Euro table part of new services

From today, we are changing the financial data which we publish. This is mainly to reflect the imminent arrival of the euro, the new single currency, which comes into being next January.

During the remaining months of this year we will quote daily the estimated exchange rate of the euro against the member currencies of the euro zone and a couple of the other main international currencies. These figures are calculated and supplied by the Financial Times Information Service. They are not yet "real" exchange rates the euro does not come into being until next January.

The value at which the euro will trade on world markets and thus its value against each of the member currencies will not be determined until next January. So we are publishing estimated or so-called synthetic euro exchange rates in the run up to the changeover.

We believe that publishing this data will provide an invaluable guide to our business readers, many of whom will be undertaking transactions in the euro even before next January, while also allowing other readers to become familiar with the rate at which the euro will trade.

In addition, we will also be publishing more comprehensive daily coverage of the European equity markets.

Finally, reflecting the increased number of Irish companies quoting on the NASDAQ exchange and the importance of a number of the high-tech NASDAQ companies to the Republic, we will now be quoting daily the early afternoon US time prices of some of the stocks of interest on this key US market.