Management at Greencore will have been interested in the ruling by the European Court of Justice earlier this week that Britain and Spain broke EU law by holding "golden shares", allowing them to maintain control over privatised companies.
Under a golden share arrangement made when Greencore was privatised in 1991, the Irish sugar quota must always be manufactured in Ireland. This effectively gives the Government a veto over the sale of the sugar division if it is not deemed to be in the national interest.
Greencore declined to comment on the developments at EU level this week. But given that the company has been considering the options open to it in relation to its sugar and malt businesses, David Dilger and his management team must be considering the implications.
Any added flexibility they might gain as a result of the EU decision would surely assist them in looking at options such as strategic alliances or joint ventures.
Meanwhile, the other "golden share" held by the Government in Irish Life is no longer an issue, having been cancelled at the time of the merger with Irish Permanent in 1999.
The Luxembourg-based court, the EU's highest, ruled that controls on the privatised British Airports Authority, the UK airports operator, and five Spanish companies broke the EU treaty by restricting the free movement of capital.
The ruling could also have interesting implications for the Government if it decides to privatise other State assets, such as Aer Lingus or Aer Rianta.
Glanbia's row with Dunnes Stores over the price of milk is costing the food company an estimated €275,000 a week in lost sales.
The company withdrew its Avonmore and Premier milk brands from Dunnes's shelves last weekend in a dispute over trade terms. The dispute relates specifically to the price at which Glanbia is supplying liquid milk to the multiple and is the latest round in a milk price war sparked by discounters Aldi and Lidl.
The chains, which have 40 stores in this country, import cheap milk in Northern Ireland for sale in outlets in the republic.
Analysts estimate that around 5 per cent of Glanbia's milk sales go to Dunnes Stores. This comes to around €1.1 million a month or €275,000 a week. The company's margins are in the region of 5 per cent.
Dunnes responded to this by selling its own St Bernard brand milk for 90 cents a litre. This is supplied by Convoy Natural Dairies in Donegal.
The Institute of Internal Auditors was all set to interrogate special agent Ed Gibson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at its annual conference this week, when global crises intervened.
Agent Gibson, a former soldier and one-time corporate lawyer, was due to address the conference in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise, about cyber-crime on Friday.
But then duty called and Agent Gibson had to give Portlaoise a miss in favour of Riyadh, where his bosses in Washington ordered him on Thursday following the terrorist bombings of expatriate compounds.
