A round up of today's other business stories in brief
Oil prices fall over inflation concerns
Oil prices fell below $69 (€54) a barrel yesterday on concerns that high prices were feeding inflation and potentially slowing the economy.
US June light crude oil settled down 84 cents at $68.69 a barrel after trading as low as $68.20, the lowest level since April 13th. London Brent for July delivery gave up $1.04 to settle at $69.04.
US data yesterday indicated that the high cost of raw materials was pushing up the cost of living.
A report from the American Petroleum Institute yesterday showed US gasoline demand fell 1.9 per cent last month from April, 2005, with overall oil demand off 1.5 per cent. - (Reuters)
NI unemployment rate at 4.4%
Seasonal adjusted unemployment in Northern Ireland for the three-month period ended March 2006 was estimated at 4.4 per cent or 35,000 people, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) released yesterday.
The LFS also found at April 2006 the claimant count was at 28,300 or 3.3 per cent of the workforce. It estimated there was a 1.1 per cent increase or 9,000 people in total employment over the first quarter.
CPL chief buys Anglo shares
Anne Heraty, chief executive of CPL, has spent €319,500 on the purchase of 25,000 shares in Anglo Irish Bank. Ms Heraty, who became a non-executive director of the bank last month, paid €12.78 per share. Anglo Irish closed at €12.50, down 15 cent last night.
Fund manager has 3.94% of DCC
DCC told the market yesterday that Canadian fund manager AIM Trimark Investments holds 3.94 per cent of its stock.
Nominees has 9% stake in Blackrock
Bank of Ireland Nominees said yesterday that it has a holding of 9 per cent in Blackrock International Land, the Fyffes spin-off. Bank of Ireland Nominees holds the stock on behalf of clients from both inside and outside the bank. Blackrock fell by three cent to 37 cent yesterday.
Tesco chooses locations in US
Tesco, the supermarket retailer, has chosen Los Angeles, California and Phoenix, Arizona for its planned entrance into the US grocery market.
Job advertisements posted by a US recruitment firm for a range of middle-ranking executives say the company is "preparing to launch an unprecedented retail food business in the LA and Phoenix areas".
The job descriptions also indicate that Tesco is planning to brand its stores as "Tesco Fresh & Easy", while real estate consultants say the company is looking at sites of about 15,000 square feet. - (Financial Times service)
