THE NUMBERS: 1.8 millionOrders Amazon has received for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on sale at a minute past midnight tonight.
€1.7 billionNew export sales generated last year by Irish companies which were supported by Enterprise Ireland.
€20.7 millionMoney paid by Enterprise Ireland last year to companies in which members of its board are employed or hold an interest.
25Percentage by which having a Y chromosome will increase an average salary among private sector companies in the EU. Research by Eurostat shows that overall European women earn an average of 15 per cent less than men.
QUOTE of the WEEK
"We will be relying on the support of the media to allow the fans to read the book for themselves rather than having to see reviews that may have been based on fake postings on the internet."
- A spokeswoman for Potter publisher Bloomsbury despairs at all that awkward free publicity garnered by "spoilers" and "leaks", while likening an embargo-breaking review published in the New York Times online edition to the Boston Tea Party.
GOOD WEEK
Christians
People looking for faith-flavoured broadcasting had their prayers answered as United Christian Broadcasters secured a three-year contract to provide a satellite radio service available on Sky's digital service.
Permanent TSB
As fans of Mafia-themed dramas last night watched the final episode of The Sopranos, moments of tension will inevitably have been interrupted by flashbacks to those cheesy ads for its mortgages and current accounts. (Actor Frank Vincent stars in both.)
Young drivers
Motor insurance premiums should fall to reflect a reduction in the number of road deaths in the 16-34 age group, according to brokers. Insurance companies will doubtless pass on the financial benefits of fewer claims to their customers with their usual speed.
BAD WEEK
Muggles (aka non-believers)
Supermarket chain Asda's claims that Bloomsbury was "attempting to hold children to ransom" by setting a recommended retail price of £17.99 (€27) for the final Harry Potter book were swiftly withdrawn with a full apology after the publisher threatened to cancel Asda's order of 500,000 copies.
Public-private partnerships
London Underground's upkeep ahead of the 2012 Olympics went decidedly off track as the private company responsible for upgrades on most Tube lines lurched into administration.
Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into the State subsidies paid to the two companies after the Coach Tourism and Transport Council said it believed the money was squeezing commercial bus operators out of certain routes.
QUOTE of the WEEK 2
"It will be necessary now for Eircom managers to set about repairing the damage their unnecessary actions have caused to the morale of staff in Eircom."
- Steve Fitzpatrick of the CWU implies that Eircom's refusal to pay a 2 per cent wage increase due under Towards 2016 - until an intervention by the Labour Relations Commission - will have lasting consequences.
