A roundup of today's other stories in brief.
IFA launches farm cash flow planner
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has produced a new farm cash flow planner in conjunction with AIB to help Irish farmers and their families manage their finances throughout the year.
According to the IFA, maintaining a smooth cash flow is the principal financial hurdle facing farmers, who are more dependent on external factors when it comes to managing cash flow.
The planner can be downloaded from the IFA website at www.ifa.ie.
Website for SSIA re-investment
A new website aimed at people whose Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) are maturing has been launched by qualified financial adviser Rory Nelson. The site, www.ssiamoney.ie, aims to get SSIA holders in contact with financial consultants who can advise them on their re-investment options.
Michael Hegarty & Associates financial consultants, which is based in Galway city, is offering the first 50 people who contact the company through the website a free SSIA consultation.
Hibernian's new investment fund
Hibernian Life & Pensions has introduced a new investment fund where the performance is linked to its high-yield fund and parent company Aviva's European property fund.
The secure capital fund is the first new product to be available to both brokers and bank customers following the announcement of Hibernian's joint venture deal with AIB last year.
The fund includes a capital guarantee on the sixth anniversary of the investment. An early encashment facility is available.
At the outset, all sums invested will have a 60 per cent exposure to the basket of equities and 40 per cent to fixed interest securities.
Single first-time buyers down 21%
Rising interest rates are restricting the number of single mortgage applicants but acting as little barrier to joint borrowers, according to broker group IFG's mortgage index.
The average mortgage for purchasing a property increased by €14,000, almost 6 per cent, in the final quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005.
The number of single first-time buyers was down 21 per cent on the same period the year before.
