A roundup of today's other stories in brief.

HP reports quadrupling of net profits

Hewlett-Packard has reported a quadrupling of net profits as the computing and printing company's sales and margins improve across its key divisions.

The results were helped by the absence of last year's charges of more than $1 billion for job cuts and profit before items handily topped analysts' forecasts. HP shares rose only slightly as analysts said they appeared richly valued after rising more than 40 per cent this year.

In recent months, it has endured the embarrassing disclosure of its investigation into board leaks to the media. The scandal ultimately claimed HP chairwoman Patricia Dunn, who has since resigned as a director.

The business remains in good shape, though, and chief executive Mark Hurd said yesterday that HP had its best quarter in a number of years. Operating profit margins in all its major businesses - PCs, printers, servers and storage, services and software - all rose on last year as HP continued to cut costs and increase sales. - (Reuters)

Brokers warn on direct selling

The Professional Insurance Brokers Association has warned that anti-competitive practices are emerging in the general insurance market.

Association chairman Liam Carberry said yesterday that the trend towards selling insurance directly to customers, rather than through independent brokers, would reduce competition between insurers if it was allowed to continue. Products bought via brokers frequently cost less, he said, as they could negotiate better terms.

CIF rejects claims on construction

The Construction Industry Federation has rejected claims made by the ESRI that the building sector does not have sufficient capacity to deliver the next National Development Plan.

In an analysis published last month, the ESRI called on the Government to rein back on infrastructural spending in the new development plan which is due to begin next year, citing concerns that the construction sector would be unable to cope with the number of projects being promised.

The CIF said yesterday there was "no capacity issue whatsoever" in the construction industry, and that the sector had never been better placed to deal with the ambitious new plan.

Chief executive of Visa leaves

Visa International has said its chief executive Christopher Rodrigues has left the organisation, one month after he learned he would not be running Visa when it becomes a publicly traded company.

Mr Rodrigues (57) joined Visa International in June 2004 from British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, where he was also chief executive.

Visa International is an umbrella group for the credit card payments system, the world's largest.

San Francisco- based Visa announced plans last month to restructure into a new company called Visa Inc. The new company plans an initial public offering to help fund expansion and potentially heavy legal bills. - (Reuters)

International firm of year named

Arthur Cox has won the International Law Firm of the Year Award at the annual Chambers Global Awards ceremony in London for the second year in a row. Earlier this year Arthur Cox was also named European Law Firm of the Year by British magazine Legal Business. The firm employs more than 250 lawyers and has offices in Dublin, Belfast, London and New York.