Today's other stories in brief
B of I targets wealth market
Bank of Ireland has launched a business within its private banking division to target new wealthy individuals who have a net worth of at least €5 million.
The bank has set up a direct business for private clients within Bank of Ireland Private Banking in an effort to win a larger share of the private wealth market, which is becoming one of the most competitive sectors in Irish banking.
The unit, which will be based on Mespil Road in Dublin, will be run by Seán Ó Murchú, the bank's former head of retail channel management. The private banking market has also become more competitive due to the higher amount of cash accumulated by investors since last year.
"There has been a build-up of cash because there is no value in some markets. Individuals have ended up in cash positions almost by default," he said.
Bank of Ireland Private Banking manages assets and liabilities of about €10 billion, of which property accounts for almost €3 billion. It has invested in commercial property in the UK, South Korea and the US.
Several international banks, including HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, have been attracted to the Irish market due to increased level of wealth created during the decade-long boom.
Havok offers free software
Havok, the Irish software company owned by Intel, has decided to make the PC version of its flagship Havok Complete software available to developers free of charge.
The physics and animations software which has been used in over 200 computer games can be used for commercial purposes for developers approved by Intel.
The chip maker is hoping to stimulate the creation of more games for the PC platform which has lost market share to games consoles in recent years.
Babcock profits up 70%
Australian investment bank Babcock & Brown has reported a 70 per cent rise to Aus$525.15 million (€327.27 million) in net profit after tax for 2007 after acquiring assets and increasing fees from its investment funds, one of them the owner of Eircom.
The bank owns 7 per cent of Babcock & Brown Capital, the quoted fund that controls Eircom.
Advisory fees from the restructuring of Eircom were listed among several items that contributed to net revenues of Aus$157 million at the bank's corporate and structured finance unit.
Price of goods falls by 3.8%
The price of goods leaving factories fell again last month when compared to the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Prices have been falling year-on-year since December 2006. Prices fell on average by 3.8 per cent in January 2008 compared to annual changes of 2.1 per cent in December 2007 and 3.1 per cent in November 2007.
The CSO's wholesale price index showed that office machinery and computers decreased year-on-year by 13.3 per cent, while basic chemicals fell by 5.4 per cent. Dairy products increased by 10.7 per cent on an annual basis, and building and construction materials rose 3.2 per cent since January 2007.
Lisbon treaty Yes vote urged
The American Chamber of Commerce has called for a Yes vote in the upcoming referendum on the Lisbon treaty and said a No vote would reduce the level of foreign investment in Ireland.
"An Ireland at the heart of an EU with reformed, strengthened and more accountable institutions is infinitely preferable to becoming a semi- detached obstacle to common progress across a continent," said the new American chamber president Paul Rellis, who is managing director of Microsoft Ireland.
