A round-up of today's business news in brief
120 new jobs for Waterford
More than 120 jobs for Waterford were announced yesterday. The new Penneys store in the city, which opened yesterday, will create 60 jobs with a further 70 temporary posts in the run-up to Christmas.
Pharmaceutical company QM Specials plans 50 jobs in Lismore after it was granted a licence by the Irish Medicines Board in a joint-venture between Akram Hanna, a Lismore-based pharmacist, and the UK firm Quantum Specials to produce medicines for patients which may not be available from a typical supply chain.
The jobs will be created in the next two years in Lismore.
Unemployment expected to rise
Unemployment is expected to increase over the next 12 months, despite the fact that revenues and profits at Irish businesses are expected to rise during the same period, a survey by KPMG has found.
KPMG’s latest International Business Outlook survey questioned 11,000 manufacturers and service providers worldwide.
It found that while business confidence in Ireland has grown, it is still below the European average. The survey found that the number of people employed by the Irish companies surveyed was lower than the number recorded in July’s survey.
Industrial turnover 113.6bn in 2008
Industrial enterprises had a turnover of €113.6 billion in 2008, early estimates from the Central Statistics Office show.
Figures from the 2008 Census of Industrial Production showed the pharmaceutical and preparations sector accounted for 23 per cent of all production.
Food manufacturing accounted for 19 per cent while computer, electronic and optical products had an 18 per cent share of production. The manufacture of chemicals and chemical products represented 7 per cent of industrial production turnover.
INM rights issue starts today
Independent News Media (INM) has circulated a document to shareholders ahead of the company’s rights issue, which starts today. The document outlines the terms and conditions of the rights issue.
Existing shareholders are entitled to buy 59 new ordinary shares for every 50 ordinary shares owned at a price of €0.05 for a new ordinary share.
Shareholders are required to accept and pay for the shares by December 14th.
Euro zone returns to inflation
The euro zone returned to inflation in November, data showed yesterday, as more expensive oil boosted consumer prices by more than expected after five straight months of falls.
Consumer prices in the 16-country area rose 0.6 per cent year-on-year after a 0.1 per cent decline in October, the European Union statistics office said in a preliminary estimate.
The ECB watches core inflation developments closely. – (Reuters)
