A round-up of today's other business news in brief

OECD inflation fell to 1.3% in January

Annual inflation in the OECD area eased back to 1.3 per cent in January, down from 1.5 per cent in the year to December.

Figures released yesterday by the OECD showed food prices rose 5.4 per cent in January, compared to 6 per cent in December. However, consumer energy prices were down 9.6 per cent, compounding a fall of almost 9 per cent in December.

Inflation in the euro zone rose by 1.1 per cent in the year to January, compared to an annual rise of 1.6 per cent recorded in December.

In the US, consumer prices remained stable in January, compared with a 0.1 per cent rise in the year to December.

North’s Ministers to meet bank

The North’s First Minister and Deputy First Minister have met senior executives from Bank of Ireland to discuss the difficulties facing local businesses and households.

Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness met Des Crowley, chief executive of UK Financial Services, Bank of Ireland Group and Stephen Kirkpatrick, chief executive of Bank of Ireland, Northern Ireland at Parliament Buildings.

Mr Robinson said the Executive was concerned that the supply of credit and finance should continue to be made available to business and households. He said they had also discussed how Bank of Ireland had been approaching its lending policy in Northern Ireland in light of its recapitalisation in the Republic.

“We very much hope that there will not be a retrenchment in the bank’s position and that it will continue to offer credit to its customer base in Northern Ireland,” Mr Robinson added.

Republic’s R&D spend hits €1.68bn

Businesses spent an estimated €1.68 billion on research and development (R&D) last year, according to research from the Central Statistics Office and Forfás.

The preliminary data indicates 13,861 people were working in the area, with approximately 70 per cent of the investment coming from multinational companies.

For multinationals the main research areas were pharmaceuticals, electronic instruments and software. For indigenous companies food and food sciences were the main areas of research.

Small firms, classed as those employing less than 50 people, spent an estimated €348 million last year. Of those employed in the sector 8,300 were researchers.

Jobless urged to start own business

Jimmy Devins, Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, has advised the unemployed to start their own businesses.

Mr Devins said this was exactly the time for out-of- work budding entrepreneurs to learn how to set up a business. The Minister was speaking at the presentation of certificates to 43 people who completed a Start Your Own Business programme in Sligo.

The programme tackled all aspects of starting a new employment venture.

Mr Devins said that with unemployment rising in the region it was an ideal course for assisting people in getting back to work.

He said the success rate of people who completed a business course run by the County Enterprise Board and who had developed their own business was up to 65 per cent.

He added that the Government and the Enterprise Department viewed such courses as a vital part of regenerating jobs.

BoI egm to be held at end of month

Bank of Ireland will hold its extraordinary general meeting on Friday, March 27th at which shareholders will vote on the Government’s recapitalisation plan to invest €3.5 billion in the bank.

The bank’s “extraordinary general court” is being held under the terms of the recapitalisation agreement with the Government.