Nationalisation of Northern Rock secures customers' accounts
::: Business Week
IRISH customers of troubled bank Northern Rock were told that there money was safe after the lender was nationalised.
Last year the Newcastle-based bank ran into financial difficulties because of global "credit crunch" and was forced to ask Bank of England for emergency funds.
EXISTA, the Icelandic investment house which has built up an 8pc stake in Greencore, has hired Deutsche Bank, who was also Greencore's second largest investors last year, to advise it on a possible bid for the company. Exista has taken on the advice of Deutsche's London office.
A GLOBAL hedge fund revealed plans to employ 150 people in administration services over the next five years.
Citco Fund Services confirmed it is to create 150 new jobs in Blackrock, Co Cork, as it expands its Irish hedge fund offices.
E-PAYMENTS company Payzone, whose two top executives are fighting to hold onto their posts, is understood to be raising about €33m of fresh equity ahead of the lifting of a month-long trading suspension of its stock.
The group, formed last December through the merger of Irish e-payments company Alphyra and UK cash-machine operator Cardpoint, is in talks to issue new shares to an unnamed French company.
APN News & Media, the Australasian publishing group in which Independent News & Media (INM) has a 39.2pc shareholding, announced record after-tax profits of AU$169.4m for 2007, up 8pc on the previous year.
The APN share price rose by 5pc to finish 24c higher at AU$5.04, largely on the back of a bullish statement from APN chief executive Brendan Hopkins on the prospects for this year.
SHARES in Allied Irish Bank shares advanced 3.3pc after the group's full-year earnings per share rose 13pc to meet market expectations.
However, analysts are set to pare back their forecasts after the country's biggest bank forecast "low single-digit" percentage profit growth this year.
AER Lingus threatened to suspend half its workforce on Monday in a dramatic escalation of a bitter cost-cutting row.
The 1,800 workers, all members of SIPTU, are strongly resisting the airline's plans to unilaterally introduce new work practices from next week.
BORD Gais' 900 workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of setting up an employee share ownership plan (Esop) which will give them an average windfall of over €36,300.
The power workers will see them take a 3.27pc stake in the State-owned gas supplier in return for agreeing to €32.7m of cost-saving measures over the next five years.
THE Dublin Airport Authority has formally applied for a 50pc hike in check-in charges levied on airlines and has taken the first steps towards introducing new charges for check-in kiosks.
The move has been greeted with outrage by Ireland's three largest airlines, who have been given until next Friday to make submissions to the aviation regulator on the proposals.
- Lee Clarke
