Irish Independent (Dublin, Republic of Ireland) back issues from February 2007:
RISKY BUSINESS.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: PAT BOYLE PRIVATE equity investors hate risk. I mean, really hate it. Even the huge returns which are available to investors in the oil industry are not sufficient to tempt these investors into the sector. By and large they have confined their activity to ...
Brussels warning to high fee banks.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Bernard Purcell in Brussels BANK customers are being charged excessive prices for using payment cards and holding accounts because of cosy arrangements between themselves to keep out foreign competitors, the European Commission said yesterday. But unless ...
Anglo on brink of raising EU570m.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Tom McEnaney ANGLO Irish Bank is rumoured to be mulling over a possible 5pc share issue which would raise EU570m. It is understood the bank may announce the issue in the next few days, possibly as early as this morning. Anglo shares fell by 1.46pc to EU15.51 ...
LTV shines for NIB as growth surges ahead.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Cyril Hardiman NATIONAL Irish Bank has reported new business growth at twice the market rate for 2006, translating into faster-than-expected profit appreciation under the ownership of Danske Bank. NIB's loan book grew by 51pc last year, made u p of a 52pc ...
Big Two, AIB and BoI, have the highest current account charges.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Charlie Weston THE two larger banks have emerged as having the highest charges for current accounts. AIB and Bank of Ireland charge the most for operating personal current accounts, according to a study from the Financial Regulator. The survey ...
Tycoon adds to his impressive hotel portfolio with 45pc stake in the Conrad.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Cyril Hardiman FOUR shareholders - including three pension funds and Cork businessman Tom Cavanagh - are believed to have participated in the sale of a 45pc stake in Dublin's Conrad Hotel to Bernard McNamara. The purchase price is not known, but sources ...
Credit unions top debt poll.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Samantha McCaughren CREDIT unions obtained more judgments for non-payment of debts than any other institution last year. Bank of Ireland has topped the annual judgments survey by BusinessPro Credit Bureau for several years, but the first time in six years, ...
Race on to operate Britain's 'Vegas'.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Pat Boyle THE fight has already begun to see who will operate the UK's new super-casino. But first, there could be a legal challenge to the decision to award the licence to the city of Manchester, which was selected ahead of Blackpool and Greenwich in London, ...
All has changed, changed utterly in the little green isle.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: BRENDAN KEENAN EVEN for those of us who are supposed to keep an eye on it, it is difficult to absorb the startling changes in the Irish economy in little more than a decade. For those with more important things to do with their lives, it must be impossible. ...
Vodafone won't rule out further job cuts.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Ailish O'Hora VODAFONE strategy director Gerry Fahy has not ruled out further job losses at the mobile phone operator in addition to the 100 positions that are expected to be lost as part of an ongoing review of the company's operations. Commenting yesterday ...
Coveney call over Motorola 'pull-out'.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: AILISH O'HORA GOVERNMENT plans to award a EU250m contract to a consortium involving Motorola will be raised in the Dail next week. The move comes following news that US giant Motorola is on the brink of pulling out of Ireland with the loss of 350 jobs in Cork ....
Buoyant Tullow for $200m drilling.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Pat Boyle TULLOW Oil expects to drill 20 exploration wells at a cost of some $200m this year, with its total capital spend expected to reach the $500m mark. A trading statement issued yesterday reveals that it expects to produce 80,000 barrels of oil a day this year, ...
IFG on target in trading update.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Jim Aughney FINANCIAL services group IFG said yesterday it had performed well across its three divisions in 2006. It has now completed and integrated the Jersey-based Langtry Trust acquisition which continues the execution of its international strategy. ...
IL&P joins fast rising sub-prime lending.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Charlie Weston IRISH Life & Permanent launched a joint venture with Merrill Lynch yesterday to target the fast-growing sub-prime market. Springboard Mortgages is targeting people who have problems securing loans from traditional banks or building societies. ...
You have one message in your inbox. And it's not good news. . .(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Ailish O'Hora SEARCH engine giant Google has failed to win the right to register its email product 'Gmail' as a European trademark following an appeal to a European body. The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), the body which is ...
Consumers more upbeat but wary on jobs outlook.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Brendan Keenan CONSUMER optimism improved last month, but people are more wary about the outlook for employment and the economy in general than they were in December. The latest survey from IIB Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) finds ...
Growing cinema audiences keep advertisers in the picture.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Samantha McCaughren SEVERAL blockbusters in 2006 guaranteed that admissions were strong and ad revenue grew for cinema advertising last year. After a dip in audience visits in 2005, the demise of cinemas were predicted as cheap DVDs flood the market within ...
Threesixty keeping it country style.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Samantha McCaughren A SHORTAGE of experienced advertising and marketing staff is putting huge pressure on Dublin agencies, but an increasing number of firms are prospering outside the Pale. Kilkenny design agency Threesixty is based in the village of Gowran, ...
Revamped RTE site now more user friendly.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: SAMANTHA McCAUGHREN RTE.ie has been revamped its popular website, to make it more user friendly and comprehensive. The new design includes improved navigation options, more multimedia choices and better viewing quality through wider pages. "One of ...
Tight window for upcoming IPO as Smurfit swansong looms.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Cyril Hardiman ANY dinner hosted by the mercurial Dr Michael Smurfit is a gathering not to be missed. But tomorrow evening's gala chairman's dinner takes on an added dimension because of the pending Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG), ...
PREMISES PREMISES.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: SHANE HICKEY STARTING up her own fashion firm from her home in Artane, Jennifer Rothwell has had to be strict with herself about answering the door. Having worked from home since last August, she has found that friends can regularly call in while she is ...
Energy boost from a touch of Synergy.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Shane Hickey LIKE many start-ups, the seeds for the beginning of 'Renewable Power Generation' were sown in the home of the company's chief executive. As business grew and the company needed its own premises, managing director Dave McNamara (above ) looked at ...
CPL looks set to recruit further strong growth.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: JIM AUGHNEY CPL Resources, the recruitment group, has been one of the best performers on the Irish Stock Exchange over the past few years. CPL shares were as low as 20c in 2002 and are now trading close to EU7 -- a 3,500pc increase. Anybody who has ...
Markets.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: JIM AUGHNEY THE Dublin stock market closed lower yesterday, with volumes in most stocks low in advance of a Federal Reserve statement last night. The Overall ISEQ index fell almost 1pc to 9,205 after losing 83 points, with financial stocks hardest hit. The ...
Fund of the month on the horizon.(BUSINESS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: JIM AUGHNEY RABODIRECT.IE, the online bank, has named the Henderson Horizon Pan European Equity Fund as its fund of the month for February. This fund was voted 'Fund of the Month' in an online poll by RaboDirect customers. It is already available to RaboDirect ...
Hanafin deadline appeal snubbed by CAO.(FRONT PAGE)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: John Walshe Education Editor THE CAO last night rejected pleas from Education Minister Mary Hanafin and schools to extend today's deadline for third-level college applications. The Irish Independent learned the minister intervened yesterday to request that ...
New BUPA tycoon to wage price war on VHI.(FRONT PAGE)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Eilish O'Regan and Tom McEnaney BILLIONAIRE Sean Quinn last night fired the first salvo in a health insurance price war, following his surprise takeover of BUPA. The deal secures the immediate future of the company's 450,000 customers and 300 jobs. ...
Ahern 'to blame' for EU35m Medialab flop.(FRONT PAGE)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Senan Molony TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern was yesterday accused of bearing personal responsibility for the "flaky" pet project Medialab Europe that failed with a loss of more than EU35m of taxpayers' money. The Taoiseach's idea of developing an information ...
Technology all set to take over from school books.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Katherine Donnelly AN Irish school is one of 12 selected worldwide to lead a computerised classroom revolution that could replace school books within a decade. Perhaps not surprisingly, principal Seamus Ryan is a man who is comfortable describing technology ...
New rail carriages to arrive in March.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Paul Melia THE first of 150 new rail carriages earmarked to replace Iarnrod Eireann's aging fleet have left Korea for Ireland. The first consignment of a dozen carriages -costing EU2.1m each -have been loaded in the Korean port of Masan, and are due to arrive ...
Community numbed by grief.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Ralph Riegel A FOUR-year old boy who died in his mother's arms after she plunged from the Cliffs of Moher had left his beloved teddy bear in the bedroom window of his North Cork home. Yesterday, the tight knit communities of Church-town and Ballyhea in North ...
Immigrants are replacing Irish opting out of IT.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: John Walshe Education Editor A QUARTER of information technology (IT) staff in some Irish companies are recent immigrants, a new survey has revealed. It says that companies are feeling the effects of a shortage of Irish students opting for careers in IT, ...
New mortgage reliefs may send house prices soaring.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Charlie Weston Personal Finance Editor CHANGES in the Budget have made homes more affordable for first-time buyers, but there is now a risk that this will re-ignite the housing market. A typical first-time buyer has been left EU130 a month better off by the ...
Long-term mobile phone users 'risk' brain tumour.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Aideen Sheehan Consumer Affairs Correspondent LONG-TERM users of mobile phones may be at increased risk of developing a brain tumour on the side of the head where they hold their phone. A new large-scale study found those who had used mobiles for over 10 ...
Credit card debt hits new EU2.7bn record.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Aideen Sheehan Consumer Affairs Correspondent WE now owe more than ever after consumers splurged EU1.2bn in the run-up to Christmas. New figures from the Central Bank show that credit card spending in December was up 15.8pc on a year earlier. The ...
Airman denies smoking cannabis.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Ann O'Loughlin AN airman has gone to court to stop his discharge from the Defence Forces after he tested positive for cannabis. Airman David Rawson, who was subject to a compulsory random drugs test, denies smoking cannabis. He says he was in his ...
Sergeant fails random drug test.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Tom Brady Security Editor SEVEN members of the Defence Forces, including a sergeant in the Reserve, tested positive for drugs in the past year, according to the latest figures. Five privates and a recruit were also caught during 2006 in the random drug tests, ...
CONTINUATION: BUPA tycoon set to wage price war on VHI.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Its chief executive Vincent Sheridan called on the Health Insurance Authority to clarify if the Quinn group was entitled to the three-year reprieve from such payments. He said if the Quinn group is allowed the derogation, it would mean the "death of community rating" by which ...
Quinn's huge deal on health cover is just the tonic for subscribers.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Tom McEnaney Business Editor LAST Friday Sean Quinn, one of the wealthiest and yet most low-key entrepreneurs on the island, got a call from BUPA to see if he would be interested in buying the company. The only condition - he would have to act fast. Less than ...
Harney sidesteps thorny risk equalisation questions.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Gene McKenna MARY Harney ducked questions last night on whether BUPA buyer Quinn-direct would avoid paying risk equalisation for three years. The Health Minister said the issue was the responsibility of the Health Insurance Authority, and that she would leave ...
VHI may be split up so that others can compete.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Tom McEnaney THE splitting-up of VHI as well as its possible privat-isation are just some of the remedies which the Government must seriously consider if it is to ensure competition in the health insurance market. These are some of the findings of a report by the ...
Relieved employees celebrate 'the best news we could have hoped for'.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Ralph Riegel WORKERS at BUPA Ireland in Cork were last night breathing a sigh of relief at the news that an Irish company has stepped in to take over the operation. New owners Quinn-direct were hailed as saviours of the North Cork operation and its 300-strong ...
Insurer left with headache after shock move.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: EILISH O'REGAN VHI is set to come under strong pressure in the wake of the Quinn group taking over BUPA, complete with an expected exemption from risk equalisation payments for three years. Although BUPA estimates it will still have to pay around EU58m to ...
Woman was 'disabled by negligence at her birth'.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Ann O'Loughlin A SEVERELY disabled woman with cerebral palsy sustained such serious injuries at birth that she was initially considered unfit for adoption, the High Court heard yesterday. But Mary Nugent was ultimately adopted by her foster parents and, by ...
Ireland's jobless figures are EU's fourth lowest.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Bernard Purcell IRELAND has the fourth lowest unemployment rate in Europe, writes Bernard Purcell. The EU statistics were published yesterday as the rate of inflation within the Eurozone remained unchanged from the 1.9pc figure at the end of last year. ...
Bertie blamed for EU35m digital flop.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Senan Molony TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern was yesterday accused of bearing personal responsibility for the "flaky" pet project Medialab Europe that failed with a loss of more than EU35m of taxpayers' money. The Taoiseach's idea of developing an information ...
Redmond: I'm being 'stitched in' to probe.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Lorna Reid FORMER public official George Redmond claimed yesterday that the Planning Tribunal was "stitching him in" to its latest probe into lands at Dundrum, even though he had no role in the proposed development. The 82-year-old former Dublin Assistant ...
Brian's vigil as Delta rushed to hospital.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Anne-Marie Walsh BRIAN McFadden cancelled his flight home to London yesterday as he maintained a vigil at the bedside of his girlfriend in a Dublin hospital. The former Westlife singer had been due to return to England with Delta Goodrem but the couple are ...
Total ban on tobacco ads soon as firms back down.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Ann O'Loughlin Breda Heffernan and Eilish O'Regan THE way was cleared yesterday for the Government to ban advertising of cigarettes and tobacco at the "point of sale". PJ Carroll and Company Ltd, John Player and Sons Ltd, Gallaher (Dublin) Ltd and others ...
Why some mutterers do have 'em in speeches.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: NICOLA ANDERSON IT'S nightcourse season. All over the country people are expanding their minds through evening classes -and there are a lot of them being held in the Drumcondra area too. You can relax with Tai Chi in a school on the Gracepark Road; there's ...
Waiting-list figures being massaged, claims FG.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Geraldine Collins Dail Correspondent THE Taoiseach and the Health Service Executive have massaged hospital waiting-list figures to make Health Minister Mary Harney "look good", the Dail heard yesterday. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that after 10 years of ...
CONTINUATION: CAO rejects 'late' pleas to extend deadline.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... people saw it, up to 400 applications were being processed but many others who were trying to log on could not do so. The spokesperson also rejected a call to extend today's deadline of 5.15pm for receipt of applications, saying it was not necessary. The spokesperson agreed that ...
Five hours spent trying to log on - but all in vain.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: BREDA HEFFERNAN LEAVING Cert students are already getting a taste of rocketing stress levels - and the exams are still four months away. What should be one of the less fraught chores of exam year, choosing where to go at third level and what course to do, has ...
College bidding war begins to offer new medical courses.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: John Walshe Education Editor FOUR universities caught the higher education system off-guard yesterday by coming together to form the National Graduate Medical Education Programme (NGMEP). The four - NUI Galway, UCC, UCD, and Trinity - propose to work in ...
Midlands winner hits EU8.6m jackpot.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Brenda Heffernan CHAMPAGNE corks were set to pop in the midlands last night after the third biggest Lotto jackpot worth EU8.6m found a new home, writes Breda Heffernan Last night's winning ticket - a jackpot that has rolled over since early January - was bought in the ...
Colouring books and DVDs 'were only training for disabled'.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent TRAINING centres for people with Down Syndrome are getting up to EU25,000 a year per person, but patients are being left with little more than colouring books and DVDs. A damning new report claims that many of the voluntary ...
More surgery delayed due to bed shortage at top hospital.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent TWO more patients were forced to have their surgery postponed in one of the country's biggest hospitals yesterday as the pressure on intensive care beds mounted. Surgery on 20 other patients has had to be cancelled over the ...
Tragic parents lose two sons in separate terrible accidents.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Ralph Riegel THE despair of a family who have lost two sons in separate tragedies was revealed yesterday. One son was killed in a road accident and his brother died while trying to light a fire with petrol. Hugh and Joan O'Connor yesterday attended ...
Fighting dogs 'can make up to EU5,000 a night for owners'.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Paul Melia THE number of pitbull terriers in Dublin is on the increase because fighting dogs can make their owners up to EU5,000 in one night. Dog wardens are seeing pitbulls, Rottweilers and other dangerous dogs described as labradors on dog licence ...
Forum for new acts is a mesh of stars and hopefuls.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: ED POWER GIVING young bands a shot at the mass market is ostensibly the purpose of the annual NME tour. But what if a band is perfectly capable of wooing the public all on its own? This became a problem on last year's tour, when one of the opening acts, the ...
A novel idea as Cecelia makes the shortlist for book awards.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: JOHN SPAIN CECELIA Ahern was the centre of attention yesterday when the shortlists for the 2007 Irish Book Awards were announced in Dublin. Ms Ahern's novel, 'A Place Called Here', is included in the popular fiction category. This is the second ...
Grocery bills soar as biofuel hits grain supplies.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Aideen Sheehan CONSUMERS are to face higher grocery bills, with chicken, eggs, bread and soft drinks among the items set to rise in coming weeks. The rush to grow more biofuel crops to replace oil is being blamed for many of the price increases as grain stocks ...
New law to help fine defaulters pay debt and stay out of jail.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Byline: Tom Brady Security Editor FINE defaulters in financial hardship will soon be able to pay by instalment. And better ways of assessing a person's ability to pay a fiscal penalty are also on the cards. These are the main planks of legislation ...
Change can be healthy.(COMMENT)
Feb 01, 2007 ... IT is far too soon to hail this as a fairytale ending, but for Bupa Ireland's 475,000 customers and hundreds of employees, Sean Quinn's takeover will do to be going on with. Will the new healthinsurance company turn out to be a magical beauty? For now, it is enough that the frog ...
Don't panic, it's the CAO.(COMMENT)
Feb 01, 2007 ... IN light of reports thatthousands of Leaving Cert students panicked as they tried to lodge their third level applications on line, it is difficult to understand the Central Applications Office's (CAO) refusal to extend the deadline. There is no need to rehearse the agony suffered as boys ...