A roundup of today's other business news in brief

Kerviel's trades mark of 'evil genius'

Former Société Générale chief executive Daniel Bouton has labelled Jerome Kerviel's unauthorised trades as the mark of an "evil genius" that shattered trust at the bank.

Mr Bouton said in court that the sheer fear he felt at discovering rogue trader Kerviel's "monstrous" unauthorised trading positions, which were blamed by Société Générale for a €4.9 billion trading loss in 2008, drove him to call Kerviel a "terrorist". - (Reuters)

Marlboro Trust profits fall 21% to €536,777

Marlboro Trust, the Cork- based licensed moneylender, saw profits before tax fall by 21 per cent last year, down to €536,777.

The firm provides two services to its customers - the sale of a wide range of goods to consumers on an interest-free repayment plan and the provision of cash loans.

In the 12 months to August 2009, the firm had turnover of €14.9 million, down €600,000 on the previous year, leading to a gross profit of €7.3 million, a decrease of €0.3 million on 2008.

The firm employs 126 people, with total staff costs of €4.2 million last year. According to the accounts, the directors expect that "the present level of activity will be sustained in the coming financial year".

Call for overhaul of bankruptcy law

People are left bankrupt for 20 to 25 years because the current law on the area needs to be overhauled, Law Reform Commission members told an Oireachtas committee yesterday.

The commission published an interim report on personal debt recommending that the current 12-year period for bankruptcy be cut to six years. The report does not deal directly with mortgages, as a Government group is reviewing this issue.

Pocket Kings posts €8m in profits

Pocket Kings, the Irish- based software development and marketing arm of the Full Tilt Poker global online gaming business, had pre-tax profits of €8 million in the 12 months ended April 30th, 2008, according to its accounts.

The company had revenues of €47 million, a near seven- fold increase on the €7 million recorded the previous year. Net assets stood at €6.4 million. The figures show that the company had net cash flows of €76 million during the year.