Today's other stories in brief

ComReg rules against Eircom

The Communications Regulator has found that Eircom is not in compliance with regulations which require it to publish detailed information about wholesale products that it sells to other telecoms providers.

The case relates to the launch in May of a service from Vodafone which provided fixed-line phone and broadband services using Eircom wholesale products.

The regulator said Eircom should have published the exact details of these products so other operators could decide whether they wished to use them.

If Eircom does not publish the details, the regulator could take enforcement proceedings to the High Court. Eircom could also challenge the ruling in the courts.

Last night Eircom said it "notes today's information notice issued by ComReg and is currently considering its next steps".

Dell targets emerging markets

Dell, the world's second-largest computer maker, is seeing softness in demand for personal computers due to the global economic downturn, but hopes to increase market share in emerging markets, a senior official said yesterday.

Dell, which employs more than 4,000 people in Ireland, in August posted a steep drop in second-quarter profit, as slow demand for PCs spread from the US corporate sector to the public sector and small businesses, and to Europe and Asia.

Dell chief marketing officer Mark Jarvis said Dell would outpace the industry in unit shipments in the second half of the year as it sharpened its focus on markets such as India, where the companies are stepping up investments in technology. - (Reuters)

Wholesale prices up 0.7% in past year

Wholesale prices rose by 0.7 per cent in the year to September, the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

The price of energy products increased by 14.4 per cent in the year, and petroleum fuels rose by 23.3 per cent. However, there was a monthly decrease in the price of energy products in September of 0.3 per cent, and a 1 per cent fall in the price of petrol, reflecting the falling price of oil.

In September, the price index for export sales rose by 1.5 per cent while the index for home sales decreased by 0.7 per cent. In the building and construction sector, prices rose by 4.5 per cent in the year to September 2008.

Goldman to cut 10% of workforce

Goldman Sachs, a hold-out against the trend towards big job cuts in the financial sector, is planning to cut 10 per cent of its workforce in response to the worsening economic environment in the US and abroad.

The cutbacks will fall most heavily on areas such as fixed income and investment banking, which have been hardest hit during the contraction of the financial markets in the past year.

The cuts will also be spread geographically across Goldman offices, with New York and London taking the biggest hits. They mark a sharp U-turn for Goldman which, despite the turmoil, had been adding employees over the past year. - (Financial Times service)

DSG eases concern over its bank loans

Electrical goods company DSG, which trades in Ireland as Currys and PC World, said trading conditions had got worse and cut its investment plans. But it eased concerns about its bank loans, giving some relief to its battered shares.

"Assuming the banking system is actually underpinned and we don't get a complete collapse . . . we don't see any issues with banking covenants," chief executive John Browett said.

"We're preparing for a poor Christmas, but we don't think it's going to be completely disastrous either."

DSG shares have plunged almost 90 per cent in the past two years. - (Reuters)