Finfacts Ireland Business & Finance Portal

Markets: Elan tries to assure market that it's more than shell operation

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:56 GMT

Markets news on stocks, currencies and commodities: Elan tries to assure market that it's more than a shell operation.

Google’s chief supports corporate tax reform

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:18:36 GMT

Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, on Sunday gave support to corporate tax reform - - quite a change from last December when he dismissed critics of tax avoidance.

Ryanair, Europe’s biggest low cost carrier, announced Monday record annual profits of €569m - - up 13%

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:01:49 GMT

Ryanair, Europe’s biggest low cost carrier, announced Monday record annual profits of €569m, up 13% on last year despite higher oil costs. Revenues rose to €4.88bn as traffic grew 5% to 79.3m passengers. Unit costs rose 8% mainly due to an 18% (€292m) increase in fuel. Excluding fuel unit costs rose by 3%, while average fares improved by 6%.

Yahoo! expected to announce acquisition of Tumblr for $1.1bn

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:29:52 GMT

Yahoo! is expected to announce Monday the acquisition of Tumblr, the blog platform site, for $1.1bn.

Monday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - May 20, 2013

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:04:33 GMT

Principal news stories from the Irish Independent, Irish Times and Irish Examiner.

The Irish Times: Timidity in turbulent economic times

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:53:30 GMT

The current editor of The Irish Times terms his daily publication "a newspaper of reference," in place of the label "newspaper of record," which has been made redundant in the Internet age. However, while the appetite to take on the forces of social conservatism remains, the newspaper has been timid in these turbulent economic times when spin and permanent publicity campaigns at government level, mask the bitter truth that beyond the financial crisis fire-fighting, there are currently no credible economic policies in place to put the Irish economy on a sustainable basis.

EU market of new cars grew in April for first time since September 2011

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:50:54 GMT

In April, the EU market of new passenger cars grew for the first time (+1.7%) since September 2011, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA - - Association des Constructeurs Europeens d'Áutomobiles).

Markets: Dell's earnings tumble in latest quarter

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:09:35 GMT

Markets news on stocks, currencies and commodities: Dell's earnings tumble in latest quarter.

Friday Newspaper Review - - Irish Business News - - May 17, 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:44:54 GMT

Principal news stories from the Irish Independent, Irish Times and Irish Examiner.

Apple's CEO to testify at US Senate hearing on tax

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:33:33 GMT

Apple is the target of a Senate hearing next week investigating offshore tax practices. Tim Cook, Apple CEO, is expected to testify at the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation's hearing Tuesday, according to Politico, the US politics website.

Wages in China rose sharply in 2012

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:03:10 GMT

Wages in China continued to rise at a double-digit rate in 2012 despite a slowing of the economy.

Facebook's shares down 31% - - one year after IPO

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:28:21 GMT

Facebook's shares closed down 31% Thursday one year after its IPO (initial public offering). It's not alone despite market benchmarks hitting records in recent weeks.

Developing world's share of global investment to triple by 2030

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:58:43 GMT

Seventeen years from now, half the global stock of capital, totaling $158ttn (in 2010 dollars), will reside in the developing world, compared to less than one-third today, with countries in East Asia and Latin America accounting for the largest shares of this stock, says the latest edition of the World Bank's Global Development Horizons (GDH) report, which explores patterns of investment, saving and capital flows as they are likely to evolve over the next two decades. With gradual convergence, the contribution of developing countries to global growth will rise from 73% around 2015 to 87% by 2030; with rapid convergence, developing countries’ contribution will reach 93% by the end of the period.

Irish Economy 2013: Goods exports rose in March but fell in 12-month period

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:47:54 GMT

Irish Economy 2013: Goods exports rose in the month of March but fell in the 12 month period from March 2012, according to the CSO today.

Markets: Glanbia, UTV Media and KBC Bank Ireland issue reports

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:23:50 GMT

Markets news on stocks, currencies and commodities: Glanbia, UTV Media and KBC Bank Ireland issue reports.

Thursday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - May 16, 2013

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:52:15 GMT

Principal news stories from the Irish Independent, Irish Times and Irish Examiner.

Japan reports strong first quarter growth

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:03:55 GMT

Japan today reported strong first quarter growth with a rise in consumer spending and exports signalling that the aggressive monetary policies of Shinzo Abe, prime minister, have boosted confidence and may have a sustained impact on the economy.

Irish Economy: ESRI in grim outlook; Revises down previous GNP estimates

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:26:09 GMT

Irish Economy: The ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute), the publicly-funded independent think-tank, today forecasts GDP (gross domestic product) growth of 1.8% in 2013 and 2.7% in 2014, but behind the headline figures is a grim outlook with a reliance on tax-related services exports, emigration and an acknowledgement that research shows the economy contracted more in recent years than was suggested by the official data.

ESRI's FitzGerald says Irish GNP and Current Account surplus overstated

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:54:54 GMT

John FitzGerald, a research professor at the ESRI (Economic and social Research Institute), says in a paper published today that GNP (gross national product) and the Current Account surplus have been overstated by the rise in large mainly US companies transferring headquarters to Ireland while having most of their operations overseas.

Bank of England upgrades economic forecast; Jobless rises 15,000 in Q1 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:16:47 GMT

The Bank of England has upgraded its economic growth forecast and said that inflation should fall faster than previously predicted. In his last inflation report as the Bank's governor, Sir Mervyn King said inflation should drop to its target of 2% within two years. Separate figures today showed UK unemployment rose by 15,000 in the first three months of the year to 2.52m but the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell by 7,300 last month to 1.52m, the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.