Current Account:A canny Irish punter working somewhere in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) has taken spread betting firm, Sporting Index for a tidy profit, just weeks after its launch.
Sporting Index's Irish website went live just before this month's Cheltenham Festival, but it was the Irish cricket team's unexpected success in the world cup, rather than the horses, that delivered for this individual.
The trader bravely "bought"Ireland's total runs in the tournament at an opening spread of 585 at €10-a-run. But as the spread has risen to 1,450, a difference of 865, he's now sitting on a tax-free profit of €8,650, thanks to Jeremy Bray and his team-mates.
That's assuming he closes his bet now and walks away but, given the fact that there are at least six more games to play, including today's clash with England, it's much more tempting to stay in there.
Not only that, he's been joined by a senior figure in Merrill Lynch in London, who did the same bet for £20, meaning he's cleared £20,000.
British-based spread betting and bookmaking operations find it harder to wring a margin from shrewd Irish punters than from their UK counterparts. Still, Sporting Index never thought that it would get stung by the Irish cricket team.
There's an unconfirmed rumour that the firm's marketing team were last seen heading for the Habourmaster Bar in the IFSC . . .
Car insurance quotes can be funny business
Current Accountwas recently informed by his broker that it was time to renew the car insurance and that, following a survey of what was available, a quote of €620 from Axa was the best available.
Before relying on the broker's advice, a call to Quinn Direct got a provisional quote of €320. As all the details weren't to hand on the named drivers, a reference number was given along with the provisional quote.
"It will be in or around that," the woman on the phone said.
However when called back with the details of the named drivers - one of whom is a young Polish woman - a young man came back with a quote of €750.
When quizzed about this huge jump from the provisional quote, he first of all said it was because the young woman was only four months in the country; then that it was because she only had a licence for four years (another Irish named driver only has her licence for two years); and then that it was because she was so young. Phew.
All the time, a woman could be heard in the background whispering frantically in his ear. So much for Quinn Direct.
The original broker then called back to say Axa had reduced its quote to €440.
Isn't insurance a funny business.
It's enough to bring water to your eyes
Foreign direct investors know how it works in the developing world. You find a nice location for a factory, spend a lot of time and money preparing the site and chatting up officials and then up pops the local power or water company waving a huge bill.
It can work like that too in California, where Tesco is continuing its journey through the state's political and regulatory complexities as it prepares to launch its US store network.
Tesco had already started construction on the site of as former US air force base when the water people turned up with news of a $3.5 million connection fee for waste-water treatment facilities.
Tesco's lawyers complained that the size of the fees had come as "an extreme shock". Mind you, Tesco is currently arguing against an effort to secure a court order to stop all work on its site - a move that would make the $3.5 million bill seem like a steal. - (Financial Times service)
