-biggest insurer said it expected to take the rest of the year to find a replacement for Moss, who quit on May 8 and had led the group since 2007.
McFarlane, formerly chief executive of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, rejected suggestions that his strategic review could pre-empt changes a new chief executive might want to make, deterring some potential candidates.

"As far as you're concerned, I'm the CEO. What we have to do is improve shareholder value as quickly as we can," he said, adding that he had been approached by some "very interesting" applicants.

Andy Haste, former CEO of rival insurer RSA and favoured by some investors, does not want the job because McFarlane's review may limit any turnaround strategy, the Sunday Telegraph reported at the weekend.

McFarlane's shake-up comes barely 18 months after Aviva began a plan to sell of smaller businesses and cut the number of countries where it operates from 30 to 21.
Aviva, which generated 40 percent of its operating profit in mainland Europe last year, has been hit harder than its main British rivals by the euro zone's woes.
Aviva shares were down over 1.8 percent at 0925 GMT, lagging a 1 percent fall in the Stoxx 600 European insurance index.

The stock, which has underperformed rivals Prudential and L&amp;G in the last five years, has fallen 8 percent since the start of the year against a 1.4 percent decline for the broader sector.

"With uncertainty over the European landscape and the management situation, we expect Aviva shares will continue to flounder in the very near term," Espirito Santo analyst Joy Ferneyhough wrote in a note. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 11:26:21 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Hireland helped create 2,000 new jobs]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The Hireland initiative helped put 2,000 people in to employment, it claimed today.

Since its launch just four months ago, it said it has received over 4,000 pledges from employers throughout the country and pledges are quickly translating into actual jobs with an estimated 2,000 people have found work through the Hireland system.

A study conducted by Amarach Research last week found that employers that have pledged jobs via Hireland.ie have on average pledged three jobs with two out of every three jobs pledged having already been filled and one in five will be filled later this year. Of these one third are off the Live Register.

Analysing the impact of the Hireland initiative on the Irish economy, The UCD Research Innovation Academy found that hiring one individual from the live register could result in increased public revenue of E379.63 per individual per week. At a rate of 32pc of individuals hired off the live register, if Hireland were to reach its target of 5,000 jobs, this could result in annual savings of over E30,000,000 for the Irish economy.

Speaking earlier today, Co-Founder, Lucy Masterson said; "A growing number of pledges are translating into an ever increasing number of people in actual jobs each day. The Hireland movement is having a real, tangible and positive impact on the Irish economy so much so that seven other countries have been in touch with a view to replicating the model. (Northern Ireland, UK, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Germany, USA). We are seeing a growing confidence amongst employers in the small medium enterprise sector who are poised to return to growth and remain competitive into the future".

"We set out to reach our first milestone of 5,000 by June and we are confident that we will achieve this but need the support of the SME sector to make sure that we reach this important milestone."

The Hireland initiative has also attracted international media attention and it is set to feature in an upcoming BBC documentary addressing the global effects of unemployment. Hireland is being hailed as an example of how people powered movements can have a massive impact on economic stimulation.

Jobs have been pledged in every county across the Republic of Ireland with one in five employers stating that they are having difficulty finding people with the right skills. Many of the businesses involved in the Hireland scheme recognise the importance hiring to help their own business. One in four stated that they hired through Hireland to show that their company is strong and developing while a further 17pc stated that it gave them an advantage over competitors.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 11:20:12 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[UTV radio revenue hit by weak euro]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Belfast-based broadcaster and media group, UTV, this morning said revenues rose at its Irish radio division in the first four months of this year but was hit by the weakness of the euro against sterling.

Revenue in its Radio Ireland division increased by 1pc on a local currency basis and it said it expects this positive trend to continue in May and June with like for like sales increasing by 3pc.

However the negative impact of foreign exchange movements resulted in an overall revenue decline of 2pc from January to April and is expected to result in a revenue decrease after exchange of 5pc for May and June.

TV predicted a strong lift in turnover from the Olympics, due to be held in London this summer, with further benefits from the recently announced affiliate relationship with ITV, its social media agency acquisition and the establishment of radio station TalkSport worldwide.

Revenue in the group's Radio GB division was 8 per cent higher in the four months to the end of April, outpacing the general UK radio market.

Within that division, TalkSport revenue was 16 per cent higher over the same period.

The group said it was expecting the UEFA Euro 2012 event and the upcoming Olympics to boost that growth to 20 per cent in May and June.

Elsewhere in the group, national ad revenue in its television operations was 6 per cent lower over the four month period, and total revenue was 4 per cent lower.

TV predicted growth of 2 per cent in its ad revenue for the two-month period of May and June, with total revenue expected to rise by 3 per cent.

In the new media division, revenue was 3 per cent higher than a year earlier, with a 15 per cent increase expected for May and June.

"This will largely reflect the impact of Simply Zesty, the social media agency acquired in March 2012," UTV said in a statement.

TV said trading in the first half of the year was in line with expectations.

"Continuing economic uncertainty, however, means airtime bookings remain short term and forward visibility is limited," it said. "We therefore remain cautious about the remainder of the year but believe we will continue to deliver on market expectations."

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 11:11:52 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Japanese insurer opens in Ireland]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[MSI Management UK and Ireland, a member of MS and AD Insurance, Japan's largest non-life insurance group and the seventh largest non-life insurance group in the world, today announced the opening of its Dublin office.

Subject to regulatory approval the office will also be the intermediary hub for its UK and Ireland regional underwriting business, with all insurance policies being underwritten by syndicate 3210 at Lloyd's.

This expansion into the UK and Ireland's regional insurance markets has resulted in a multi-million euro investment and will create 30 jobs.

Staff expertise and availability, as well as a favourable business environment, were strong factors in choosing Ireland over other locations.

From its Dublin offices and regional branches in Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and a commercial office in London, MSI Management UK and Ireland will work with its broker customers across the UK and Ireland to offer commercial insurance services, with anticipated revenues of over E100 million during the next three to five years.

Heading up the regional operation Alan Sheil, a seasoned insurance industry professional, commented: "The decision to locate the regional operation here in Dublin is a real nod of approval for insurance industry employees in Ireland. As well as growing our highly experienced team, we plan to build on current broker relationships to expand predominantly in the indigenous mid-market sector. The MSI Management UK and Ireland's proposition is based on offering market leading insurance products with excellent claims service through empowered, experienced underwriters and a select panel of brokers. We believe the Dublin offices will play a pivotal role in MSI's UK and Irish regional business operations."

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 10:51:36 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Spain bond yields leap at auction]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Spain's medium-term borrowing costs rose sharply to around five percent in an auction of three- and four- year bonds today, reflecting concerns over the Spanish banking system and economy and the political crisis in Greece.

Yields on the three bonds issued were in line with those on the secondary markets shortly before the sale. The Treasury auctioned 2.5 billion euros of two bonds maturing in 2015 and one bond maturing in 2016.

"All in all, the reasonable cover garnered here was achieved at some considerable cost," rate strategist at Rabobank, Richard McGuire said.

"With foreign investors evidently rushing for the exits and domestic banks' ability to bridge the gap limited by the government's imposition of ever more stringent loss provisioning, this unfavourable trend looks set to remain firmly in place going forward."

Spain has reached more than 55 percent of its debt issuance target this year, though Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned on Wednesday the Treasury faced trouble financing itself at a reasonable rate following the recent spike in yields.

The risk premium investors demand to hold Spanish over German debt rose to a euro-era high on Wednesday of over 500 basis points. The spread stood at 487 basis points at 0900 GMT, around one basis point higher than before the auction.

Spain sold 372 million euros of a bond maturing Jan. 31, 2015 at an average yield of 4.375 percent, after paying 2.89 percent April 4, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 4.45 after 2.4 in April.

The bond maturing July 30, 2015 sold 1.0 billion euros, had a yield of 4.876 percent compared to 4.037 percent May 3 and was 3 times subscribed following a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.9 percent at the last auction.

The bond maturing April 30, 2016 sold 1.1 billion euros with an average yield of 5.106 percent, higher than 3.374 percent March 15. Demand was lower than previously, with the bond 2.4 times subscribed after 4.1 times at the March auction. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 10:49:12 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[IBOA call on AIB to honour agreements]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[AIB should now honour all contractual payments to staff, according to IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, after rulings by the Industrial Tribunal in the North on two cases sponsored by the Union.

In the first case the Tribunal found that the Bank's decision to withhold increments due to staff constituted a breach of contract and an unlawful deduction from wages - while in the second case the Tribunal ruled that staff who had been denied a performance-related bonus were entitled to be paid.

IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, said: "the unanimous decision by the Industrial Tribunal in Northern Ireland follows a similar judgment by the Employment Tribunal in London. The Bank should now accept that it is not entitled to deny the contractual entitlements of its staff. It should now make the payments due to all of its staff in all three jurisdictions, Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic."

"The IBOA leader pointed out that while the Industrial Tribunal recognised that the Bank had experienced substantial financial difficulties in recent years, it also took account of the payment of substantial secret payments to senior executives."

In its decision, the Tribunal noted that: "The respondent (AIB) made substantial losses in 2009 and 2010. It required the support of the Irish Government in the sum of approximately 20 billion euros. This support was made conditional by the Irish Government that there would be no further bonuses or pay increases made. However, the Bank did make extra non-contractual payments to certain staff in both the First Trust and the AIB UK Bank in 2011. These were referred to as 'Special Awards' in the correspondence the Tribunal has seen and amounted to almost Â£3 million in July 2011."

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 10:23:04 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Copperfasten create 37 Galway jobs]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Copperfasten, an Irish software company that produces internet security solutions, today announced that it will create 37 new jobs supported by Enterprise Ireland in Galway.

The expansion is based on new investment of E500k by Oyster Technology Investments Ltd and Enterprise Ireland.

The investment will help fund a significant export-led growth plan that is forecast to more than treble sales over the next 3 years. It builds on previous significant investment in R and D by the firm, part-funded by Enterprise Ireland, to develop WebTitan, the company's web security gateway appliance.

Copperfasten Technologies, which currently employs 15 people in Salthill, Galway was established in 2000 by former staff of DEC Galway. The company produces two internet security solutions for the B2B market - SpamTitan and WebTitan.

Congratulating the company in Galway today, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: "This announcement by Copperfasten is great news for Galway, for the Western region and for the Irish software industry. This is a prime example of an Irish firm, investing in R and D to develop world-class products for export and growth at home and abroad."

Ronan Kavanagh, CEO of Copperfasten Technologies said: "We are delighted to make this announcement today which will allow us to continue to build on our success to date and increase the foot print of our products internationally. We have seen fantastic adoption of our products and it is great to now be in a position to build on this. This investment and the new positions will allow us to drive sales and scale the company in the forthcoming years."

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 10:17:51 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[A third of firms to raise pay in 2012]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[ne third of Irish employers expect to increase pay levels this year while six out of ten expect to take on new staff, according to an IBEC survey today.

It found that 33pc of employers expect to increase basic pay in 2012 and two-thirds (67pc) will either freeze or reduce basic pay rates. The jobs outlook has also improved with almost six out of ten (56pc) companies planning to hire new permanent or temporary staff in the next six months.

IBEC said that following a return to economic growth in 2011, the economy will grow by 1pc in 2012, primarily due to the strong performance of exporting sectors; this has resulted in job creation exceeding job losses for the first time since 2007. Continuing this momentum is the biggest reason why a yes vote in the upcoming referendum is critical to drive Ireland's recovery. A yes vote is about taking back control of our economic future; providing businesses with the confidence to invest, sustain and create jobs and ensuring that we have certainty about the future funding of the state.

According to IBEC Director Brendan McGinty: "The survey of 550 IBEC member companies found that 33pc will increase base pay in 2012, 63pc of companies are due to apply a pay freeze, while 4pc expect to reduce basic pay (by about -7pc on average). Pay increases are being linked to improvements in productivity or major change. Across all respondents the average expected change to basic pay rates in 2012 is projected at +0.5pc, with two thirds (67pc) of the companies surveyed experiencing process change improvements, and over half (52pc) expect to see new product/service development."

Mr McGinty said "Pay expectations still need to reflect current difficult economic realities for most employers, many of whom are still not in a position to award general pay increases. Companies remain focused on regaining competitiveness and getting pay costs back in to line with our trading partners. This is vital if jobs are to be retained and new ones created. Encouragingly, 2012 labour cost estimates from the European Commission show that Ireland is heading in the right direction, but is still the ninth most expensive country in the EU 27, compared to fifth two years ago; Irish labour costs are still 12pc above the eurozone average."

n the issue of sick pay, the IBEC survey indicates that employers would cut back on occupational sick pay schemes if the Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton followed through on proposals to introduce statutory sick pay. Mr McGinty said: "The new IBEC survey reveals that for those 457 companies surveyed with a sick pay scheme, 37pc would reduce the payment level to employees, 23pc would reduce the duration of payment to staff and 18pc would change the eligibility criteria, if a statutory sick pay scheme was introduced. IBEC has already pointed out that requiring employers to pay an additional E89 million to cover the cost of four weeks statutory sick pay would equate to the cost of employing 2,500 jobs by reference to the average industrial wage."

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 10:14:53 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[FTSE pushed lower by uncertainty]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[British shares slipped back towards five-month lows today, with investors braced for weeks of uncertainty stemming from political turmoil in Greece, its possible departure from the euro zone and likely spillover effects. The picture is unlikely to change until next month at the earliest, when the country holds new parliamentary elections.

A euro zone exit would be an unprecedented move with unpredictable consequences for the rest of the bloc and for key trade partner Britain. Underlining the risk of a spillover, Prime Minister David Cameron was set to promise on Thursday to protect the UK economy and banks from a break-up of the single currency area. The FTSE 100 index of leading shares was down 0.3 percent at 5,389.15 by 0745 GMT, extending losses into a fourth session after opening slightly higher, and moving back towards Wednesday's five-month intra-day trough of 5,354. "Investors are reluctant to take on additional risk because of all the uncertainty and until there is a resolution, volatility and hesitancy will be what drives the market," said Neil Marsh, strategist at Newedge, adding that for now people preferred to put their money into Asian or U.S. assets.

"We are slightly better positioned than some of the other European countries ... but the UK as a market is linked in a very strong way to Europe." Volumes were likely to be relatively muted, with much of continental Europe marking the Ascension Day holiday, though markets were open. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 09:51:38 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Merkel opens door to Greek stimulus]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
In comments that appeared aimed at calming speculation of a pending Greek exit from the euro, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for Greece to remain part of the region's common currency, but she also opened the door to new "stimulus" efforts to aid the economy here.
Yet Merkel - who has championed austerity as a cure for Europe's debt crisis and whose taxpayers are footing the biggest portion of the bailout here - was also quick to add that Greece must live up to its commitments to make tough economic changes and spending cuts in exchange for its $165 billion rescue.

"I have the will, the determination to keep Greece in the euro zone," Merkel said in an interview with CNBC which is reported in The Washington Post today. "It would be good for all of us."
She added, "If Greece believes that there is certain stimulus for growth to be pursued in the euro zone, we're open to this."
Her comments underscored the fine line being walked by European leaders seeking to hold together the 17-nation euro zone while also forcing Greece, its most profligate and fragile member, to make sweeping reforms.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 09:35:40 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Spain slips into recession  1st Quarter]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Spain officially slipped in to recession in the first quarter, final figures confirmed today, leaving the country threatened with a prolonged slump as the turmoil-wracked euro zone struggles to balance austerity with growth.
In the first quarter, the economy shrank 0.3 percent in the compared with the last quarter of 2011, and was down 0.4 percent year on year, the National Statistics Institute said on Thursday, its sharpest annual fall since the first quarter of 2010.

"The recession is proceeding at a gradual pace but taking in to account the latest business survey it seems that the contraction in economic activity is going to stretch well in the coming quarters," said economist at Unicredit Tullia Bucco.
Spain's manufacturing sector shrunk at the fastest pace in nearly three years in April, while the service industry contracted for the 10th straight month, according to Markit's purchasing manager's indices (PMI).

The expansion of export sector, the only area of Spain's economy to have grown in the last two quarters, slowed in the first quarter as the country's main trading partners in Europe saw their own economies contract.
Madrid is fighting to persuade investors, who have been selling its debt in droves, that it can control its public finances with wide-sweeping spending cuts, but fears remain that rebuilding the battered banking sector will cost dearly.

The premium investors pay to buy Spanish over German debt rose to its highest level since the euro's introduction this week, at over 500 basis points, on concerns on the country's banks and doubts over Greece's future.
The Treasury faces its latest test in international debt markets later on Thursday when it auctions three bonds to raise up to 2.5 billion euros ($3.2 billion).
Economists said the Spanish growth figures were in line with expectations, but noted that they were revising forecasts as uncertainties grew in the region.

"The depth of the recession really depends on upcoming events, such as whether Spain will be forced to ask for aid to refinance its banks and Greece. We're revising our growth forecasts for Spain right now, but the situation is very fragile at the moment," one economist, who asked not to be named, said. ( C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 09:27:43 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[ISEQ lower-Greek exit prospects on hold]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The ISEQ opened lower this morning at 1,070 down 14 as markets live with the Greek situation and await the election result in June. Meanwhile the Japanese economy has bounced back from the trials of last year. Davy Stockbrokers have some comments on today's situation:

The prospect of a Greek exit from the euro-zone is probably on-hold for now as fresh elections were called for June 17th and an interim government was sworn in yesterday. However, for the first time yesterday, ECB president Mario Draghi conceded that the risks of a Greek exit are now acute, as the bank cut lending to a number of Greek banks it deemed not adequately recapitalised.

Combined with large-scale deposit withdrawals, this will put immense pressure on Greek financials, which must now rely on the Greek Central Bank for emergency liquidity assistance. Of course, the Greek Central Bank ultimately borrows from the ECB also, but it will have to bear the risk on its balance sheet if the ECB is unwilling to do so.

Yesterday's Bank of England inflation report struck a sombre tone with the bank seeing inflation persisting above 2pc until 2013 due to energy price pressures and significantly lower output growth in the short term.

However, the bank now appears to be adopting a wait-and-see approach before committing to further quantitative easing, with stubborn inflation lessening the scope for monetary stimulus. The bank's GDP forecast is clearly optimistic with the committee unwilling to allow for a Greek exit in its forecasts. The recovery in GDP to 2pc forecast for 2013 is well above our estimate of 1.2pc, and likely to be revised downwards as the euro-zone crisis unfolds.

With the bank unwilling to quantify the outcome of a Greek exit as yet, Cameron will outline the risks to the UK economy and the steps the UK is taking to safeguard against a possible euro-zone breakup in a major policy speech today according to Davy Stockbrokers.

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 09:06:31 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Paddy Power revenues up 28pc]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power said today revenue for the year to date rose by 28 percent as it entered the Italian online market on schedule and began to speed up investments towards further expansion.
Paddy Power, which last year made more than three quarters of its profits online, saw revenue increase by 31 percent in that division thanks to strong growth in active customers while sales in its betting shops grew by 26 percent.

Seven analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimate on average that full-year revenue will rise by 18 percent to 590 million euros this year, which in itself would represent a more than doubling of the company's top line since 2009.
"Given the current strong momentum and position of Paddy Power, and the substantial opportunities that exist in online betting, the group is now investing at an increased rate for further expansion," Paddy Power chairman Nigel Northridge said in a statement ahead of the company's annual meeting.
"Our organic entry into the Italian online market went 'live' on schedule this week. We are also increasing the resources assigned to mobile gaming and other business development opportunities."

Northridge added that sports results had been favourable to the group so far this year, but that it faced tougher comparatives in the second half of the year.
Paddy Power has been more adept at taking advantage of the fast-growing online market than larger rivals, particularly through mobile phone and tablet applications, with some such as Ladbrokes spending heavily to try and catch up.

The company has also entered betting markets in Australia, France and Canada, acquired a games developer in Bulgaria and is keeping a close eye on whether some forms of online gambling are legalised in the United States. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 08:48:54 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Demand for plastic is key growth measure]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
China's consumption of plastic could grow by up to 7 percent this year after stalling in 2011, but the rebound will not be enough to melt a regional supply glut that will curb the output of plastic manufacturers and pressure the petrochemical market.
Asian plastic exporters, who rely heavily on demand from the world's second-biggest economy, face having to scale back production further this year, in turn cutting demand for naphtha - the key oil product used to make plastic.

Plastic demand is a key gauge of the health of Chinese manufacturing given its use in almost everything from iPads to cars and packaging, but weak traditional export markets and Bejing's steps to cool economic growth are still hitting sales.
A Reuters survey of five consultants and a leading industry body sees China's consumption of plastic by Asia's top importer growing around 5-7 percent, up on last year's flat growth but well down on the double-digit growth in 2009-2010.

"2012 could still be a problematic year. You are unlikely to see growth going back to levels seen in 2009," said Malaysia-based Mazlan Razak of consultancy Nexant Asia Inc, who projects that demand in China could grow at least 5 percent.
Higher oil prices with Brent crude averaging $118.21 a barrel this year, up 6.6 percent from 2011's $110.91, are also squeezing margins, which could push plastic makers to cut runs, hitting demand for the raw material ethylene made from naphtha.

"A lot of people are going from hand-to-mouth and are keeping inventories low. If (raw material) costs get too high, people would stop buying," Razak said.
Naphtha margins, the premiums from refining Brent crude, hit a 5-1/2 month low at $76.13 a tonne on May 16. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 08:36:39 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[European markets open lower on Greece]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
European shares edged lower at the start of trading today, having closed down during the last three sessions, as fears over Greece and Spain continue to weigh on sentiment, traders said.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index initially rose 0.05 percent to 993.32 points but then fell back quickly into negative territory. The index was down 0.2 percent at 991.09 points by 0706 GMT.

"Questions still remain about Europe," said ClairInvest fund manager Ion-Marc Valahu. "I'm not taking any long-term positions on the market at the moment - it's too dangerous," he added.
-ermany's DAX was up by 0.1 percent, while France's benchmark CAC-40 index slipped by 0.1 percent.

Spain's IBEX index, which has dropped sharply in recent weeks due to concerns over the country's banks, was up by 0.2 percent, although El Mundo newspaper reported that Bankia customers had taken out more than 1 billion euros from their accounts over the past week. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 08:28:00 GMT</pubDate>
    
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<item>
    <title><![CDATA[Roundup-Alternatives to Anglo Notes]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
The Minister for Finance has linked a deal on Ireland's bank debt and the State's emergence from the bailout programme.
Michael Noonan said the International Monetary Fund would have to assess the sustainability of Ireland's fiscal position when it is emerging from the bailout programme.
The IMF conducts ongoing debt-sustainability analyses for countries in its programmes. By the end of this year, it will begin to examine Ireland's ability to emerge from its funding programme at the end of 2013, as envisaged.

Mr Noonan told a conference in Dublin yesterday on the Irish economy, organised by Bloomberg, that the IMF was "totally on our side" in relation to getting a deal on Ireland's E30 billion Anglo Irish Bank promissory notes and the European Commission was "working in the background" on a solution.
The European Central Bank was the "tough nut to crack", he said.

However, he said the bank's interests and Ireland's coincided up to a point and there were alternatives to re-engineering the promissory notes. The Irish Times

XXXX

A return of the Irish banks to private ownership in the near term is unrealistic, according to the top government official managing the bailed-out institutions.
Department of Finance official Michael Torpey said restructuring the country's banks is "likely to go on for quite some time". He was speaking at a Bloomberg-organised Ireland Economic Summit in Dublin.
Mr Torpey told Irish and international business leaders and policy makers that the State will "very likely" retain stakes in the main banks over the long term even though it is seeking to attract further private investment.

"I think you will see significant overseas ownership, but it's likely we will retain an interest in AIB as we have with Bank of Ireland,"
Last year the Government sold a major stake in Bank of Ireland, now the country's biggest bank, to a US and Canadian consortium, but has retained a 15pc shareholding.
Mr Torpey declined to say how long it will be before a stake in AIB would be sold by the Government.

He refused to say that further bailouts are out of the question, admitting that officials can "never say never", but insisted banks have enough cash invested in them to cope with all of the known problems they face.
"Despite an uptick in mortgage arrears there is still a capital buffer above and beyond the Central Bank-imposed capital buffer.
"So-called strategic mortgage defaults are not a significant problem for the banks," he said, referring to cases where people who can pay their debts are refusing in the hopes of a softer bankruptcy regime coming into place.

"The reality is nine out of 10 people are paying their mortgage every month, of the other 'one' the vast majority are people in financial trouble," he said during a panel discussion.
The Irish Independent

XXXX

Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has insisted Ireland will not budge on its corporation tax rate despite suggestions from Europe it could be put back on the agenda.
The Labour leader shot down hints that the comparatively low 12.5pc rate was up for debate in a sign of solidarity as the eurozone scrambles to stitch a growth stimulus package into the fiscal treaty. 

"As far as Ireland is concerned, our rate of corporation tax is established, it's not going to change," Mr Gilmore said. 
The long-running debate resurfaced when an advisor for new French president Francois Hollande, who has pushed for the treaty to be amended to include growth measures, said France may promote a harmonised rate of corporation tax across Europe. 
Elsewhere, finance minister Michael Noonan told a breakfast briefing with Bloomberg news agency that a No vote in the May 31 treaty referendum would be a dangerous leap in the dark that Irish citizens should not take. 

The Tanaiste said Ireland should stick to its rate to provide certainty to potential investors and to ensure growth in the domestic economy. 
"We don't intend to change our position in relation to our corporation tax - that's absolutely firm," he said. 
"We have to provide certainty to investors by being clear that our rate of corporation tax is not changing and also indeed by passing the stability treaty, so that they have confidence in the euro and confidence in Ireland." The Irish Independent

XXXX

ne in three workers can expect a raise this year, two in three can expect a pay freeze, while 4pc will endure pay cuts, a survey of employers indicates.
And six out of 10 (56pc) of companies are preparing to take on extra permanent or temporary workers within the next six months data from the latest IBEC pay survey reveals.

IBEC today hosts its annual employment law conference at Clontarf Castle, Dublin. The employers body also expects the economy to grow by 1pc this year, primarily due to the strong performance of exporting sectors. 
IBEC is more optimistic on growth that the Department of Finance, which expects GDP to increase 0.7pc.

IBEC director Brendan McGinty: "The survey of 550 IBEC member companies found that 33pc will increase base pay in 2012, 63pc of companies are due to apply a pay freeze, while 4pc expect to reduce basic pay (by about -7pc on average). Pay increases are being linked to improvements in productivity or major change. 
"Across all respondents, the average expected change to basic pay rates in 2012 is projected at 0.5pc, with two thirds (67pc) of the companies surveyed experiencing process change improvements, and over half (52pc) expect to see new product/service development." The Irish Examiner


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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 08:15:23 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[HSBC saves $1 billion in year one]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, said it cut costs by $2 billion after one year of a 3-year turnaround plan, and is on target to meet its return on equity and other financial targets.
The bank is close to already achieving the bottom end of a $2.5-$3.5 billion range of annualised savings by next year, as set out by CEO Stuart Gulliver, who is steering HSBC back to its roots as a financier of global trade.

HSBC has sold 28 businesses, taking some 15,000 staff off its payroll, and releasing about $55 billion in risk-weighted assets, the bank said in a statement in Hong Kong on Thursday. Having focused on shrinking the bank, analysts and investors expect Gulliver may soon point to where HSBC is expanding.
"We will continue to simplify HSBC, enabling us to integrate systems and operate to high global standards internationally," Gulliver said in the statement. "We will continue to run off our legacy assets, including the U.S. consumer and mortgage lending book."

Separately, HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint said the board was "very satisfied" with progress made on the strategy, but added that return on equity (RoE) and cost efficiency metrics lag the stated targets a year after it was launched.
-ulliver, a 32-year HSBC veteran who took over the top job from Michael Geoghegan, set out to get RoE - a key measure of profitability - above 12 percent, and make sustainable cost savings of up to $3.5 billion, bringing costs below 52 percent of group annual revenue.

The bank was behind those targets at the end of March, with RoE at 6.4 percent and costs at 64 percent of revenue.
"I think HSBC should come out and be honest about it," said Jim Antos, an analyst at Mizuho Securities in Hong Kong. "In reality, there was a force majeure in Europe blowing up, and they will need more than 3 years to meet their targets."
HSBC also said the integration of its four businesses - retail banking and wealth management, commercial banking, global banking and markets, and private banking - would deliver incremental revenue of $1.5 billion in the short to medium term. Last year, it brought in an additional $500 million, the bank said.

HSBC embarked on almost 30 deals in the last year to move out of businesses that lack scale, don't make money or don't connect with other areas. There have been big U.S. sales, and smaller moves in Europe, including closures in Poland, Georgia and Slovakia. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 07:55:06 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Enbridge plans huge pipeline expansion]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Enbridge Inc kicked off one of the most sweeping expansions in its history on Wednesday, a C$3.2 billion ($3.2 billion) series of projects across its pipeline system aimed at moving western Canada and North Dakota oil to Eastern refineries and eliminating costly bottlenecks in the U.S. Midwest.
Enbridge, the largest transporter of Canadian oil exports, said C$2.6 billion worth of the new work would support a reversal in flow direction of a pipeline between Sarnia, Ontario, and Montreal to move Alberta oil sands and North Dakota Bakken shale oil to refineries that are now captive to foreign suppliers.

It would also spend about C$600 million expanding its mainline in Canada and the United States, which now moves more than 2 million barrels a day, to get more crude into the Chicago area for shipment South and East. Pending approval, the expansions could be in service in 2014, the company said.
These are the latest in a raft of proposals to open up new markets for oil sands-derived crude with production slated to nearly double this decade. Other initiatives involve moving large volumes to Texas via TransCanada Corp's controversial Keystone XL pipeline, and to Asia via Canada's West Coast on Enbridge's equally contentious Northern Gateway proposal.

TransCanada has also proposed moving Canadian crude to refineries in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces by switching one of its natural gas pipelines to oil service.
"The timing is driven by what is really a pretty significant change and a very fast change in the supply and demand fundamentals on this continent," Al Monaco, Enbridge's president and incoming chief executive, told Reuters.
"Basically, you've got a massive increase in oil sands and shale oil volumes, which is totally different from just two years ago when people thought we were in decline. A lot of that increase is for light oil."

The surging supplies have led to a glut in the U.S. Midwest and Midcontinent regions and depressed prices for the North American oil against world crudes, chewing into corporate returns and the revenues of governments such as Alberta's.
Part of the aim with expansion of existing infrastructure is to avoid the lengthy regulatory reviews and environmental battles that have led to delays Keystone XL and Northern Gateway because there would be no need to acquire new rights-of-way across lands, Monaco said.

The new plans are in addition to Enbridge's expansions in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, including the reversal of the Seaway pipeline between Cushing, Oklahoma, and Texas, due to start draining off a glut of supply at the storage hub this month. Anticipation of that project has already helped to shrink the discount on North American crudes versus world benchmark Brent.

"That was existing pipeline and it allowed us to hit a window very quickly when the market wanted that capacity," Monaco said.
As part of new initiative, dubbed Eastern Access, Enbridge would expand a pipeline between Michigan and Ohio and reverse the flow of the 240,000 barrel a day Line 9 between Sarnia and Montreal back to the West-East direction it was initially designed for in the 1970s. ( C) Reuters


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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 07:43:28 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Bankia customers withdraw E1 billion]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Customers of troubled Spanish bank Bankia, nationalized last week, have taken out over 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) from their accounts over the past week, El Mundo newspaper reported today.
The newly appointed chairman, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, informed a board meeting that customers had pulled out funds since the bank was taken over by the government, El Mundo said, citing information from the board meeting it had seen.

The government took over Bankia, the country's fourth largest lender, on May 9 in an attempt to dispel concerns over the bank's ability to deal with losses related to a 2008 property crash.
 ncertainty over the final cost of Spain's banking reform has stoked investor fears that an expensive international bail-out could be on the cards, putting the survival of the euro zone at stake.

Shares in Bankia slumped 10 percent on Wednesday, compounding a week of falls, as small investors who had participated in a July stock market listing sold their holdings which have lost over half their value since the flotation.
Bankia did not respond to requests on Wednesday asking if there had been mass withdrawals of cash from deposits. No-one one was available immediately to comment today. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 07:36:33 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Futures point to slight European rise]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[European stock index futures pointed to a slight rebound today following an almost uninterrupted three-week drop, but gains could be limited by intensifying worries over Greece's finances and its ailing banking sector.

At 0603 GMT, futures for Euro STOXX 50, for Germany's DAX and for France's CAC were up 0.3-0.4 percent. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 07:11:51 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Nikkei recovers on good growth data]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
The Nikkei share average inched
back up today as upbeat Japanese economic growth data
dispelled wariness over Greece's potential exit from the euro
zone and investors shopped for cheap stocks after the earnings
season and a 12 percent slide in the benchmark this quarter. 
	
 The Nikkei rose 0.9 percent to 8,876.59 yen, while the
broader Topix gained 1.1 percent to close at 747.16. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 07:09:34 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[ECB move against Greek banks worries]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
The European Central Bank has stopped offering liquidity to some Greek banks it does not consider solvent, and international concern about the euro zone rose as Athens called new elections that look set to be won by parties opposing austerity measures.
Fears that Athens is on the brink of crashing out of the euro zone and igniting a renewed financial crisis have rattled global markets and alarmed world leaders, with Greece set to figure high on the agenda at a G8 summit later this week.

The risk of the contagion spreading to bigger European economies that are vulnerable due to high debt or weak banks has sent stocks and commodities tumbling, and driven Europe's single currency towards its lowest levels this year.
"The core question will be not Greece, but Spain and Italy," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday. If Greece left the euro zone, the ripple effects could be very damaging and reminiscent of when Lehman Brothers investment bank collapsed in 2008, spreading panic on global financial markets.
Recession-hit Spain, which faces deep concerns over the health of its banks, is set to see its medium-term borrowing costs rise sharply at an auction on Thursday of 1.5-2.5 billion euros of bonds expiring in 2015 and 2016.

Highlighting the fragile state of Greece's banking system, the ECB said on Wednesday it had stopped providing liquidity to some lenders because their capital was too depleted, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.
"As recapitalisation wasn't in place, the ECB stopped monetary policy operations," a euro zone central bank source told Reuters, declining to be identified.

That meant the affected banks can no longer offer assets to the ECB as collateral for loans, and would have to seek costlier emergency financing from the Bank of Greece.
It was not immediately clear which banks, or how many of them, were affected. One person familiar with the matter said the capital of four Greek banks was so low they were operating with negative equity.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned of "extremely expensive" consequences were Greece to leave the euro zone, a once taboo possibility that European leaders have now begun to discuss openly.
Echoing Zoellick's comments, Lagarde told Dutch television any Greek departure from the euro "would be extremely expensive and hard, and not just for Greece". ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 07:07:07 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Japan economy rebounds in 1st Quarter]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Japan's economy bounced back in the first quarter from a year-end lull, powering ahead of other major industrial nations thanks to rebuilding of the tsunami-battered northeast, solid private spending and some improvement in exports.
The world's third-largest economy grew 1.0 percent in the January-March quarter, just above a median forecast of 0.9 percent. A 0.2 percent contraction in the economy reported for the final three months of 2011 was revised up to flat in the government data released today.

The figures underlined expectations that growth would slow down during the rest of the year, partly as the impact of the rebuilding effort fades. They also did little to alter the view that the Bank of Japan will leave policy settings unchanged at a meeting next week, having eased last month.
"Consumer spending and public investment are what drove the economy, with auto demand stirred by government subsidies and investment helped by extra budgets after the earthquake," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Economic Research Institute.

"So, with government policies behind the quarterly growth, we can't say this is a reflection of real strength in the Japanese economy."
The first-quarter rise in gross domestic product translated into an annualised rate of growth of 4.1 percent, stronger than 3.5 percent expected by analysts.
That pace exceeds annualised growth of 2.2 percent in the United States in the same quarter, and outperformed European heavyweights Germany, Britain, France and Italy.
The earthquake and tsunami stalled growth for the full financial year to the end of March 2012 after the economy had expanded 3.2 percent a year earlier. A Reuters poll predicted a 2.0 percent rebound in growth in the current financial year. ( C) Reuters


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    <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 07:02:46 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[ISEQ flat in nervous day's trading]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The main Dublin shares index closed with only minor losses as investors ran for cover in the face of growing expectations that Greece will leave the euro and default.

The index fell 0.26 points to 3,084.48.

The euro hovered near a fourth-month low against the U.S. dollar and more losses could be in store as investors feared a Greek exit from the euro zone that could result in other peripheral countries - possibly even Ireland - following suit. Adding to the bearish sentiment, euro zone central bank sources said the European Central Bank has stopped monetary policy operations with some Greek banks as they have not been successfully recapitalised.

C and C has reported full year results to end-February. Davy said that the results were as expected. C and C core earnings (EBIT) was E111m. The company had guided in its statement on January 17th that it expected EBIT of c.E110m. Net cash was slightly better than we expected at E68m (Davy: E65m). Earnings per share rose to 27.6c (Davy: 27.6c) while revenue declined to E480m (-4.8pc constant currency). Group EBIT margin was 23.1pc (+290bps). The dividend payout is to be raised to 30pc from 25pc and the company states that it will pursue a progressive dividend policy. We are leaving our forecasts for full year 2012/13 unchanged with EBIT of E117m. In GB cider, Magners revenue growth was 0.7pc - we had expected broadly flat growth. Gaymers revenue declined -27pc, mainly due to the removal of loss-making activity. GB cider revenue and EBIT was E172.8m and E29.5m respectively. Profits in Ireland were broadly flat on last year. Bulmers sales in Ireland declined -8pc (-6pc price deflation), in line with the H1 trend. Operating profit was E42.2m in cider with margins expanding to 46.1pc. The beer business contributed E2.2m. Shares in the group fell 8c to E3.51.

There was a 6.4pc fall at the latest Fonterra foodstuffs auction on May 15th. Weakness in all products and across all contract periods - with the long end of the futures curve exhibiting most weakness - was recorded at the Global Dairy Trade auction on May 15th. Butter fat (-11.9pc) and whole milk powder (-8.9pc) recorded most weakness. It is the third successive fall at the fortnightly auction, and the ninth of the past 12 auctions, with the most recent falls greater in amplitude than has been normal in the history of the event. Current prices are below their average real level of the past decade. The last such occurrence was in mid-2009 when global prices plummeted to historic lows. Current prices remain a good way above those lows. Shares in Glanbia rose 5c to E5.85.

CRH has announced that it has transferred its 49pc shareholding in Secil, the Portuguese cement producer, to Semapa, its former joint venture partner. The transfer follows the finding of an Arbitral Tribunal in Paris last year which ruled that both parties had breached the terms of the joint venture. While both companies were in breach, the tribunal found that Semapa was entitled to exercise its call option on CRH's 49pc stake. This stake was valued at E574m by the tribunal. CRH has now transferred the stake to Semapa and received net proceeds of E564.5m. These proceeds reflect the E574m valuation, adjusted for legal costs and other amounts due to Semapa. Semapa has indicated that it intends to continue its appeal against the ruling in the Cour d'Appel (Court of Appeal) in Paris. CRH will be represented at the hearing. Its shares fell 11c to E13.79.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 17:39:37 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[ECB stops working with some Greek banks]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The European Central Bank has stopped monetary policy operations with some Greek banks as they have not been successfully recapitalised, euro zone central bank sources said today.

The ECB declined to comment.

The ECB only conducts its refinancing operations with solvent banks. With no access to ECB funds, the banks concerned must go to the Bank of Greece for emergency liquidity assistance (ELA).

It was unclear exactly how many banks were affected.

ne person familiar with the matter said four Greek banks' capital was so depleted they were operating with negative equity capital. According to its own rules, the ECB cannot provide liquidity to banks in such a situation.

The ECB said earlier on Wednesday it continued to support Greek banks. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 16:47:29 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[IIF: Greek exit disaster for Ireland]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The damage to the rest of Europe from Greece leaving the euro would be "somewhere between catastrophic and Armageddon", the chief negotiator for the body representing private sector holders of Greek bonds said today.

Charles Dallara, who as head of the International Institute of Finance (IIF) spent months in Athens negotiating the largest ever sovereign debt restructuring, also said he had seen evidence that more people were moving their cash out of Greece.

"There has been a pick up of deposit flight from Greece," Dallara told reporters, but added he thought this could be stabilised "once you get a new government in place, if that government reaffirms its intention to remain in the euro zone".

He was speaking on a visit to Ireland, which followed Greece into an international bailout in 2010 but has been far more successful in boosting exports to keep the economy afloat while slashing government spending.

Policymakers have begun to speak openly of the risk that Greece, now in its fifth year of recession, might leave the euro. Dallara said the costs of a Greek exit would be so severe that Europe has to find a palatable way of solving their woes.

"I think that it (a Greek exit) is possible, but I wouldn't call it inevitable and I wouldn't even call it likely because the costs for Greece, for Europe and for the global economy are likely each in their own way to be immense," Dallara said in a speech.

"The pressures on Spain, Portugal, even Italy and conceivably Ireland could be immense and the need for Europe to step up with much greater support for the banking systems would be substantial."

Dallara said there was no game plan for an orderly Greek departure and that its rescue programme should instead be "adjusted to new realities" with a stretching out of fiscal targets by a year or 18 months, something that would cost Europe another six to 10 billion euros ($8-$13 billion).

He recommended easing the pace of budget reform elsewhere, particularly in Spain and Portugal, saying Europe needed to focus less on short-term cuts and more on implementing difficult labour market reforms.

He also proposed Europe's rescue funds should invest directly in weak financial institutions, particularly in Spain which he praised for "heroic efforts" to manage the crisis.
n Greece's decision on Tuesday to pay bondholders who rejected an earlier debt exchange, Dallara said such a move raised concerns but reflected "the most extraordinary set of political uncertainties".

He said Greece, heading for a second election in a matter of weeks next month, should be given some breathing space.

"I think it is incumbent on the rest of us - and I would suggest that includes other European leaders - to pause in what has become a very popular game of telling the Greeks how to run their lives," Dallara said. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 16:41:51 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Wall St edges higher at the open]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[.S. stocks rose today with traders citing comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel about keeping Greece in the euro zone as encouraging for markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 46.93 points, or 0.37 percent, to 12,678.93. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index gained 6.62 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,337.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.05 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,905.81.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 15:48:22 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[NUI student in line for World title]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[NUI Galway student Eve-Marie Costello has been awarded The Outstanding Young Person of Ireland award from Junior Chamber International (JCI), and has been put forward as a candidate for the Outstanding Young Persons of the World title, which will be announced in Taiwan later this year.

riginally from Ballyglunin, Athenry, Co. Galway, Eva Marie is a third-year Science student at the University. NUI Galway's Lorraine Tansey, ALIVE Volunteer Coordinator, and Riona Hughes, Societies Officer, nominated Eva-Marie for the coveted award in recognition of her significant achievement in the area of contribution to children, world peace and/or human rights.

According to Riona Hughes: "Students like Eva-Marie and Melanie Hennessey, our most recent winner of the world title in 2010, who set up an orphanage and brought medical support to Nepal through her society Draiocht, show the impact that one person can make to bringing about positive change which impacts so profoundly on the students who they support and inspire to volunteer."

Eva-Marie began her volunteering in India during transition year in secondary school and has built on this by setting up the Ashirbad Society in NUI Galway. The Ashirbad Society focuses on sending NUI Galway students to India during the summer months to volunteer in areas of need including education, medical and agricultural. It also hopes to raise awareness of the needs of the people in the emerging sub-continent of India and to fundraise in order to improve the living and educational conditions for the under-privileged children of Kalimpong, West Bengal.

Since 2007, Eva-Marie has travelled to India each year to work with the Cluny Sisters in Kalimpong, India. Eva-Marie now acts as a project instigator with the Sisters and is currently in the process of fundraising and planning for the development of the Declan Resource and Research Centre. She also volunteered at an Aids Centre run by the nuns, and was instrumental in producing an annual musical with the children and students. With her fellow volunteers they have raised over E45,000 in the last four years. Eva-Marie volunteered with SUAS homework club and has also been a key player in the NUI Galway musical society since she started at the University.

Lorraine Tansey, Student Volunteer Coordinator at NUI Galway, said; "What sets Eva-Marie apart is her vision and commitment for the future, not only volunteering herself, but setting in place a structure which will see NUI Galway students into the future work with the Cluny Sisters on their great work in Kalimpong, and through this experience learning and growing as active citizens of the world. We are delighted to support JCI as they seek to recognise the valuable contribution volunteers make to society and congratulate Eva-Marie on exemplifying the NUI Galway civic graduate."

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 15:33:27 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Apple readies new bigger iPhone]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Apple plans to use a larger screen on the next-generation iPhone and has begun to place orders for the new displays from suppliers in South Korea and Japan, people familiar with the situation said today.

The new iPhone screens will measure 4 inches from corner to corner, one source said. That would represent a roughly 30 percent increase in viewing area, assuming Apple kept other dimensions proportional. Apple has used a 3.5-inch screen since introducing the iPhone in 2007.

Early production of the new screens has begun at three suppliers: Korea's LG Display Co Ltd, Sharp Corp and Japan Display Inc, a Japanese government-brokered merger combining the screen production of three companies.

It is likely all three of the screen suppliers will get production orders from Apple, which could begin as soon as June. That would allow the new iPhone to go into production as soon as August, if the company follows its own precedent in moving from orders for prototypes for key components to launch.

Apple's decision to equip the next iPhone with a larger screen represents part of a competitive response to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
Samsung unveiled its top-of-the line Galaxy smartphone with a 4.8-inch touch-screen and a faster processor earlier this month.

Samsung, which this year became the world's largest cell phone maker, sold 45 million smartphones in the first quarter, and sales of the Galaxy phones outstripped the iPhone.
Apple was not immediately available to comment.

Apple's move toward a larger display for the next generation iPhone was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to being Apple's rival, Samsung is also a major components supplier to the U.S. computer, tablet and phone manufacturer.

The share of the production of new screens that go to each of the three manufacturers working with Apple has not been determined, one source said.

Sales of the touch-screen iPhone now account for about one-half of Apple's total sales, and the phone has been a key source of growth for the company in Asia.
A report in March by a South Korea business newspaper said Apple would use a "retina" display on the next iPhone, the same technology in its latest iPad that enhance image quality.

The latest iPhone 4S was introduced in October last year. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 15:07:21 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[IBOA accept terms on 950 redundancies]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Finance sector union IBOA said that its members in Ulster Bank have voted to accept the recommendation from independent mediator, Martin King, on the Bank's restructuring proposals involving the loss of up to 950 jobs.

The Bank's senior management has also indicated its acceptance of the recommendation.

Among the improvements to the Bank's original proposals recommended by the mediator were enhanced severance terms of 4 weeks' pay year of service (including statutory entitlements) and an early retirement option.

It also includes additional provisions to protect the terms and conditions of the staff who remain with the Bank - especially on the issues of relocation to other workplaces and redeployment to other roles.

IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, said that his members in Ulster Bank had accepted the mediator's recommendation in good faith. "The onus is now on the Bank to set out in detail - for the benefit of customers as well as staff - the full implications of all aspects of its plans".

"The full details of its restructuring plan has still to be clarified. This is essential to enable staff to make an informed decision about whether they should remain with Ulster Bank or leave at this time."

The development in Ulster Bank is likely to be the first in a series of announcements expected in the coming days about the future of Ireland's major retail banks.

The implications of these developments will be considered by over 120 IBOA activists meeting in Galway tomorrow and Friday.

Delegates will consider the emerging situation in AIB - where a recommendation on the Bank's restructuring plans is now imminent.
 
Bank of Ireland - where the Union is hoping to conclude a further round of negotiations on the Bank's restructuring plans within days; and Danske Bank - which has just outlined proposals for a major reorganisation of its National Irish Bank and Northern Bank into one merged entity under the Danske brand.

The conference will also see Professor Bill Roche of UCD formally launch a history of IBOA, Handling Change, written by Paul Rouse and Mark Duncan, and published by the Collins Press.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 14:55:16 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Greeks are preparing for euro exit]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[-reeks are voting with their wallets and pulling euros out of the banks in fear that their country may leave the European single currency despite the declared determination of EU powers Germany and France to keep Athens in the monetary union.

As financial markets shuddered over the deepening turmoil in Athens today, a chorus of sceptical politicians and central bankers from London to Ottawa predicted the euro zone could fall apart soon unless European governments act more decisively to save the currency.

"It either has to make up or it is looking at a potential break-up," British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament in London. "That is the choice they have to make, and it is a choice they cannot long put off."

-reek President Karolos Papoulias warned political leaders that citizens were withdrawing their money due to "great fear that could develop into panic" at the risk of a debt default and exit from the euro area, according to minutes of their meetings posted on the presidency's website.

The president, who tried in vain to broker a national unity government, appointed a senior judge, Panagiotis Pikrammenos, as caretaker prime minister on Wednesday until a second general election in just over a month is held on June 17.

The failure of Papoulias' talks to avert a repeat election sent judders around financial markets, hitting global share prices and other riskier assets.

Investors fled to the U.S. dollar and safe-haven German bonds while the euro lost almost a cent to fall to a four-month low below $1.27. Spanish and Italian bond yields spiked while a key index of European shares fell to its lowest level this year.

-erman Chancellor Angela Merkel and new French President Francois Hollande sought to quell talk of a possible Greek departure from the euro zone after their first meeting on Tuesday evening, which focused on ways out of the 17-nation currency area's debt crisis.

"We agreed that we want Greece to stay in the euro," Merkel told a joint news conference in Berlin, adding that Athens must respect the conditions set in a second international bailout agreement signed in March.

Nearly two thirds of Greeks voted on May 6 for parties of the radical left and far right which oppose the terms of the EU/IMF assistance programme, which has imposed steep wage and pension cuts, deepening a four-year recession.

Policymakers from European Union states and the European Central Bank have warned they would stop sending Athens the cash it needs to stay afloat if a new government tears up the plan.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said the Greek people must now make a fully informed decision understanding the consequences for their country's future.
"The ultimate resolve to stay in the euro area must come from Greece itself," Barroso told a news conference.

But many Greek voters believe they can stay in the euro without abiding by the conditions imposed to obtain the bailouts, as promised by Alexis Tsipras, the charismatic 37-year-old leader of the surging leftist SYRIZA party.

A second opinion poll showed that SYRIZA, which opposes the austerity conditions attached to the assistance programme, is consolidating gains and is on track to become the biggest group in parliament in a re-run vote, pulling ahead of mainstream pro-bailout centre-left and centre-right parties.

The determination to keep Greece in the euro spelled out by Merkel and Hollande may be undermined by sniping from several EU finance ministers, including Germany's own Wolfgang Schaeuble, who have publicly envisaged a possible Greek exit.

Merkel's office complained to Austria after Finance Minister Maria Fekter suggested this week that Greece could be thrown out of the EU as a result of its economic crisis, the newspaper Oesterreich reported. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 14:38:03 GMT</pubDate>
    
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<item>
    <title><![CDATA[CRH transfers shares to Semapa]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[CRH has transferred its 49pc shareholding in Secil, the Portuguese cement producer, to Semapa (SGPS, S.A.), its former joint venture partner, for a sum of E564.5 million.

The move follows a call option exercised by Semapa and confirmed by an award issued by an Arbitral Tribunal in Paris, functioning under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), at a valuation of E574 million.

CRH originally paid E329 million for the stake and took on a E100 million share of its net debt when the deal was completed in 2004, bringing the total cost to E429 million. However both parties ended up in dispute over the future of their joint cement manufacturing venture in October 2009.

Semapa has indicated that it intends to continue its proceedings in the Cour d'Appel (court of appeal) in Paris in relation to the award made by the Arbitral Tribunal. CRH will be represented at the hearing.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 14:31:45 GMT</pubDate>
    
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<item>
    <title><![CDATA[Data show hope for US housing market]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[.S. housing starts rose more than expected in April, according to a government report today that offered signs of a nascent housing recovery, even though permits for future building fell after touching a 3-1/2 year high the prior month.

The Commerce Department said housing starts increased 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 units. March's starts were revised up to a 699,000-unit pace from a previously reported 654,000 unit rate.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts rising to 680,000-unit rate. Compared to April last year, residential construction was up 29.9 percent.
The housing market is showing some signs of life after collapsing six years ago, but remains hobbled by a glut of unsold homes.

However, rising demand for rentals, which has seen builders breaking more ground on apartment projects, is helping to stabilise the market.

Housing starts last month rose across the board. Groundbreaking for single-family homes increased 2.3 percent. This segment accounts for most of the market. Starts for multi-family homes advanced 3.2 percent.

Despite last month's overall jump in starts, they remain less than a third of their peak in January 2006. Residential construction in the first quarter grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years and is expected to contribute to economic growth this year for the first time since 2005.

Last month, housing starts rose in two of the four regions, but fell 20.7 percent in the Northeast.

Sentiment among home builders touched a five-year high in May, a survey showed on Tuesday, amid growing optimism about current sales and buyer traffic over the next six months.

That suggest the 7 percent drop in permits to a 715,00-unit pace last month would be temporary. March's permits were revised to a 769,000-unit rate, the highest since September 2008.

Economists had expected permits to fall to a 730,000-unit pace from March's previously reported 764,000-unit rate. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 14:10:22 GMT</pubDate>
    
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<item>
    <title><![CDATA[ISEQ down as investors run for cover]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The main Dublin shares index fell again this morning as investors ran for cover in the face of growing expectations that Greece will leave the euro and default.

By 12:45, the ISEQ fell 3.07 points to 3,081.67.

European shares sank to new 2012 lows on Wednesday in a broad-based sell-off as concern over contagion from Greece gripped investors. The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.7 percent to 991.03, having dropped 0.7 percent today after Greek politicians failed to put together a ruling coalition, paving the way for a new election and ramping up concern over what would happen if it leaves the euro zone.

C and C has reported full year results to end-February. Davy said that the results were as expected. C and C core earnings (EBIT) was E111m. The company had guided in its statement on January 17th that it expected EBIT of c.E110m. Net cash was slightly better than we expected at E68m (Davy: E65m). Earnings per share rose to 27.6c (Davy: 27.6c) while revenue declined to E480m (-4.8pc constant currency). Group EBIT margin was 23.1pc (+290bps). The dividend payout is to be raised to 30pc from 25pc and the company states that it will pursue a progressive dividend policy. We are leaving our forecasts for full year 2012/13 unchanged with EBIT of E117m. In GB cider, Magners revenue growth was 0.7pc - we had expected broadly flat growth. Gaymers revenue declined -27pc, mainly due to the removal of loss-making activity. GB cider revenue and EBIT was E172.8m and E29.5m respectively. Profits in Ireland were broadly flat on last year. Bulmers sales in Ireland declined -8pc (-6pc price deflation), in line with the H1 trend. Operating profit was E42.2m in cider with margins expanding to 46.1pc. The beer business contributed E2.2m. Shares in the group fell 14c to E3.45.

There was a 6.4pc fall at the latest Fonterra foodstuffs auction on May 15th. Weakness in all products and across all contract periods - with the long end of the futures curve exhibiting most weakness - was recorded at the Global Dairy Trade auction on May 15th. Butter fat (-11.9pc) and whole milk powder (-8.9pc) recorded most weakness. It is the third successive fall at the fortnightly auction, and the ninth of the past 12 auctions, with the most recent falls greater in amplitude than has been normal in the history of the event. Current prices are below their average real level of the past decade. The last such occurrence was in mid-2009 when global prices plummeted to historic lows. Current prices remain a good way above those lows. Shares in Glanbia rose 5c to E5.85.

CRH has announced that it has transferred its 49pc shareholding in Secil, the Portuguese cement producer, to Semapa, its former joint venture partner. The transfer follows the finding of an Arbitral Tribunal in Paris last year which ruled that both parties had breached the terms of the joint venture. While both companies were in breach, the tribunal found that Semapa was entitled to exercise its call option on CRH's 49pc stake. This stake was valued at E574m by the tribunal. CRH has now transferred the stake to Semapa and received net proceeds of E564.5m. These proceeds reflect the E574m valuation, adjusted for legal costs and other amounts due to Semapa. Semapa has indicated that it intends to continue its appeal against the ruling in the Cour d'Appel (Court of Appeal) in Paris. CRH will be represented at the hearing. Its shares fell 7c to E13.83.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 12:56:40 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Noonan fears crisis to impact Ireland]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The mood of uncertainty spreading across Europe could scupper Ireland's plans to exit its international bailout with a return to bond markets next year, according to Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, today.

As Irish borrowing costs rose sharply for the second day running on fears Greece will quit the euro zone, Mr Noonan said prospects of Ireland starting to tap longer-term market funding again on schedule now looked less certain.

"We hope we'll get back into the markets at the back end of 2013 but we might not because there is such uncertainty in Europe now," Noonan said in a speech.

Ireland's steady progress in meeting its bailout targets, getting a cut to the cost of its official funding and attracting private investment into one of its banks saw its borrowing costs more than halve since last July, with yields on its benchmark 2020 bond hitting an 18-month low of 6.76 percent this month.

But the political turmoil in Greece has pushed those yields up by more than 60 basis points over the past two days to 7.62 percent.

Noonan urged Irish voters to ratify a European treaty on tighter fiscal discipline in a May 31 referendum in order to keep access to Europe's new permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), open.

"We need to have access to the ESM or alternatively the ESM as a backstop to make sure we get back to the markets," he said.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 12:36:48 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Rehab Group to create 750 jobs]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The Rehab Group announced today that it plans to recruit 750 staff in its operations over the next three years, with over 400 of those to be based in Ireland.

It currently employs over 3,500 people, with 2,500 staff based in Ireland and another 1,000 in the UK, Poland and the Netherlands.

The new posts arise in the areas of training, education, health and social care, IT, sales and marketing, management and administration, it said.

Commenting on the announcement Angela Kerins, Chief Executive, said that Rehab has a significant growth strategy for 2012 to 2015 in all of its areas of activity. "We are currently looking further afield at new opportunities and hope to have some important new developments to announce later this year."

"Rehab Group provides health, social care, education and training services to 56,000 people in four EU member states and we aim to grow this to supporting 75,000 people by 2015. Our services are recognised internationally, and have proven results. For example, 90pc of people who complete our training courses here in Ireland go on to further education, training or employment. Our overriding objective is to improve the lives of the people we support and to provide sustainable employment for our staff, both with and without disabilities," he said.

"Most people are familiar with Rehab Group as a provider of services to people with disabilities and others who are marginalised in their communities, but may not be aware that in addition to our health and education services in Ireland and the UK, we run a number of businesses in each of the four countries in which we work. For example, Rehab is Ireland's largest processor of glass for recycling, exporting nearly 100,000 tonnes of glass per year. We also operate a resource recovery business in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands and an international logistics business in Poland and the Netherlands, as well as a retail business and significant gaming and lottery interests. While like everyone else we experience difficulties in some markets, overall we have a positive view of our future development and believe that this can be achieved with hard work, a 'can-do' attitude and a little adventure into new areas."

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said: "A central part of our plan for jobs and growth is creating a powerful engine of indigenous enterprise. Yes we must continue to attract world-class multinational companies, but we must also ensure that we have more Irish companies growing to scale, competing and succeeding in world markets, and creating more jobs."

"Rehab is an Irish organisation which had success in its original field, branched out into new sectors, competed and succeeded in export markets and created large-scale employment. Today's announcement that it is to create 750 new jobs over the next three years is very welcome. I am determined that, through continued implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs, we can see more Irish companies replicate this success and drive the sustainable jobs recovery that we need."

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 12:25:25 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Irish 3rd best inflation and trade in EU]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Ireland has racked up the third lowest inflation rate in the EU and the third largest trade surplus, official figures from EU statistical agency, Eurostat reveal.

Euro area annual inflation was 2.6pc in April 2012, down from 2.7pc in March. A year earlier the rate was 2.8pc. Monthly inflation was 0.5pc in April 2012. EU annual inflation was 2.7pc in April 2012, down from 2.9pc in March. A year earlier the rate was 3.3pc. Monthly inflation was 0.5pc in April 2012.

In April 2012, the lowest annual rates were observed in Sweden (1.0pc), Greece (1.5pc), Ireland and Romania (both 1.9pc), and the highest in Hungary (5.6pc), Estonia (4.3pc), the Czech Republic and Poland (both 4.0pc). Compared with March 2012, annual inflation fell in sixteen Member States and rose in ten.

The lowest 12-month averages up to April 2012 were registered in Sweden (1.2pc), Ireland (1.5pc) and Slovenia (2.2pc), and the highest in Estonia (4.8pc), Hungary (4.4pc) and Slovakia (4.2pc).

Meanwhile, Ireland had third largest trade surplus in Jan-Feb 2012 after Germany and the Netherlands, Eurostat said.

Concerning the total trade of Member States, the largest surplus was observed in Germany (+27.8 bn euro in January-February 2012), followed by the Netherlands (+7.2 bn) and Ireland (+6.8 bn). The United Kingdom (-23.7 bn) registered the largest deficit, followed by France (-15.6 bn), Spain (-7.1 bn) and Italy (-5.5 bn).

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 12:15:55 GMT</pubDate>
    
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<item>
    <title><![CDATA[Connemara completes aerial survey]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Connemara Mining has completed an airborne survey targeting gold deposits over a block of five licences in the Wicklow/Wexford area.

The results of the very low frequency (VLF) magnetic and radiometric survey are being processed by Terraquest in Canada. Initial analysis carried out on the raw data by Hendrick indicates the presence of previously undetected blind targets. Final results are due within six weeks.

"Gold in the Wicklow hills has been known for over 200 years but finding commercially viable deposits is a far more complicated issue. Dale Hendrick, an acknowledged expert in evaluating airborne survey results has done some work on the raw data from the survey. He believes that he has identified previously unknown 'potential' targets for gold deposits. These are targets that could not be identified from conventional ground based exploration. Final results from Terraquest are due within six weeks following which the next stage of exploration will be decided," said John Teeling, Chairman of Connemara Mining.

The airborne survey is part of an ongoing joint venture between Connemara Mining and Hendrick Resources of Canada whereby Hendrick will earn 75pc interest in the licences by spending E1m.

<br/>]]></description>
    
    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 11:43:17 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Fuel prices sends euro inflation up]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Costlier fuel and clothing kept euro zone inflation well above the European Central Bank's target in April, giving policymakers little room to stimulate growth even as Germany signals it may be ready to tolerate more price rises at home.

Consumer price inflation in the 17 countries sharing the euro was 2.6 percent in April, the EU's statistics agency Eurostat said on Wednesday, down from 2.7 percent in March but still stubbornly high given Europe's economic slump.

The downturn was highlighted by no change in the level of unadjusted imports to the euro zone, Eurostat said in a separate release on Wednesday, while exports grew 4 percent year-on-year.

Moreover, adjusted imports shrank 1.1 percent month-on-month in March and exports declined 0.9 percent, underlining the deceleration in the economy.
Despite the lower economic activity, consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in April from March, as expected by economists polled by Reuters, driven mainly by rising prices of clothes and energy.

Energy prices jumped 1.1 percent on the month and clothes prices were 2.3 percent higher. There was no change in the cost of food and prices of education and communications fell.

Brent crude slipped to $110.85 a barrel on Wednesday as deep uncertainty surrounding new Greek elections clouded the outlook for economic growth, but remained close to all-time highs around $120 in April.

Limited spare oil production capacity and the possibility of a supply disruption in the Middle East have kept oil prices near $120 a barrel for much of the year.
Economists see euro zone inflation coming down during the year but the ECB says consumer prices will still be above the bank's "close to but below two percent" level for the rest of the year.

That appears to rule out an unprecedented move by the ECB of taking interest rates to below the current 1 percent level in the coming months, although senior German policymakers have sent clear signals that they are willing to accept a stronger rise in German prices than may have been tolerable in the past.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 11:38:25 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Massive exodus from health insurers]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Twenty four thousand people cancelled their health insurance cover in the first three months of this year, which represents a massive 80pc-plus increase in the number that opted out in Quarter 1 of 2011.

The fall off in the number of those with insurance is ratcheting up at an alarming rate, according to healthinsurancesavings.com.

"We had predicted that a further 100,000 people would move from the insured system to the public system in 2012, and these alarming numbers to date would support our forecast. While a total of 66,000 cancelled their cover in 2011, over the last three years close to 140,000 have also cancelled their cover," said Dermot Goode, health insurance expert with the company, which is part of Cornmarket Group Financial Services.

Healthinsurancesavings.ie say that the existing insurers, VHI, Aviva and Laya are all launching attractive special offers in an effort to tempt people into retaining their health cover.

"We also believe that the new entrant, Laya, may learn from the woes of the incumbent providers and hopefully will adopt an aggressive price strategy which will clearly differentiate themselves from others in the market. While all the bells and whistles are desirable, most people simply want access to medical expertise in a timely manner and don't really care how many are in the same room or whether it's convenient to travel to etc."

"As it stand there are still significant savings to be made but we are strongly advising that the key consideration for everybody in relation to their health insurance is that they review their cover &amp; secure these deals before their renewal date as failure to do so could see them locked into a more expensive annual contract," said Mr Goode.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 11:34:30 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Exports and imports rise in March]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Seasonally adjusted exports rose by E361 million (or 5pc) and imports rose by E961 million (or 26pc) in March 2012, latest trade figures from the CSO show.

The increase in imports was largely due to significant imports of Other transport equipment in March 2012.

Chemicals and related products accounted for E5,131 million (or 60pc) of the total exports of E8,499 million in March 2012. Comparing March 2012 with March 2011, exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products fell by E681 million (24pc) while the value of exports of Organic chemicals rose by E233 million (13pc).

n an overall basis the EU accounted for E5,259 million (or 62pc) of total exports in March 2012, with Belgium and Great Britain accounting for over half of the EU share. The USA was the main destination for exports outside the EU accounting for 17 per cent of total exports in March 2012.

Comparing March 2012 with March 2011, imports increased by E676 million (or 16pc). This was due to an increase of E675 million in the imports of Other transport equipment (including aircraft).

-reat Britain was the main source of imports in March 2012 accounting for E1,356 million (or 27pc) of total imports, followed by the USA at 23 per cent.

For the first three months of 2012 exports amounted to E23,566 million and imports E13,285 million representing a trade surplus of E10,281 million.

<br/>]]></description>
    
    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 11:12:42 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Airtricity owner buys North's Phoenix]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[SSE, the UK owner of Dublin-based Airtricity, is to buy Phoenix Supply Limited, Northern Ireland's market leading gas supplier.

Phoenix Supply is the regulated supplier of natural gas to around 130,000 domestic and business customers in Greater Belfast. The total cash consideration is Â£19.1million excluding working capital related adjustments.

Following the acquisition Airtricity, SSE's retail supply brand, will become Northern Ireland's second largest energy supplier and a dual fuel provider of gas and electricity to over 230,000 customers.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the Irish Competition Authority and SSE expects to complete the purchase during the summer. SSE has also notified the Regulatory Authorities of its intention to acquire the Phoenix supply businesses.

Kevin Greenhorn, SSE's Director of Business Supply, Contracting and International and CEO of Airtricity, said: "We're delighted to be entering into this agreement and see it as an exciting new chapter in SSE's long-term sustained growth in Northern Ireland. This is a significant step forward for both Airtricity and Phoenix Supply as we seek to become the largest supplier of both electricity and natural gas in Northern Ireland. This is especially exciting as for the first time consumers in Northern Ireland, including Airtricity and Phoenix Supply customers, will be able to enjoy the benefits of dual fuel products and services."

"Through this deal we will extend our commitment towards serving customers, employing people, and making investments in Northern Ireland to Phoenix Supply customers and staff. We are committed to maintaining the same locally-based staff and upon receipt of approval from the Competition Authority we look forward to welcoming Phoenix Supply staff into the SSE family as we grow our business here."

"We look forward to completing this acquisition as soon as possible."

Airtricity entered Northern Ireland's competitive domestic electricity market in 2010 and is the country's fastest-growing energy provider.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 10:50:28 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[CRANN aims for nano-revolution]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Irish scientists have conducted research to develop materials that could revolutionise the manufacture of silicon chips and lead to a new wave of next generation computers and real time 3D video processing.

Researchers at CRANN, the Science Foundation Ireland funded nanoscience institute based at Trinity College Dublin, and which partners with University College Cork have published a paper in international journal, Nanoscale.

Assisted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin and Intel's Researchers in Residence based in CRANN, Professor Mick Morris of UCC has developed a greater understanding of the assembling properties of block copolymers. Block copolymers play a role in a number of everyday materials, for example in materials such as spandex and rubber shoe-soles. They consist of repeating structural units and can form highly regular column-like and linear structures.

Professor Morris and his team electrically characterised large areas of nano-electronic devices, which were created by the self-assembly of block copolymers. It is this discovery that could prove to be an alternative to silicon device manufacturing which is the cornerstone of the electronics world.

With the costs of silicon device manufacturing increasing dramatically, this research could be developed to allow cost-effective production of devices of the smallest possible size by cutting out the need for expensive manufacturing tools. This is critical in the drive by industry to reduce size whilst increasing capacity and functionality of electronic devices. The techniques and materials used in the research are consistent with modern microelectronic fabrication and could be used in industry, such as in the manufacturing of next generation devices by Intel.

Commenting on the research, Prof Mick Morris said, "The potential of our research is extremely exciting and reflects many years of hard work. This is the first time that anyone has demonstrated that large areas of nano-electronic devices can be developed in this fashion and highlights a pathway to commercial applications. I am looking forward to exploring commercial opportunities to further advance our work."

Dr. Diarmuid O'Brien, Executive Director of CRANN, said, "This new research underlines the potential impact of nanoscience in terms of revolutionising a number of industries. This latest publication reflects the world class research being undertaken at CRANN, where we published over 150 research papers last year alone, contributing to Ireland's ranking as 8th globally for materials science research. It will also help us attract more foreign direct investment to Ireland through our industry engagement programme which includes companies like Intel and Hewlett Packard."

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 10:44:16 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Guide to investing in Ireland launched]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[With Ireland still attracting record levels of foreign direct investment, Deloitte has launched 'Investing in Ireland', a guide for both first time investors and businesses seeking to expand and develop their presence here.

The guide provides a comprehensive overview of all of the factors that impact on a company's decision on where to locate their business, underscoring Ireland's attractive tax regime, foreign investment incentives, the investment climate and the labour environment.

In addition to highlighting the industries and sectors in which Ireland excels as an investment location, the publication also outlines the value added activities that Ireland can offer multinational organisations who are considering locations for their businesses. These include excellence in the areas of high value manufacturing, shared services, research and development, intellectual property and supply chain management. The publication also focuses on Ireland's strengths as a key holding company location.

"The purpose of this guide is to showcase the strengths that Ireland has as a location of choice. Ireland is a prime location for many of the world's leading businesses due to its focussed, pro-business policy framework. Much debate centres on our corporation tax rate, which the Minister for Finance has categorically stated will not change. However, what this publication emphasises is that in addition to the tax rate, Ireland has a wealth of other advantages as a location of choice, not least the fact that competitiveness has been restored significantly over the last three years. Examining all the factors in their entirety in this publication provides a very compelling case for Ireland as a location of choice," said Conor Hynes, Tax Partner, and Head of FDI at Deloitte.

"Despite the global economic crisis, Ireland has continued to attract significant high end Foreign Direct Investment with record levels of new investments recorded in 2011. FDI in Ireland comprises of both continued and first time investment, and many of the world's leading companies demonstrate their commitment to remaining established in Ireland by continuing to invest. We believe that the future for FDI in Ireland is bright and by producing this guide, we will help Ireland Inc capitalise on this potential."

In addition to the Investing in Ireland guide, Deloitte is also facilitating investment in Ireland through its Irish international core of excellence (ICE) desks in New York, San Jose and Hong Kong. Senior Irish international tax specialists are working in these locations, providing advice to local companies who are seeking to expand abroad, and on the inward investment side, highlighting the benefits of Ireland as a location for doing business. The desks also provide advice and support to Irish companies expanding abroad in these regions.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 10:34:32 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Survey: Public confused over finances]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[A national survey today shows clear gaps in the Irish public's understanding of basic personal finance issues.

The survey was commissioned by the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) and conducted by Red C Research.

It found that just three in ten Irish adults (31pc) answered all three of the questions in a quiz on personal finances correctly.

It also found that 53pc answered two of the questions correctly. When compared with our worldwide counterparts Ireland's results were noticeably below average, on most measures - with 53pc of Germans getting all questions correct. Japanese and American participants scored slightly poorer than the Irish at just 27pc and 30pc respectively.

The research which will be delivered to the IAPF's Defined Contribution Conference, sponsored by Zurich, tomorrow was undertaken by the IAPF and was based on international research which focused on levels of adult financial literacy.

Following the findings, the IAPF has called on Government to provide a greater level of financial education in Irish schools, particularly at second level.

According to Jerry Moriarty, Director of Policy with the IAPF, "Consumers are often faced with important financial decisions, and in recent times have had to address significant personal finance problems. Simply put - having an enhanced understanding would lead to better decision-making. While first-time buyers may no longer need to "know what a tracker mortgage is" as they are no longer available, there are plenty of other aspects of household financial planning that people encounter on a daily basis. With mortgages the biggest commitment people will take on and pensions the biggest asset they will have, it is crucial that people know how inflation, interest rates and diversification of investments can impact their financial security".

Participants were first asked whether they would have more or less than E102 after 5 years assuming they lodged E100 at the start in a savings account at an annual interest rate of 2pc. Approximately seven in ten (69pc) of Irish adults correctly answered this question with 28pc getting it wrong. In the Netherlands and Germany 85pc and 82pc of people respectively got the correct answer. Of the other countries surveyed, only the USA fared worse with 65pc getting it right.

The participants were then asked to assume that the interest rate on their savings account was 1pc per year and the inflation was 2pc per year. They were then asked after saving for 1 year, with the money in this account, would they be able to buy more than today, exactly the same as today, or less than today? Three quarters (76pc) of Irish adults correctly answered this question which was pretty close to the best (the Germans at 78pc) in the international survey.

Finally they were asked whether buying a single company stock or a unitised fund usually provides a safer return. Just over half (56pc) of Irish adults correctly answered this question with almost 1/5 (19pc) not understanding the question. This was the toughest question and again only the German's bettered us at 62pc, with only 40pc of the Japanese getting it right.

"Considering that females are generally regarded as the primary consumers and do better at school, the results were concerning in that they concluded that Irish males appear to be more financially literate than their female. In question one, 75pc answered correctly compared with just 63pc of women. Similarly questions 2 and 3 (respectively) signalled the same trend with 81pc of men to 70pc of women and 59pc of men to 52pc of women answering correctly," said Mr Moriarty.

The IAPF research also found that overall, age is a positive factor with older people doing well and scoring substantially better than those that still attend or have just left our education system. When contrasted, the various socio-economic groups showed little differences, though farmers shone brightly with an 89pc result on the inflation question.

"Our research tells that older Irish males are most financially literate in the case of interest rates and inflation, but least financially literate in the case of risk diversification. That's unfortunate when you consider that older people typically have large pensions or lump sums to invest and really need to understand the choices they are making. This trend was also experienced in the international research".

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 10:28:07 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Network Recovery buys out Barlan]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Network Recovery, a full-service IT provider specialising in Cloud and Disaster Recovery services, has acquired the entire share capital of Barlan, an IT managed services and bespoke software provider for an undisclosed sum.
 
Since setting up in 2004, Barlan has been supplying both SMEs as well as larger organisations with services such as VoIP, server virtualisation, WAN optimisation and business intelligence tools as produced by its software development team.

These valuable resources will now be added to Network Recovery's growing business offering, the company said.
 
"We are very pleased with this acquisition, as Barlan already has a great reputation among Irish businesses and its innovative, dynamic business ethos fits well with our own," said Paul Lynch, Managing Director, Network Recovery, "We plan to continue to pursue our strategy of acquiring companies that align with our core mission statement and provide enhanced value-added services to our clients."

Barlan's acquired employees will specialise in the deployment of IT voice and data solutions, bespoke software and project management. Along with the acquisition, Network Recovery has recently hired two additional staff to manage its continually growing client requirements. Barlan will now trade under the Network Recovery name and brand. 
Network Recovery's state-of-the-art Disaster Recovery Centre is located at Baldonnel Business Park, where it employs 26. Other services provided by Network Recovery include Online Backup, IT Managed Services, Server Virtualization and Media Storage and Collection. Cloud IAAS and Co-location services are provided both in Ireland and the U.S. by virtue of the Company's recent acquisition of Tarrytown, NY based Data Centre operator Another 9, LLC.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 10:16:41 GMT</pubDate>
    
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<item>
    <title><![CDATA[Tullow promises strong growth in 2012]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Irish oil and gas explorer, Tullow Oil, this morning said the first half of this year has been "excellent" for the company and that 2012 is shaping up for further significant growth.

Its Interim Management Statement, for the period 1 January to 16 May 2012 said the group completed the $2.9 billion farm down to CNOOC and Total and is now progressing with exploration, appraisal and development activities.

Its Ngamia-1 well onshore Kenya has opened a new basin and de-risked significant prospectivity in the region. In Ghana, remedial work on the Jubilee production wells is progressing well, Jubilee Phase 1A development has commenced and the Plan of Development for the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) project is expected to be submitted later this year. Further potential basin-opening exploration campaigns have also recently commenced in Guyana and Cote d'Ivoire.

The statement said that Tullow remains on track to deliver total net production of 78,000 to 86,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the full year.

Year to date financials are, it said, in line with expectations, adding that capital expenditure for 2012 is expected to be in the region of USD2.0bn this year.

As of April 30th 2012, net debt is around $0.5bn and un-utilised debt capacity is about $2.7bn.

"Tullow is continuing to deliver outstanding results from its high impact, exploration-led growth strategy. The Uganda farm-down and strong production performance give Tullow a firm financial foundation to carry out its extensive work programmes in Africa and the Atlantic margins," the firm's interim management statement said.

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 10:12:29 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Samsung hit as Apple goes elsewhere]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Shares in Samsung Electronics Co slumped more than 6 percent today, wiping $10 billion off the electronics giant's market value, on a report that Apple placed huge chip orders with troubled Japanese chip rival Elpida.
Taiwan's DigiTimes, an online trade news site, reported that Apple recently placed large mobile dynamic random access memory (DRAM) orders with Elpida's 12-inch plant in Hiroshima, Japan, securing around half the facilities total chip production. It cited unnamed industry sources in its report, which hit shares of major chip suppliers to Apple.

SK hynix shares closed almost 9 percent lower at a 20-week low - the biggest one-day drop in nine months. Samsung, the world's biggest DRAM maker, tumbled 6.2 percent to a 9-week low of 1.23 million won ($1,100) - the stock's biggest daily fall in nearly four years.
"It looks like Apple doesn't want to see Samsung and hynix dominate the chip market. Apple wants to maintain its bargaining power by keeping Elpida running," said Choi Do-yeon, an analyst at LIG Investment &amp; Securities.

 .S.-based Micron Technology Corp is in talks to acquire Elpida's business as the Japanese firm tries to restructure after tough market conditions and global competition drove it into bankruptcy protection.
"A merged Micron-Elpida could pose a significant threat to South Korean memory chipmakers, and Elpida's huge order from Apple was the spark that triggered these worries," said Lim Dol-yi, an analyst at Solomon Investment &amp; Securities.
Samsung declined to comment, as did the Japanese court-appointed trustee handling Elpida's rehabilitation.
A spokeswoman for SK hynix said: "We are receiving more orders for mobile DRAM chips from our customers." She declined to comment on whether Apple had reduced orders from the firm.

Technology shares were also impacted by a broader sell-off after talks to form a new Greek government failed, stoking concerns the country may exit the euro zone and increase financial market uncertainty. Shares in flat-screen maker LG Display slid 4.5 percent. Hyundai Motor lost 4 percent.
"Samsung shares were already facing pressure since offshore investors began cutting back on risk during the latest streak of sell-offs, but the news surrounding Elpida was the straw that broke the camel's back," said Rhoo Yong-suk, an analyst at Hyundai Securities. "It was just unfortunate timing that coincided with jitters surrounding Greece. ( C) Reuters


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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 09:45:41 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Banks and commodities drive FTSE lower]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Britain's top share index dropped through the 5,400 level for the first-time since mid-December 2011 in early deals today, driven by falls in risk-sensitive banks and commodity stocks.
At 0803 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was down 53.52 points, or 1.0 percent at 5,384.08, extending the week's slide to almost 3.4 percent on investor concern over the implications of fresh Greek elections which could lead the country to exit the euro zone.
"Some temporary relief might come from Greek parties agreeing on a new election date today. Once the date is set it will be up to the individual pro-bailout parties to convince the electorate that the election is more or less about Greece remaining in the Euro, and that rejecting austerity measures will make this an almost impossible task to fulfil," said Markus Huber, head of German Trading at ETX Capital.

Miners, once again, led the fall back as copper prices dropped to fresh four-month low, extending losses into a fourth consecutive session on demand worries for metals.
Xstrata was among the worst performers, down 3.3 percent as UBS downgraded its ratings for the miner to "neutral" from "buy" having cut its estimates and target price for the stock following recent disappointing production data.

"We are attracted by XTA's growth pipeline/ mgmt, but are concerned about commodity mix (Cu oversupply, shale impact on coal) and operational leverage in increasingly uncertain macro environment," UBS said in a note.
Commodities trader Glencore, which is bidding for Xstrata, was also downgraded to "neutral" by UBS as a consequence of its move on Xstrata.
-lencore lost 4.5 percent, with the stock also trading ex-dividend on Wednesday.
verall, stocks trading without the entitlement to their latest dividend knocked 6.22 points off the FTSE 100 index.

Energy stocks also suffered as Brent crude fell more than $1 a barrel as a larger-than-expected rise in crude stocks in top consumer United States exaccerbated concerns over demand growth on the global economic outlook.
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King is expect to leave the door open for more support for Britain's struggling economy, prompted by escalating dangers from the euro zone, when the central bank unveils its latest quarterly Inflation Report at 0930 GMT today.
The BoE is expected to cut its growth forecast and nudge up its medium-term inflation prediction towards its 2 percent target.

The latest jobs report will provide further indications as to the heath of the British economy at 0830 GMT, with April claimant count seen up 5,000, after a 3,600 rise in March, with March's ILO Unemployment rate seen unchanged at 8.3 percent.
There were few FTSE 100 gainers early on but specialty chemicals firm Croda stood out, up 3.6 percent after MSCI said the stock will be added to its UK index, together with Aberdeen Asset, Evraz and IMI, with Essar Energy to be deleted from the index.
SSE was also the second biggest blue chip gainer, ahead 1.4 percent as the firm, one of Britain's biggest energy suppliers, reported a 2 percent rise in full-year profit as growth at its production and generation unit offset a drop in its supply business. ( C) Reuters


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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 09:28:13 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Commodity prices to fall further]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
BHP Billiton said it expects commodity markets to cool further and that investors have lost confidence in the longer-term health of the global economy, in the most cautious comments yet from the world's biggest miner.
BHP also put the brakes on a plan announced by Chief Executive Marius Kloppers in 2011 to spend $80 billion over five years to expand its iron ore, coal, energy and base metals divisions, banking on continuing high demand from its main market, China.

"It is all about appropriate allocation of capital. When Marius (Kloppers) talked about the $80 billion, the environment was different," Chairman Jacques Nasser told reporters after a Sydney business lunch today.
"We should pause, take a deep breath and wait and see where the pieces fall around the world," he said, stopping short of announcing a spending cut.
The company was re-thinking its expansion plans "every day," Nasser said.
Asked if BHP would spend $80 billion over five years, he replied: "No."

"It's a sign that their view is that commodity prices are not going to go up from here, and in that sort of scenario, you can't be spending $24 billion to $25 billion a year," said Hayden Bairstow, an analyst at CLSA.
BHP shares tumbled 4 percent to the lowest since July 2009, while the broader market fell 2.2 percent. The Australian dollar slid to its lowest since December.

"Now that commodity prices have plateaued in the medium term, there is pressure on companies with the costs going up," said Ric Ronge, fund manager at Pengana Global resources Fund, which owns BHP shares.
"We are seeing a cycle within a super cycle largely because of the macro events in Europe and to a lesser degree in China."
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a closely followed indicator for commodities, has slumped more than 11 percent since hitting a five-month peak in late February amid a broader sell-off in financial markets.

"The tail winds of high commodity prices have contributed to record growth in the sector. Now we have a period where those tail winds are moderating and we expect further easing over time," said Nasser, a former president of Ford Motor Co..
Much of BHP's earnings hinges on demand growth in China, the biggest importer of iron ore, copper, nickel and other industrial staples needed to support mass urbanization underway in the world's No. 2 economy. ( C) Reuters


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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 09:19:48 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[C and C bonus from London Olympics]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Irish cider-maker C and C is uncertain whether a sales boost from this summer's Olympics and European football championships will be enough to grow its bottom line this year, its chief executive said on Wednesday.
C and C, which sells cider under the Magners and Bulmers brands, posted a nine percent rise in operating profit to 111 million euros for the 12 months to February, in line with analysts' expectations.

But the company said the trading environment in its core UK and Irish markets was too volatile to give a forecast for the coming year.
"It's very difficult to predict," Chief Executive Stephen Glancey told journalists.
The European Championships in June and Olympic Games in July and August will likely boost sales, but it is unclear whether they will make up for a weak consumer environment and poor spring weather in the British Isles, he said. Last year's first quarter was also boosted by a British royal wedding.

"We'd probably envisage a tougher first quarter (to the end of May) and a better second quarter (to end-August)," Glancey said.
The company will make its first forecast for the full year in June, he said.

C and C's managed to increase operating profit last year despite a 4.8 percent fall in revenues as it cut lower margin brands. The group's operating margin increased 2.9 percentage points to 23.1 percent.
C and C shares were down 1.75 percent at 0752 GMT, slightly more than the broader Irish market. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 09:07:37 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[ISEQ sharply down-Trade figures today]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The ISEQ is predictably lower this morning at 3,060, a drop of 25 points in early trading as markets seem to have nothing to support them in the face of unrelenting bad news.

Could Ireland's trade figures, due today, provide a chink of light in the darkness? Bloxham Stockbrokers believe it can:

Â• Ireland's export performance is back in focus this morning with the release of official external trade data for March. Given the importance of exports to Ireland's economic recovery hopes it is important they hold up against a background of weaker global demand.

Â• The most recent figures were much as expected with the seasonally-adjusted surplus falling back slightly in February, but still quite strong nonetheless all things considered. The surplus decreased to E3,622m from E3,818m in January. Seasonally-adjusted exports fell by 12.7pc while imports declined by 9.0pc in the month.

Â• Meanwhile, on an unadjusted basis, the value of exports in February was down 3.8pc on the same month in 2011 while the value of imports was 10.0pc lower in the year.

Â• In the first two months of 2012, exports amounted to E15,084m and imports E8,336m, giving a trade surplus of E6,748m, E660m higher than the surplus of E6,088m in January-February 2011.

Â• A key challenge for Irish exporters is to reduce their reliance on the traditional markets and diversify a bit more particularly to the likes of China and India and other fast growing emerging market economies.

Â• Despite the various concerns and the fall back in the February balance, the data for the first two months of 2012 were very positive and even allowing for the difficult global economic backdrop suggest that yet another record trade surplus could be on the cards this year.

Â• As regards the March figures, we are looking for a surplus of E3.3bn according to Bloxham Stockbrokers

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 08:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[European markets sharply lower]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
European shares fell today, in a broad-based sell-off, as concerns surrounding Greece sapped investor appetite for risk, with strategists seeing value in more defensive sectors.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 1 percent to 988.00 by 0713 GMT, having dropped 0.7 percent on Tuesday after Greek politicians failed to put together a ruling coalition, paving the way for a new election and ramping up concern over what would happen if it leaves the euro zone.

Spain's IBEX 35 fell 1.8 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB weakened by 1.7 percent.
"Still we're in this risk-off correction phase and at this moment I do not really see what's going to take us out of it, so I would continue to be very cautious," Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets in Brussels, said.

"If you have to invest in equities at all, continue to stick to more defensive stocks," he said, pointing to the utilities, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and food &amp; beverage sectors, which have good cashflow generation and stronger balance sheets. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 08:23:27 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Roundup-Gov't chasing growth funds]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
-overnment ministers made the case for more cash for Ireland in Brussels yesterday amid expectations that European leaders will agree within weeks to release funds for some sort of stimulus package.
Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin pushed for Ireland to get more money from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and from the EU's structural funds during meetings with the EIB yesterday.

Mr Howlin also met officials from the EU's Irish bailout team and argued that half the money from the E3bn due to be raised from the sale of semi-state assets should be used "directly" for jobs projects. He wants the rest set aside in a "support account" to make it easier for Ireland to get private companies to co-invest in EIB projects.
The Government has pledged to privatise assets but has yet to raise a cent from sales. Mr Howlin said the EC/ECB/IMF troika hadn't "signed off on" the plans to use more of the privatisation proceeds to support job creation, but said the Government had "very clear understandings" of support.

The efforts came as European policymakers rushed to embrace the "growth agenda" advocated first by France's new president Francois Hollande and more recently by ECB chief Mario Draghi and Commission boss Jose Manuel Barroso.
As well as using EIB money to start additional projects, the Government is also hoping the EIB will "take over" some of the funding of the existing E17bn of Ireland's capital programme, a measure that Mr Howlin said would improve Ireland's "debt sustainability".
The key to this is ensuring that much of the EIB loans are not added to the national debt. The Irish Independent

XXXX

Europe's financial crisis lurched into a perilous new phase as dire predictions emerged of a collapse in Greece's economy, with a run on its banks bringing an inevitable end to its membership of the euro.

As leaders in Athens accepted the need for a new general election to end a national stalemate, the International Monetary Fund said Europe's leaders should prepare for the possibility of a Greek departure from the single currency. 
Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, warned she was "technically prepared for anything" and said the utmost effort must be made to ensure any Greek exit was orderly. The effect was likely to be "quite messy" with risks to growth, trade and financial markets. "It is something that would be extremely expensive and would pose great risks but it is part of options that we must technically consider," she said. 

Raising tensions still further, Germany warned Greek voters that the wrong result in next month's election will force their country out of the single currency. 
-reece's president warned, perhaps most alarmingly, that its banks risk running out of money, posing a "threat to our national existence". The Irish Independent

XXXX

A High Court judge will case manage an action taken against cement producers CRH, Roadstone Wood and Kilsaran Concrete for alleged anti-competitive practices.
-oode Concrete has claimed the defendants have increased the price at which they are offering concrete for sale in Dublin since their alleged below-cost selling forced the collapse of Goode Concrete in 2011.

The defendants deny the claims and have contended that the price increases referred to were due to unprecedented increases in energy costs.
Yesterday in a preliminary judgment, Judge John Cooke said that he wanted to case manage the action in such a way that would cut down on time and expense for all the parties concerned. The case, the judge said, was to be broken up into distinct phases.

The first phase would involve an exchange of pleadings and discovery of documentation. The next phase would involve the parties narrowing down the main issues in the case, while the next phase would deal with evidence from witnesses.
For the first phase, the judge ruled that Goode Concrete must provide E110,000 as security of costs in relation to its action against CRH and Roadstone Wood, and E85,000 in relation to Goode's proceedings against Kilsaran.

The judge noted that CRH and Roadstone sought security of E215,000 from Goode for the first phase, while Goode had offered to provide E23,000. Kilsaran sought security of E232,000, compared to E16,000 which was offered by Goode.
The judge adjourned the matter to early July. If the security has not been put in place Goode's claims would be struck out, the judge added. The Irish Independent

XXXX


Those who can save money are doing so, but the number of those who can't afford to put anything by has risen, according to the latest Nationwide UK (Ireland) ESRI Savings Index. 
The monthly savings survey found that there was an increase in both the number of people saving regularly and also in the percentage of people who weren't saving at all. 

The savings market has polarised according to the managing director of Nationwide (UK) Ireland, Brendan Synnott. 
Regular savers made up 41pc of all those surveyed, up from 36pc last year, while 38pc of people are now not saving at all, up from 31pc last year. 
"While the index increased in April, it is lower than this time last year and saving behaviour is polarising. Some people appear to have adjusted their spending and saving behaviour according to their specific circumstances and an increasing proportion of people are happy with the amount they are saving. 

"Although it remains a concern that a large proportion are not saving at all or are incapable of saving at present," said Mr Synnott. 
The proportion of people saving more than they think they should, increased from 1pc in March to 3pc in April, while 42pc are comfortable with the amount they are saving, up 4pc on this time last year. 

More than half of those surveyed felt they were saving less than they should. 
Savers didn't believe that the economy was going to improve anytime soon. The Irish Examiner


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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 08:16:27 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Asian markets down 3pc in record drop]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Asian shares fell more than 3 percent, the biggest one-day drop in six months, and the dollar rose broadly today after efforts to form a new government in Greece collapsed, fuelling fears that a second election in June could precipitate Athens' exit from the euro zone and deepen the bloc's debt crisis.

European shares were expected to extend losses as well, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets would open down as much as 1 percent. U.S. stock futures were down 0.2 percent.

Investors continued to reduce positions in riskier assets, leading to a fall of more than $1 in oil prices and a drop to a 4-month low for spot gold, while lifting the dollar which tends to be seen as safe haven in times of heightened uncertainty.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended losses for the fourth consecutive day, sliding 3.3 percent to a new 4-month low, and was set for its biggest one-day loss since November last year. The index has fallen more than 9 percent since May 2.

"It's part of the risk-on, risk-off trade that we've had for the past two years and we are still stuck in it, looking for the next catalyst," said Andrew Pease, Sydney-based chief investment strategist at Russell Investments Asia Pacific, adding that markets may be risking becoming too pessimistic again.
"The U.S. isn't great but doing OK, Europe is still in a mess and markets have been downgrading their views on China, and all these are feeding into an extended risk off period after a strong risk-on March quarter. As an asset manager, it's not a time to have a strongly-held views right now," Pease said.

The materials and energy sectors were among the biggest decliners in MSCI's pan-Asian index, hitting resources-heavy Australian shares which slipped 2.3 percent.
But the technology sector was the biggest loser and pulled South Korean shares down to a 4-month low, after traders cited a report that Apple Inc could be shifting orders for memory chips to Japan.

In addition to Greek jitters, financials pulled Hong Kong shares down more than 2.5 percent to a four-month low after a mainland newspaper reported flat loan growth for the first two weeks of May by the country's "Big Four" state-owned banks, adding to concerns about an economic slowdown following weak data last week.
Japan's Nikkei average fell to a four-month low, closing down 1.1 percent.

Further depressing commodities were comments from BHP Billiton , the world's biggest miner, giving a bleak outlook for the asset class.
"The tail winds of high commodity prices have contributed to record growth in the sector," Chairman Jacques Nasser said in a speech to a business lunch in Sydney. "Now we have a period where those tail winds are moderating and we expect further easing over time." ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 07:56:42 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Indian Rupee falls v Dollar continue]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
India's central bank accepts that it is fighting a losing battle in trying to stem a fall in the rupee, a slide that has mirrored the slump in the once high-flying emerging market.
The force of dollar demand is such that the Reserve Bank of India can do little to check the fall, central bank officials say.

"We may prop the rupee for sometime by this way or that, but it is not enough," said a senior central bank official directly involved in currency management.
The RBI spent more than $20 billion in spot-market intervention between September and March and has stepped into markets since, including on Tuesday. It has carried out several other measures to try to check the fall in the currency, which hit a record closing low on Monday of almost 54 per dollar.

Portfolio investors are fleeing -- scared away by a slowdown in economic growth and large current account and fiscal deficits, stalled policymaking and a controversial proposal to tax foreign investment.
Central bank officials acknowledge that in the absence of government policy reforms to address its deficits and encourage investment, the rupee will keep falling.
The central bank's attitude to the rupee is important because it can provide foreign exchange dealers with an indication of how much room they have to keep selling the currency.
The rupee has shed 9 percent since March, the biggest fall among major Asian currencies monitored daily by Reuters, a nd traders are still building short positions, betting that it will fall to a record low of 56 per dollar this year.

"The rupee will fall gradually this year; it is not that it will fall suddenly. The RBI will be propping it, but the fundamental issues have to be addressed," said the RBI official.
India's economic growth has dropped in the past four years to close to 7 percent from almost 10 percent. Government spending has raised doubts about the country's investment grade status and position in the BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The RBI does not set a target level for the rupee but it intervenes in the market to ease volatility. Central bank insiders say it can be reactive at best when it comes to managing the rupee's level.

"The RBI cannot manage the exchange rate, manage the external situation and liquidity at the same time. It is what you call the phenomenon of 'impossible trinity.' The RBI's intervention is a temporary reprieve," a second senior official involved in exchange rate policy said. ( C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 07:47:25 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[China Mobile in talks to carry iPhone]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[China Mobile, the world's biggest carrier by subscribers and the only Chinese operator that does not officially carry the iPhone, is actively negotiating with Apple Inc on the issue, its chairman said today.

"We've been actively talking to Apple on how we can cooperate," China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua, who assumed the post in March, told a shareholders' meeting.
He made the comments in response to a question about when China Mobile would clinch a contract with Apple for the iPhone.
China Mobile shares are up about 13 percent this year, outperforming the Hang Seng Index's about 5 percent rise.

The carrier said subscribers in March rose to 667.20 million - more than twice the population of the United States - including 59.56 million 3G subscribers. ( C) Reuters

<br/>]]></description>
    
    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 07:27:25 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Facebook to raise $15 billion in IPO]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
Facebook Inc will increase the size of its initial public offering by 25 percent to raise about $15 billion, a source familiar with the matter said, as strong investor demand for a share of the No.1 social network trumped ongoing debate about the company's long-term potential to make money.
Facebook, founded eight years ago by Mark Zuckerberg in a Harvard dorm room, will add about 85 million shares to its IPO, floating about 422 million shares in an offering expected on Friday, the source told Reuters on Tuesday, declining to be identified because the information was confidential.

The expanded size, coupled with Facebook's recently announced plans to raise the IPO price range, would make Facebook the third-largest initial share sale in U.S. history after Visa Inc and General Motors.
Facebook declined to comment on the increased offering size, which was first reported by CNBC on Tuesday.

The social networking company is drumming up massive demand for the IPO even as slowing revenue and user growth spur questions about the long-term Facebook story.
"This is much more a spectacle, a media event and a cultural moment than it is an IPO," said Max Wolff, an analyst with GreenCrest Capital. "This is not a game of models and fundamentals at this point."

Earlier on Tuesday, General Motors said it planned to pull out of advertising on Facebook, underscoring worries about revenue growth.
-M's announcement, while ill-timed, should not seriously hurt Facebook's IPO reception for now as it may not be representative of advertisers' overall attitude, said Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group.

"The demand for the IPO probably won't be affected materially by this," said Wieser. But he noted that there were probably a lot of calls between underwriters and investors following GM's announcement.
The IPO, Silicon Valley's largest, eclipses the roughly $2 billion debut by Google Inc in 2004.
Facebook raised the target price range to between $34 and $38 per share in response to strong demand, from $28 to $35, according to a Tuesday filing. ( C) Reuters


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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 07:22:30 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Nikkei lower on Greece and China worry]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
The Nikkei share average lost 1.1
percent today as forecasts for profit declines at some of
Japan's major banks and reports of flat bank lending in China
chilled already tepid risk sentiment from fears that Greece
could exit the euro.
	
 The Nikkei fell to 8,801.17, while the broader Topix
index slipped 1.1 percent to 738.88. ( C) Reuters


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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 07:14:57 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Oil weakens on US stocks and Greece]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
il fell more than $1 this morning, with the U.S. benchmark dropping to a five-month low, as a larger-than-expected rise in crude stocks in the United States and fears of Greece's exit from the euro zone muddied the outlook for demand growth.
Investors are worried about the demand for oil as a prolonged political crisis in Greece may push Europe into a deeper financial mess at a time when China is slowing and the U.S. economy remains fragile. Yet, limited spare capacity and fears of a supply disruption have put a floor under prices.

Brent crude slipped as low as $111.06 a barrel and traded at $111.11 by 0527 GMT, sliding for four out of the past five sessions. U.S. oil fell $1.29 a barrel to $92.69 after earlier slipping to $92.55, the lowest since Dec. 19.
"A further $2-$3 fall is acceptable under current conditions," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments. "The market has been under pressure because of weak sentiment. But if you go by supply-demand balance, oil prices are undervalued."

il may recover as the seasonally weak demand period ends and as the U.S. driving season begins, Emori said. He expects supplies to tighten because producer group OPEC and top exporters such as Saudi Arabia have very limited spare capacity as they have already ramped up output to cool prices.
But for now, a steep increase in crude stocks in the world's top consumer, United States, a slow but steady progress in talks with Iran over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear programme and uncertainty surrounding Greece are weighing on prices. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 07:11:29 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[European markets expect new lows]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Financial spreadbetters expect Europe's main stock indexes to set fresh lows today, with investors fretting about a possible Greek exit from the euro zone and its unpredictable ramifications for the rest of the region.

Financial spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE 100 to open 51 to 53 points lower, or as much as 1 percent, Germany's DAX to fall 38 to 47 points, or up to 0.7 percent, and France's CAC-40 to drop 13 to 20 points, also around 0.7 percent. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 07:04:43 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Euro hits record low against Dollar]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The euro hit a four-month low today, coming under renewed pressure a day after Greece called a new election that may hand victory to leftists opposed to the terms of an EU bailout, and raise the risk of the country exiting the euro zone.

The euro dipped below $1.2700 and hit its lowest level since mid-January, falling to $1.26986 at one point on trading platform EBS. The euro was last down 0.2 percent from late U.S. trade on Tuesday at $1.2710. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 07:01:43 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[ISEQ flat as Greeks go back to polls]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The ISEQ inched lower again today after Monday's rout in nervous trading as investors looked with dread to the prospects of a Greek euro exit after new elections.

The index fell 3.75 points to 3,084.74.

Irish investors took no comfort from a robust economic performance by Germany in the first quarter. European equities inched up from 2012 lows on Tuesday, cheered by better-than-expected economic data, but gains were capped by concerns about the future of the euro zone and the possibility of Greece's exit from the bloc. The euro zone economy eked out a flat performance in the first quarter, saved from another contraction by a surprisingly strong showing in Germany, data showed.

DCC has reported preliminary results for the 12 months to end-March 2012. For the period, the group generated EBITA of E185m (Davy predicted E183.3m) and adjusted, diluted EPS of 163.1c (Davy predicted 160.9c). In line with Davy's forecasts, DCC has proposed a 5pc increase in the final dividend, giving a total dividend of 77.89c per share for the year. For the current financial year (2013), management is guiding 15pc and 20pc like-for-like growth in EBITA and adjusted EPS on a constant currency basis and reported basis respectively, with the latter assuming the euro averages Â£0.81 for the year. These forecasts assume a reversion to normal, seasonal temperatures and exclude the impact of the Altimate business on earnings in 2012. Altimate, a DCC SerCom business, was divested in April, after year-end, according to Davy Research. Shares in DCC were flat at E19.90.

Shares in investment group, TVC Holdings, rose 2c to E0.85 after a strong set of full-year results for the year ended March 31st 2012. TVC generated a gross portfolio return of E10.7m for the period, mainly relating to an increase in the value of its 18pc shareholding in UTV Media plc, the disposal of its interest in OpSource Inc and a modest revaluation of an unquoted investment, resulting in growth in net asset value per share of 9pc to E1.14. With a book value of E115.2m at March 31st 2012, TVC's market cap of E80.9m on the same date represented a 30pc discount to book value. The group's net asset value comprises 26pc quoted investments, 63pc cash and government bonds and 11pc prudently valued unquoted investments. TVC's cash and quoted investment in UTV accounted for 89pc of equity value at the end of March. The group has no debt.

-rafton stocks rose 1c to E3.11. In the UK, Marshalls has reported that sales in the first four months of the year have declined by 3pc. Similar to other company updates management highlighted the difficult weather in April, which particularly impacts its domestic business, with sales down 8pc versus broadly flat sales to the public and commercial sector. However, the backlog has improved to 7.5 weeks from 6.3 weeks at the end of February. Management remains cautious on the short-term outlook. "Given the commentary from the likes of Travis Perkins and Grafton, there are no surprises in this update from Marshalls," said Goodbody's analyst, Robert Eason.

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 17:39:25 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Banking lobby fights bonus caps]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[A cap on bank bonuses in the European Union would be intrusive and encourage banks to bump up basic pay instead, leading bank lobby officials said today.

Bankers often receive a bonus of several times their basic annual salary but the European Parliament's economic affairs committee agreed on Monday that bonuses should not be higher than a banker's fixed pay.

The EU Parliament's action follows public outrage at high pay packages in the financial services industry when many banks are still supported by taxpayer money and when there are deep cuts in government spending and rising unemployment.

But bank lobby groups urged caution in legislating over bankers' bonuses.

"We believe that attempts by legislators to set a maximum ratio between fixed and variable remuneration intrudes on the important role of shareholders to determine key questions on pay and commercial strategy," said Simon Lewis, chief executive of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), a banking lobby.
A cap could make lenders more fragile by increasing fixed costs, Lewis said.

Pressure from shareholders has already forced banks such as Barclays and HSBC to rein in cash elements of bonuses.

In the UK, the total bank bonus pot is forecast to nearly halve this year due to the euro zone crisis and investor anger over poor share price performance.
Mark Boleat, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, home to about half the capital's financial services industry, said companies must be free to reward success.
"This measure will lead to increased salary packages and in turn a higher fixed cost base, thereby putting Europe at an economic disadvantage given the cyclical nature of the industry," Boleat said.

He said it was up to shareholders to curb bonuses and they had already taken action.

The European Union introduced certain curbs on banker bonuses in January last year to try to reduce excessive payouts after the financial crisis. These regulations are already some of the toughest in the world and the EU Parliament's bonus cap would make them even tougher. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 17:13:26 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Poll: Weakness to plague eurozone]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The euro zone economy might return to weak growth in the second half of the year but unemployment looks certain to rise past its current 15-year high, according to a Reuters poll of 70 economists.

The survey was conducted before today's news that the euro area narrowly escaped recession by stagnating in the first quarter instead of shrinking, kept afloat only by strong growth in Germany.

But all of the 34 economists who answered an extra question thought the euro zone unemployment rate will head higher, and there are few signs the economy will recover much in the quarters ahead.

Economists had suspected the economy shrank 0.2 percent in the first quarter, but Tuesday's data showed it flatlined.
"Even if the euro zone as a whole narrowly escaped technical recession in Q1, there is no sign of a strong, sustained economic bounce-back on the horizon," said ING economist Martin Van Vliet.

The euro zone economy will shrink around 0.4 percent this year, the poll showed - a far cry from the 2.3 percent growth expected for the United States, which faces its own problems in creating enough jobs.

The poll showed very weak euro zone growth of 0.1 percent returning in the third quarter, and 0.2 percent in the fourth - little changed from last month's survey. But things look gloomier for the current quarter.

"In fact, lead indicators suggest that euro zone growth could fall back into negative territory in Q2," said Van Vliet.
Euro zone companies floundered far more than expected last month, according to business surveys that showed a very poor start to the second quarter.
Purchasing managers indexes, which have a good record of tracking economic growth, suggested even German companies are starting to struggle.
And while Germany surged ahead with growth of 0.5 percent in the first quarter - far more than any economist polled by Reuters expected - the outlook for the currency union's periphery looks increasingly miserable.

Italy's economy slid further into recession in the first three months of the year, declining 0.8 percent quarter-on-quarter.
These debt-laden countries - which include Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal - will probably endure years of economic pain, marked by lengthening dole queues.
The euro zone unemployment rate hit 10.9 percent in March, equalling a record high of 15 years ago, and the poll showed it peaking at 11.4 percent towards the end of this year, or the start of next year.

That would leave more than 25 million euro area citizens out of a job. Workers in Spain and Greece are suffering the most - each country has more than a fifth of its labour force currently unemployed.

Most economists based their forecasts on the assumption there will be no significant worsening of the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, with Greece lurching dangerously over the euro zone's exit's door. If it falls through, chaos would likely filter through financial markets.

"I think the economics are pretty compelling that it's not good for anyone for them to leave - not for the Greeks, not for the European Union, not for the rest of the global economy, at least not at this point," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

"The economics say no, therefore I think that's the most logical, likely scenario, but the politics could trump the economics."

-reece's president will ask politicians on Tuesday to stand aside and let a government of technocrats steer the nation away from bankruptcy, but leftists have already rejected the proposal and look set to force a new election they reckon they can win. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 16:42:27 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Brooks charged over hacking scandal]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Rebekah Brooks, a close confidante of Rupert Murdoch, was charged today with interfering with a police investigation into a phone hacking scandal that has rocked the tycoon's empire and sent shockwaves through the British political establishment.

Brooks, 43, was charged with conspiring to remove boxes of archive records from Murdoch's London headquarters, concealing material from detectives and hiding documents, computers and other electronic equipment from the police. If found guilty she could face a prison sentence.

The charges are the first since police re-launched an investigation into alleged illegal practices at Murdoch's British newspapers following accusations the extent of wrongdoing had been covered up.

The news is a personal blow for the world's most powerful media boss and also embarrassing for British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was close friends with Brooks and sent her text messages of support when the alleged offences took place.

The action against the woman who was one of his most trusted lieutenants comes as Murdoch faces increasing pressure in Britain. He has been forced to close one newspaper, withdraw a major takeover bid for a lucrative TV group and been described in a parliamentary committee report as someone who is not fit to run a major international company.
Murdoch's closeness to Brooks, instantly recognisable for her mane of flame-red hair, was highlighted last year, when the mogul flew into London to tackle the hacking scandal, put his arm around her and declared that she was his top priority.

The charges relate to those frenzied days last July, when Murdoch shut the 168-year-old News of the World, a top-selling Sunday tabloid, and Brooks was first arrested.
Police said "unemployed" Brooks would face three charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

"I have concluded ... there is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction," said Alison Levitt, Principal Legal Advisor to Britain's Director of Public Prosecutions in a rare televised statement.

"All these matters relate to the ongoing police investigation into allegations of phone hacking and corruption of public officials in relation to the News of the World and The Sun newspapers," Levitt said.

Also charged were Brooks's racehorse trainer husband Charlie Brooks, her secretary and other staff including her driver and security officials from News International, the British newspaper arm of Murdoch's News Corp media empire. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 15:55:48 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Facebook IPO set to raise USD12.1bn]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Facebook Inc increased the price range on its initial public offering an average of 14 percent to raise more than $12 billion, giving the world's No. 1 social network a valuation potentially exceeding $100 billion.

The company, which began in a Harvard dorm room by Mark Zuckerberg, raised the target range to between $34 and $38 per share in response to strong demand, from $28 to $35, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today.

That would value Facebook at roughly $93 billion to $104 billion, rivalling the market capitalisation of Internet powerhouses such as Amazon.com Inc, and exceeding that of Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc combined.

The price increase indicates intense market demand, which means Facebook's shares are likely to see a big pop on their first day of trading on Nasdaq on Friday, analysts said.
"It's confounding but the evidence is that if companies raise the range they will pop more," said Josef Schuster, founder of Chicago-based financial services firm IPOX Schuster LLC. "It signals that there is such a strong demand that it will create a momentum for other investors who want to jump on."

In the biggest-ever IPO to emerge from Silicon Valley, Facebook will raise $12.1 billion based on the mid-point price of $36 and the 337.4 million shares on offer, or 12.3 percent of the company.

At this mid-point, Facebook would be valued at roughly 27 times its 2011 annual revenue, or 99 times earnings. When Google Inc went public in 2004 at a valuation of $23 billion, it was valued at 16 times trailing revenue and 218 times earnings. Apple, meanwhile, went public in 1980 at a valuation of 25 times revenue and 102 times earnings.
Wall Street had expected Facebook to increase its price range, with investors eager to get a slice of a strong consumer brand. The IPO roadshow began last week and has drawn crowds of investors from coast to coast.

Facebook plans to close the books on its IPO later on Tuesday, two days ahead of schedule, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters on Monday. It is scheduled to price its shares on Thursday and begin trading on Nasdaq on Friday.

The IPO is already "well oversubscribed," which is why the company will close its books earlier than anticipated, the source said.

Facebook's capital-raising target far outstrips other big Internet IPOs. Google raised just shy of $2 billion in 2004, while last year Groupon Inc tapped investors for $700 million and Zynga Inc raked in $1 billion.

The IPO comes amid concerns from some investors that Facebook has not yet figured out a way to make money from an increasing number of users who access the social network on mobile devices such as smartphones.

Company executives met with prospective investors in Chicago on Monday and were slated to travel to Kansas City, Missouri, and Denver, before returning to Facebook's Menlo Park, California, headquarters.

A host of Wall Street banks are underwriting Facebook's offering, with Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs serving as leads. Facebook will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol FB. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 15:45:56 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Wall St flat as Greek elections loom]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[.S. stocks traded flat today, erasing strong gains in the premarket session after news Greece will hold new elections put the debt-stricken country's bailout package and debt repayments further at risk.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2.42 points, or 0.02 percent, to 12,692.93. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.02 points, or 0.00 percent, to 1,338.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 5.89 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,908.47.

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 15:38:39 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Greece to hold new elections]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[-reece will hold new elections after political leaders failed to find agreement on a coalition government today, a spokesman for the Greek president said.

A caretaker government to lead the country to fresh polls will be appointed tomorrow, the presidency spokesman said after party leaders held a final round of talks.
"We're heading to elections," the spokesman told reporters.


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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 14:52:18 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[US retail sales barely move in April]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Sales at U.S. retailers barely rose in April as the boost from an unseasonably warm winter faded, pointing to some loss of momentum in consumer spending early in the second quarter.

But retreating gasoline prices, which put a lid on inflation pressures last month, should put more money in American's pockets and boost spending in the months ahead.
Retail sales edged up 0.1 percent, held back by a decline in receipts from building materials and clothing stores, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. That was the smallest gain since December when sales were flat.

ther data showed manufacturing remained resilient, with a gauge of factory activity in New York state bouncing higher this month as new orders and shipments rose.
The New York Federal Reserve said its Empire State general business conditions index jumped to 17.09 in May from 6.56 in April, outpacing economists' expectations of 8.50.
"Growth is there, but it's not that convincing," said David Sloan, senior economist at 4CAST in New York.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index was unchanged last month after rising 0.3 percent in March. Excluding food and energy, core CPI gained 0.2 percent, matching the increase posted in March.

.S. stock index futures added to gains on the data, while bond prices extended losses. The dollar gained against the yen.

March's sales were revised slightly down to show a 0.7 percent rise rather than the previously reported 0.8 percent increase. Economists polled by Reuters had expected retail sales to gain 0.2 percent last month.

 nusually warm weather pulled forward sales in the prior months, resulting in first-quarter consumer spending rising at its fastest clip in more than a year.
Consumer spending increased at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the first three months of this year. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 14:47:44 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[State's debt at record high in Q4]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The State's total debt rose to a record high in the last three months of last year while households continued to pay off their loans, according to the Central Bank's latest Quarterly Financial Accounts.

-overnment liabilities continued to increase during Q4 2011 reaching E173.3 billion, their highest level to date. This represented an increase of E3.2 billion or 2pc on the previous quarter, the report said.

By the fourth quarter of the year, loans from the EU-IMF programme were E34.2 billion, almost 20pc of total liabilities.

In contrast, households continued to reduce debt, with liabilities falling by 1.1pc to E184.6 billion, or E41,169 per capita. The figure also marks a 13pc decline on the peak level of E212.2 billion reached in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The figures also showed a fall in the net worth of the average household to E457 billion, or E101,962 per capita. That represented a 3.4pc fall compared with the preceding quarter, and a 36.9pc drop from the peak in the second quarter of 2007.

The crash in property prices has been largely blamed for the reduction in household net worth over the past few years.

The total domestic sector was a net borrower during the final quarter of 2011, although at a lower level than previously. That was partly due to a reduced Government deficit for the quarter, and was also partly influenced by net lending by households.

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 14:14:35 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Hours-based part-time pay system fairer]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[An hours-based system for part-time jobseeker's payments would be much fairer and more equitable, according to a new report by the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education.

The current system, which is based on a number of days worked per week, disenfranchises a number of part-time workers from jobseeker's payments, the report A Review of the Status of Casual Workers in Ireland said.

"Part-time workers are classified as those who work less hours than their contemporaries. However, this classification fails to define the number of hours 'less' refers to. As a consequence, taking into account the three in six day rule, one person could work two twelve hour shifts over two days and be entitled to claim three days benefit, whilst another person could work only two hours over five days and not qualify for benefit. This is clearly unfair due to the changing work patterns in Ireland and the need to bring people back into the workforce. Consequently this discrepancy needs to be addressed," said the author and Committee Member Anthony Lawlor.

The report recommends that part-time work should be defined as working 24 or less hours per week. It also proposes that the Part Time Jobs Incentive Scheme should be more widely advertised and eligibility for the scheme reduced from 15 months to 11 months.

Any change to the system should not have a negative knock-on effect on an individual's entitlement to other supports, according to the report. It recommends that a concerted effort is made from governmental level to inform unemployed people of their entitlements if they re-enter the workforce and reassure the public that their financial circumstances may not be adversely affected by returning to part-time work.

"Those who are unemployed and on the Live Register should not be discouraged from seeking part-time work and should not feel that it is more of a benefit to them to remain entirely unemployed and receive social welfare than to engage in part-time work. It is vital for Ireland to have a fair and equitable system in regards to those who are unemployed and want to re-enter the workforce by seeking part-time employment. However, such a change to the system must be done on a relatively revenue neutral basis without having an overall negative impact on the Live Register figures," said Mr Lawlor.

"With so many people unemployed, we should be encouraging people to try to enter the workforce, even if it is only part-time work. By going ahead with the reforms suggested in this report, we will be taking a step towards improving the standard of living of jobseekers and creating a fairer and equitable social welfare system."

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 14:07:00 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[ISEQ inches lower in nervous trading]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The ISEQ inched lower again after yesterday's rout in nervous trading as investors looked with dread to the prospects of a Greek euro exit.

By 12:30, the ISEQ was down 9.49 points to 3,078.82.

Irish investors took no comfort from a robust economic performance by Germany in the first quarter. European equities inched up from 2012 lows on Tuesday, cheered by better-than-expected economic data, but gains were capped by concerns about the future of the euro zone and the possibility of Greece's exit from the bloc. The euro zone economy eked out a flat performance in the first quarter, saved from another contraction by a surprisingly strong showing in Germany, data showed.

DCC has reported preliminary results for the 12 months to end-March 2012. For the period, the group generated EBITA of E185m (Davy: E183.3m) and adjusted, diluted EPS of 163.1c (Davy: 160.9c). In line with our forecasts, DCC has proposed a 5pc increase in the final dividend, giving a total dividend of 77.89c per share for the year. For the current financial year (FY 2013), management is guiding 15pc and 20pc like-for-like growth in EBITA and adjusted EPS on a constant currency basis and reported basis respectively, with the latter assuming the EUR averages Â£0.81 for the year. These forecasts assume a reversion to normal, seasonal temperatures and exclude the impact of the Altimate business on earnings in FY 2012. Altimate, a DCC SerCom business, was divested in April, after year-end, according to Davy Research. Shares in DCC fell 25c to E19.66.

Shares in investment group, TVC Holdings, rose 3c to E0.86 after a strong set of full-year results for the year ended March 31st 2012. TVC generated a gross portfolio return of E10.7m for the period, mainly relating to an increase in the value of its 18pc shareholding in UTV Media plc, the disposal of its interest in OpSource Inc and a modest revaluation of an unquoted investment, resulting in growth in net asset value per share of 9pc to E1.14. With a book value of E115.2m at March 31st 2012, TVC's market cap of E80.9m on the same date represented a 30pc discount to book value. The group's net asset value comprises 26pc quoted investments, 63pc cash and government bonds and 11pc prudently valued unquoted investments. TVC's cash and quoted investment in UTV accounted for 89pc of equity value at the end of March. The group has no debt.

-rafton stocks rose 3c to E3.13. in the UK, Marshalls has reported that sales in the first four months of the year have declined by 3pc. Similar to other company updates management highlighted the difficult weather in April, which particularly impacts its domestic business, with sales down 8pc versus broadly flat sales to the public and commercial sector. However, the backlog has improved to 7.5 weeks from 6.3 weeks at the end of February. Management remains cautious on the short-term outlook. "Given the commentary from the likes of Travis Perkins and Grafton, there are no surprises in this update from Marshalls," said Goodbody's analyst, Robert Eason.

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 12:48:37 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Musgrave Group profits dip 1pc in 2011]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Convenience retail chain owners, Musgrave Group, today posted a 1.6pc rise in overall sales but a 1pc dip in profits for the full year to the end of December last as the economic backdrop remain challenging.

The Group reported sales of E4.5 billion up 1.6pc, delivering a profit of E71 million 1pc below last year.

Debt increased from a net cash position of E21 million in 2010 to E187 million at year end following the acquisition of Superquinn.

"Despite the economic challenges and a consumer that is focused on spending less, we have delivered a good performance with turnover and profit remaining steady for the third consecutive year. 2012 continues to be tough but our brands are performing well, benefiting from customers who want to shop locally for value," said Chris Martin, Musgrave Group chief executive.

"The past three years have brought profound and permanent change to the grocery sector in each of our markets. Against this backdrop, we initiated a transformation programme to strengthen our brands and to improve the competitiveness of our business. Through brand innovation, investing in consumer insight, improved partnership with suppliers and a sustained focus on cost reduction we have delivered better value to consumers," he added.

The group said that, together with its SuperValu, Centra and Daybreak partners, it invested E284 million in Ireland in 2011 in store openings, refurbishments and acquisitions.

"This investment programme helped to increase the number of people employed by Musgrave and our retail partners to 35,000 which is almost 14pc of the total number of people working in the retail sector in Ireland."

Looking ahead, Mr Martin said the outlook for the Group for 2012 "remains challenging" especially in Ireland where he expects to see little to no growth in the grocery market.

"Nonetheless our brands are performing well with positive sales growth in both the Irish and British markets. For 2012 we are continuing to improve the quality and depth of the offer for shoppers with the introduction of the SuperValu Own Brand range in Ireland and the UK. Initial customer indications are good with a 15pc increase in Own Brand sales. We are forecasting to achieve E1 billion in Own Brand sales across the Group by 2014."

"Through our transformation programme we are now a stronger more efficient business with market leading brands and the agility to respond quickly to changing consumer demand. We have put in place medium term debt facilities as well as a long term private placement which has given the Group available facilities of E435 million. Together these elements are providing us with the solid foundations to support our retail partners and to deliver sustainable growth."

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 12:34:31 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Galway's Crospon wins top Euro award]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Crospon, the Galway-based medical device developer, has been recognised with the 2012 European Enabling Technology Award for Surgical Imaging Technology by Frost and Sullivan.

The award is in recognition of Crospon's pioneering work in the development of a leading edge minimally invasive medical device for monitoring, diagnosis, and therapy in the gastroenterology area.

The EndoFLIP (Endolumenal Functional Lumen Imaging Probe) Imaging System is a revolutionary new technology used for measuring the inner dimensions and functions of critical sphincters and lumens in the gastrointestinal tract and different parts of the body.

The EndoFLIP technology provides a direct measure of mechanical properties, such as the stretching capacity of sphincters and valves in the human body. Previously, this could not be measured directly, and doctors had to depend on indirect measures, such as manometry.

"The revolutionary EndoFLIP technology is a minimally invasive procedure designed to measure the physical properties of the esophageal or any sphincter in the body," said Frost and Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Darshana De. "It is a ten-minute procedure and allows for more accurate data compared to traditional manometry. EndoFLIP technology offers both functional and real-time imaging information of the sphincters and is a quick and low-cost option for detecting gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)."

Commenting on the Frost and Sullivan recognition, John O'Dea, CEO Crospon said, "Crospon is pleased to have received recognition from Frost &amp; Sullivan for its EndoFLIP surgical imaging technology. The Company continues to build on this platform technology to move into more therapeutic focused areas including the development of smart dilation catheters with integrated imaging for esophageal disorders (EsoFLIP), and a smart valvuloplasty platform for sizing TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) valves (TAVIFLIP)."

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 12:16:58 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Call for overhaul of co-op laws]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The co-operative business model should benefit from the same privileges investor owned companies have under company law, a major conference marking the UN International Year of Co-operatives heard in Dublin this morning.

President Michael D. Higgins will address the Co-operative Alliance Conference at Croke Park, organised by the three major co-op bodies in Ireland, the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, Irish League of Credit Unions and the National Association of Building Co-operatives.

The combined co-operative organisations have over 3 million individual and business members nationwide.

The co-op industry in Ireland has a turnover in excess of E12 billion. There are some 1,000 co-ops in Ireland, and the largest 100 organisations employ approximately 40,000 people. The conference was addressed this morning by Innovation Minister Sean Sherlock and by the President of the International Co-operative Alliance, Dame Pauline Green.

Seamus O'Donohoe, Chief Executive, Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, said "Successive Irish governments have focussed on updating and consolidating company law while largely neglecting the Industrial and Provident Societies Act whose parent legislation is now almost 120 years old."

"The Act needs a serious overhaul to ensure that co-operatives can continue to contribute strongly to Ireland's economic recovery. Promised legislation must be completed and pushed through in 2012 to support this aim. This will ensure that the co-operative business model will benefit from the same opportunities and privileges currently available to investor owned companies under company law."

Highlighting current anomalies, he said "co-operatives in Ireland currently function under legislation where there is no statutory definition of what constitutes a co-operative. Members are also subject to statutory financial limits in regard to how much shareholding they may invest in their co-operative. Smaller co-operatives also cannot avail of audit exemption provisions available to certain companies and they cannot avail of existing examinership provisions.

"Registration fees under the current societies act are also set at a level that can be two to four times higher than those being paid by subscribers seeking to register a company under the companies act. Co-operative societies are not in a position to be the sponsors of employment and investment incentive schemes, formerly the business expansion scheme."

"The role of the co-operative movement in Ireland is limited in comparison to that in other countries and there is a striking disparity between Ireland and other countries in the sectors where co-operative businesses have flourished. This needs to be addressed to facilitate the future growth and development of modern day co-operative businesses."

"The significance of the co-operative movement internationally indicates that the co-operative model could play a far greater role in a social context in Ireland, in areas such as consumer retailing, childcare, elder care, education, healthcare and banking. In Ireland this potential remains largely untapped partly due to the lack of visibility and understanding of the sector. Clearly defined legislation will promote and stimulate further economic development by this important industry sector," O'Donohoe concluded.

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 11:57:05 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Finance ministers edge towards bank deal]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[European finance ministers edged closer today to breaking a deadlock on tougher capital standards for banks, a reform designed to prevent another financial crisis but which has exposed deep rifts between Britain and the rest of the EU.

Britain refused to back a draft of the law earlier this month, when its finance minister, George Osborne, accused fellow ministers of trying to water down the new rules to a point where they would make him "look like an idiot".

But he struck a more conciliatory tone on Tuesday, acknowledging the depth of the crisis in the euro zone that has, in recent days, driven Spain to take over major lender Bankia and prompted a sweeping downgrade of Italy's banks by rating agency Moody's.

The deal would be a milestone in deciding how much capital lenders should have to set aside to cover risks, one of the central questions raised by a five-year-long financial crisis that has toppled dozens of banks in Europe.

In recent days, Osborne had been alone among the 27 European Union finance ministers in calling for further changes to a law that introduces rules written by international regulators for the European Union's 8,300 banks next year.

Entering a finance ministers' meeting on Tuesday, he signalled a breakthrough was within reach.
"This is a time of considerable uncertainty in the euro zone economies," he said.
"We are reaching a point where we have got to make a decision to see the euro zone stand behind their currency. A very important part of that is strengthening the entire European banking system and that is what we intend to do today."

Anticipating criticism that London was climbing down on earlier demands, British officials have privately emphasised that any accord would leave them full flexibility to increase bank's capital cushions beyond the scope of the pan-European agreement without interference from Brussels.
Finding compromise is also necessary to avert a further deterioration in relations between Britain and the rest of Europe after Prime Minister David Cameron last year blocked plans in December to change an EU treaty to enforce budget controls, alienating the rest of the bloc.

Margrethe Vestager, the economy minister of Denmark - which as holder of the rotating EU presidency plays a central role in negotiating deals - said she believed an accord was within reach.

"We hope to get a deal," she said. "(Going back to) the drawing board is not an attractive option."
Higher capital buffers strengthen banks to withstand shocks, such as the slump in property prices or recession now hitting Spain. Banks with higher-than-average capital, such as Switzerland's UBS, attract deposits.

If financial markets shunned a particular country in the bloc and it needed emergency funding, for example, more capital would help banks resist contagion.
sborne, however, is concerned about what he sees as the creeping powers of Brussels. He wants to defend Britain's autonomy in controlling financial services, which account for around 9 percent of its economy.

Having bankrolled the 46-billion-pound rescue of Royal Bank of Scotland, the world's biggest bailout during the financial crisis, Britain has fought for the freedom to set higher capital standards than the EU norm.

sborne has argued that Britain - not the EU's executive Commission - should decide how to ensure its banks are safe, as it would bear the financial consequences of a bailout.
 nder one model, Britain would be able to raise a bank's minimum capital from the 7 percent core tier 1 capital ratio - set by the so-called Basel III code - to 12 percent. Above this, it would need approval from the European Commission.

Such a deal could irritate anti-EU members of Osborne's Conservative Party, which rules Britain in a coalition government.

sborne is pushing for a commitment from other countries not to interfere with its banking reforms which will force banks to hold more capital than under the EU agreement.
In exchange, he may however have to drop objections to measures including the recognition of a unique form of shareholder capital often used for German regional landesbanks that he believes waters down the Basel regulatory standards on bank standards in EU law.

Countries will now have to negotiate a final version of the bank law with the European Parliament. Many of its key members want to have more EU control over how countries levy additional capital demands. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 11:38:48 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Eurozone economy just misses recession]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[The euro zone just avoided recession in early 2012 but the region's debt crisis sapped the life out of the French and Italian economies and widened a split with paymaster Germany.

Euro zone gross domestic product stagnated in the first quarter, the EU's statistics office Eurostat said today.

That was a touch better than forecast by economists, who had expected a 0.2 percent slump, and dodging a technical recession following a 0.3 percent contraction in the last three months of 2011.

A surprisingly strong 0.5 percent expansion by Germany, Europe's biggest economy, appeared to save the bloc from recession, even as the French economy stalled and Italy reported weaker-than-expected output that epitomised southern Europe's anaemic economies.

"Germany is leading the bloc, but this doesn't mean we will have a strong rebound, austerity is not going away and southern European economies are really struggling," said Mads Koefoed, a senior economist at Saxo Bank. "We are looking at stagnation to very mild growth in the year to come," he said.
Barely out of the 2009 financial crisis, businesses and households in much of Europe are hampered anew as governments cut back on spending to curtail budget deficits and companies freeze plans to invest.

Despite two summits this year and another planned for next week, EU leaders have been unable to find a way back to growth, while many southern Europeans are turning against austerity measures, holding huge street protests in Madrid and backing radical political parties in Greece's recent elections.

ptimism in January that the euro zone would recover quickly in 2012 has been crushed by unexpected contractions in manufacturing, consumer confidence and business morale, while one in 10 euro zone workers is out of a job.

"The euro zone economy... is not likely to recover any time soon," said Jurgen Michels, an economist at Citigroup in London.
-ermany's economy, lifted by exports of precision machinery and luxury cars, bounced back from a 0.2 percent contraction in the last three months of 2011.
Austria, Slovakia and Finland also posted modest growth.

But for the rest of the bloc, efforts to reduce deficits are costing growth and making it harder to reach EU-mandated targets, calling into question the wisdom of cutting so deeply.
"There's a growing divergence in the euro zone, with particularly sharp contractions in the peripheral countries that need to do the most structural reforms, while Germany is the outperformer," said Joost Beaumont at ABN Amro in Amsterdam.

Italy's economy, the third largest in the euro zone, contracted by more than expected in the first quarter, falling 0.8 percent and marking the third consecutive quarter contraction.
After a decade of falling productivity in Italy, the impact of the debt crisis has highlighted how barriers to competition, heavy regulation and bureaucracy are dragging on the economy, discouraging investments and prosperity.

"Technical recession is here to stay for at least another couple of quarters," said Paolo Pizzoli, an economist at ING.

Spain, which is struggling to reduce a huge deficit and rebuild its banking sector following a burst property bubble, is already in recession, after GDP shrank 0.3 percent in the first quarter.

Even in the wealthy Netherlands, economic output contracted for a third consecutive quarter, shrinking 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, underscoring just how damaging the crisis has become. (C ) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 11:22:58 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Just one strike on during first quarter]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[There was only one dispute in progress in the first quarter of 2012 involving 75 workers and one firm, latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

There was a total of just 161 working days lost to industrial unrest in the period, it said.

This compares with three disputes for the same period last year involving 335 workers and resulting in 2,451 days lost.

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 11:12:15 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Survey sees attitude to savings polarise]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[While the general attitude of Irish people towards savings continues to improve, the number of people not saving at all continues to increase, the latest Nationwide UK (Ireland) /ESRI Savings Index shows.

The index increased 14 points to 93 on the back of an improvement in consumer attitudes to the amount they are saving, it found.

The proportion of people saving more than they think they should, increased from 1pc in March to 3pc in April and a further 42pc are comfortable with the amount they are currently saving which is an increase of 4pc on this time last year.

The survey found that 55pc of people feel they are saving less than they think they should, the same as last month but this is 4pc lower than the level recorded in April 2011.

The proportion of people saving regularly is now 41pc compared to 36pc a year ago, however, the percentage of people who are not saving at all has also increased over this period from 31pc to 38pc.

In the past month, there has also been a decline in the percentage of people who think that government policy discourages saving from 58pc to 54pc and a decline from 44pc to 40pc in those who believe that now is not a good time to save. 77pc expect to maintain their level of saving over the next six months and 13pc expect to be saving more.

"While the index increased in April, it is lower than this time last year and saving behaviour is polarising. Some people appear to have adjusted their spending and saving behaviour according to their specific circumstances and an increasing proportion of people are happy with the amount they are saving. Although it remains a concern that a large proportion are not saving at all or are incapable of saving at present," said Brendan Synnott, Managing Director of Nationwide (UK) Ireland.

2In terms of future prospects for saving, most people expect the economic status quo to continue. People are not expecting things to get better but interestingly, fewer people now expect things to get worse."

It found that 51pc of people intend to use surplus cash to pay-off debts including mortgages. This is a 9pc increase on this time last year. 36pc would save the money a decrease from 39pc in April 2011. 9pc said they would spend surplus cash.

In terms of how much money people are saving each month, 13pc save up to E25; 13pc save between E26 and E50; 30pc save between E51 to E100; a further 24pc save between E101 and E200 and 20pc save in excess of E200 monthly.

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 11:01:45 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Google's Android gain market share]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[-oogle's Android smartphone software stretched its market lead in early 2012, helped by new models from handset makers like Samsung and HTC and piling the pressure on rivals like Research In Motion and Nokia.

Research from Kantar WorldPanel on Tuesday showed Android gaining share strongly in most of seven major markets - Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States - in the 12 weeks to mid April.

In Spain and Italy, its market share more than doubled year-on-year to 72 percent and 49 percent respectively, while it almost doubled to 62 percent in Germany.

Strong demand for the iPhone 4S helped market No.2 Apple narrow the gap with Android in the United States and Britain, but its share slipped in continental Europe.
Microsoft's Windows Phone began to show some signs of growth thanks to Nokia's decision to swap its legacy Symbian platform for Windows.

Windows' share in Germany more than doubled to 6 percent over the past year, and climbed to 3-4 percent in Britain, France, Italy and the United States.

These gains came at the expense of Nokia's Symbian platform and Canadian BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, the biggest market share losers. RIM's share in the U.S. market dropped to just 3 percent from 9 percent a year earlier.

Kantar said HTC's One X model made a strong start in Britain, making the Top 10 list for the 12 week period even though it was on sale for less than a week.
(C ) Reuters


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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 10:36:56 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Min: Security problems at Dub Airport]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Transport minister, Leo Varadkar, this morning confirmed that an inspection by EU officials had found two security problems at Dublin Airport.

The Commission undertakes these audits at all airports in the EU periodically, in line with EU aviation security legislation, to assess compliance with the EU common aviation security rules.

The Commission found two deficiencies during the audit at Dublin and, as a result, is imposing some additional security procedures on aircraft departing from Dublin and arriving into other EU airports.

"The first matter has been resolved. The other is technical in nature and does not affect passenger screening or baggage handling at the airport. Dublin Airport will adopt back-up procedures to address this second matter in the short term, while a longer term solution is implemented, and the security of the airport is maintained," the Minister said.

"These additional procedures are not expected to have any significant impact on passengers at Dublin airport unless they are transferring through another EU airport en route to their final destination, in which case they will be required to undergo screening again. This does not impact on other airports in the State."

"I take these findings by the EU Commission very seriously and have taken steps to ensure that any deficiencies are rectified swiftly. I have met with officials from both my own Department and from the DAA, and I visited the airport on Monday. Immediate steps have now been taken."

"I cannot provide further detailed information on the audit findings, or respond further publicly on security grounds. However, I can assure that every effort is being made to enhance the measures in place to ensure they fully meet all EU requirements. I have also asked that the National Civil Aviation Security Committee, which is chaired by my Department and includes representatives of the different agencies and companies involved in aviation security, shall be convened and fully briefed on developments this week.
"I expect a full rectification plan to be submitted to the EU authorities in the near future and will also ensure that, if necessary, additional enforcement measures are put in place so that deficiencies are avoided and that there is sustainable compliance with aviation security requirements. The DAA, the Department and I will look for full support from suppliers and others operating at the airport in ensuring that standards are met so that these additional procedures which have been imposed can be lifted as soon as possible."

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 10:23:14 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[TVC earnings up on UTV investment boost]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Net Asset Value per share (NAV) at Dublin-listed investment group, TVC Holdings rose in its full year to the end of March last after rises in several of its portfolio assets, including UTV.

The Shane Reihill led company said the group's NAV per share has risen from E1.08 at 30 September 2011 to E1.14 at 31 March 2012, reflecting an uplift in the value of the group's 18.0pc stake in UTV. Over the full year, the NAV increase is +9pc or 9c per share.

Net assets at 31 March 2012 totalled E115.2m and comprised cash and government bonds of E72.6m (63pc), the group's holding in UTV valued at E29.9m (26pc) and unquoted investments prudently carried at E12.2m (11pc). There is no comment on the group's future plans for its 18.0pc holding in UTV following the decision of TVC's Executive Chairman in February to resign from the board of the media company.

Executive chairman Shane Reihill said he was satisfied with the performance and said the company was in a very strong position to make additional long-term investments "at what we expect to be attractive valuations".

"We believe there are restructuring opportunities in Ireland and the UK where trading companies with excessive debt need to raise new equity at attractive terms for new investors. TVC management has extensive experience of complex restructuring and turnaround transactions and is well placed to capitalise on this environment."

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 10:18:10 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[DCC: We'll bounce back after profits dip]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[Dublin-listed business services and fuel distribution group DCC said it would bounce back from an 18pc dip in operating profit, dented by milder weather and higher oil prices during the winter months.

The group, whose energy business makes up more than half of its profits, said it expected a 15pc rise in operating profit and earnings per share in the current financial year on a constant currency basis.

"Given normal winter weather we feel (DCC) Energy is in a good place and the rest of the group has performed well," DCC's Chief Executive, Tommy Breen told Reuters.
"We would expect a strong recovery in DCC Energy's operating profit," he added.

DCC, which also sells a broad range of products from computer games to coffee, lowered its expectations in February for its annual operating profit from 212 million euros to 175-190 million euros.

It said today that operating profit dropped 18pc on a constant currency basis to 185.0 million euros, in line with expectations.

perating profit at DCC Energy fell 38 percent, with the average temperature in the UK - DCC Energy's largest market - the mildest on record in the quarter to end-December.

DCC said it had raised its dividend by 5 percent to 77.89 cents and reported a 25 percent rise in revenue to 10.7 billion euros largely due to acquisitions across all its businesses.

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 10:12:31 GMT</pubDate>
    
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    <title><![CDATA[Flat economy poses problem for Hollande]]></title>
    <description><![CDATA[
France's economy stalled in the first quarter as household consumption flatlined, businesses pared back investment and exports slowed, underlining the challenge facing Socialist President Francois Hollande as he takes office today.
It may add to his drive to push the euro zone to adopt growth as well as austerity policies.
The euro zone's second-largest economy posted zero growth in the first three months of the year, the INSEE national statistics institute said, after an anemic expansion of just 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, revised down from 0.2 percent.

While the data indicated France's nearly 2 trillion euro economy avoided recession, it painted a grim outlook for 2012 and strengthened Hollande's case for a shift away from austerity in Europe towards more growth orientated policies, ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel later in the day.
"There was no good surprise," said Philippe Waechter, chief economist at Natixis Asset Management. "There was weak consumption, no investment."
The zero percent growth figure was in line with the forecast of a Reuters poll of 31 economists and showed France's economy returning to stagnation after just two consecutive quarters of positive growth.

Its weak performance was cast in sharp relief by better-than-expected growth in Germany, where the economy expanded by 0.5 percent in the first quarter, bouncing back more strongly than expected from a small fourth-quarter contraction.
-rowth in household consumption, the motor of France's economy, picked up slightly to 0.2 percent after 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter.
But capital investment fell 0.8 percent, after growing 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter, amid reports of companies struggling to access credit and holding back capital spending until after the April-May elections which gave France its first Socialist president since 1995.

Net trade contributed a negative 0.1 percent to growth, as imports grew by 0.7 percent due to demand for refined petroleum products. Export growth slowed to 0.3 percent, amid weakness in southern European economies.
Restocking by companies provided a slender 0.1 percent boost to overall GDP growth.
"Export growth slowed, probably due to weak demand from France's main trading partners (Italy and Spain), which absorb around 15 percent of exports," said Joost Beaumont, senior economist at ABN Amro.

"Meanwhile, companies put investments on the shelf, most likely reflecting the uncertain economic outlook as well as tight lending conditions," he added.
Beaumont predicted these negative factors would remain in place, resulting in a slight contraction in second-quarter GDP. Thereafter, a fragile recovery would take hold, restrained by the need for ongoing fiscal consolidation in France and the economic weakness in its trading partners in southern Europe. ( C) Reuters

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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 09:53:47 GMT</pubDate>
    
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