A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Court freezes assets of Asian DCC debtor
DCC said yesterday that a Taiwanese court had frozen some of the assets of Pihsiang Machinery Manufacturing Company, the group that was last month ordered by the same court to pay €20.6 million to DCC's British subsidiary Days Healthcare.
Under the order announced yesterday, the assets may be released only with the approval of the court.
The Hsinchu District Court in November ordered that a January 2004 judgment be enforced against Pihsiang, a publicly-quoted company in Taiwan, its chairman and main shareholder Donald Wu and his wife, Jennifer Wu, a director. DCC initiated legal proceedings against Pihsiang in 2002, when the mobility product supplier failed to renew a contract with DCC's UK subsidiary.
Airtricity sells wind farm output
Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, has agreed to buy the entire output from a Scottish wind farm owned by renewable energy company Airtricity.
The Braes of Doune wind farm is based on a 1,000 acre site in Stirlingshire, Scotland. The 72 megawatt project should be operational in 2006. Its output is equivalent to supplying 46,000 British Gas customers with "green" electricity, Airtricity said yesterday. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Johnston buys Scotsman group
Johnston Press UK, one of the largest regional publishers in Ireland, has bought the Scotsman newspaper group in a £160 million (€235 million) deal announced yesterday.
The deal includes the Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, the Scotsman website, the Edinburgh Evening News and the Edinburgh Herald & Post series. Johnston Press, which owns the Yorkshire Post, acquired the company from Press Holdings Group.
Amarin raises €20m for drug trial
Irish drugmaker Amarin has raised $24.5 million (€20.4 million) in a private placing to fund the completion of trials of its drug for Huntingdon's disease. The company said yesterday it had sold 26.1 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs) at $1.01 per share and issued warrants to purchase about 9.1 million ADSs at an exercise price of $1.43 per share.
Energy firm upbeat on drilling yields
Exploration group African Eagle said yesterday it has completed its 2005 exploration programme at its Eagle Eye Copper project in Zambia and that the findings are encouraging.
The form said it had intersected copper anomalies, which it claims demonstrates the zone's potential significance.
FBD shares up 3% on strong trading
Shares in FBD added nearly 3 per cent yesterday after the insurance group said trading had been strong in the year to date.
In a pre-close statement, the group said it was comfortable with market expectations for its 2005 earnings despite continuing competition. The statement was welcomed in the market where the shares added €1.05, or 2.9 per cent, to €37.20.
Cork Chamber appoints chief
Cork Chamber of Commerce has appointed Conor Healy as its new chief executive following the retirement of Michael Geary.
Mr Healy previously worked for IDA Ireland in Cork as manager for the southwest region.
