Round Up
Round Up: Car sales rise in EU
Car sales rose 3% across the European Union in February, carmakers' association ACEA said, a smaller increase than in previous months as the effects of government subsidies started to peter out.
Round Up: Construction sector not as bad
Activity in the Irish construction sector continues to decline but the pace of contraction is slowing, according to the latest monthly Ulster Bank purchasing mangers index on the health of the construction sector.
Round Up: Consumer prices increase
Consumer prices in February, as measured by the CPI, increased by 0.4% in the month. This compares to a decrease of 0.4% recorded in February of last year.
Round Up: eBay to create 150 jobs
Online retailing giant eBay is to create 150 new customer service jobs at its European centre of excellence operation in Blanchardstown in Dublin, bringing total employment at the site to over 1,700 people.
Round Up: EIB agree in principle to provide €500m to Metro North
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed in principle to make a contribution of up to €500m to the Dublin Metro project.
Round Up: EU services sector grow
The euro zone's services sector expanded more slowly in February than expected but firms recorded an increase in backlogs of work for the first time in two years.
Round Up: Euro Zone registers increase in monthly industrial output
Euro zone industrial output in January recorded its biggest monthly increase on record and figures for December underwent a radical upward revision, boosting hopes that economic recovery remains on course.
Round Up: Facebook beats Google
Facebook has overtaken Google as the most visited site in the US in the past week, according to the latest web figures from Hitwise.
Round Up: FBD reports operating profit
Insurance group FBD has reported operating profits of €28.9m for the year ending 2009 in the company's preliminary results published on March 3rd.
Round Up: Fortis returns to profit
Belgium-based insurance group Fortis returned to profit in 2009, the year after its break-up, and announced it would be changing its name to Ageas.
Round Up: Fyffes profits rise
Pre-tax profits at fruit importer Fyffes rose 33% from €15.9m to €21.2m during its 2009 fiscal year. But total revenues for the year slipped 4.1% to €726.8m.
Round Up: Glanbia reports fall in pre tax profits
Food company Glanbia has reported a 19% fall in pre-tax profits for the year ending 2009, according to the company's results. The company described the results as "solid" and in line with market expectations as well as being achieved in a "very challenging environment".
Round Up: Merkel calls for EU rule changes on economic guidelines
European rules need to change so that countries that repeatedly break the bloc's economic guidelines can be expelled from the euro zone, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pictured.
Round Up: New pension scheme
The Government is to introduce a new mandatory pension scheme under the new National Pensions Framework. The age that people qualify for the State pension will be increased under the scheme, announced by Taoiseach Brian Cowen.
Round Up: Rabobank profits fall
Rabobank said 2009 net profit fell 17% on rising bad debts and lending weakness, and it expected limited lending growth and continued high-debt costs in 2010.
Round Up: Recapitalisation plans
The Government is expected to present bank recapitalisation plans on March 30th, with the rate of loan discounts taken in the Nama process expected to be in the region of 30-40%.
Round Up: Retail sales down
The volume of retail sales decreased by 17.3% in the month of January, compared to the previous month, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office.
Round Up: Ryanair-Air France clash
Air France and Ryanair clashed over subsidies after the French carrier accused its Irish rival of putting pressure on regional authorities to give unfair support as the price of using their airports.
Round Up: Service sector returns to growth
Ireland's services sector came close to returning to growth in February for the first time in just over two years, as prices and wages fell to more competitive levels, a survey showed on Wednesday.
Round Up: Strong increase in car sales
There has been a strong increase in new car sales last month compared with February last year. The report on the sector said 11,707 new cars were licensed in the month, up by 33% from a year earlier.
Round Up: Trinity wins Investment Research Challenge
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) won the Irish final of the CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge (GIRC) on February 17th in Dublin.
Round Up: Tullow upgrades estimates
Tullow Oil Plc upgraded its estimate of reserves at its Tweneboa field in Ghana by 60% and said the field could prove to be much bigger yet.
Round Up: Volkwagen report better than expected results
German luxury car-maker Audi contributed the bulk of earnings and cash in 2009 to parent Volkswagen and expects better results this year as it launches a dozen new models.
