A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Euro-zone inflation 2.5% in October

Annual inflation in the euro zone, as measured by the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), stabilised at 2.5 per cent in October, according to Eurostat. HICP inflation had increased from 2.2 per cent in August to 2.5 per cent in September as a result of higher energy prices.

Excluding energy costs, euro-zone inflation was 1.5 per cent, below the ECB's reference rate of 2 per cent.

Regulator rejects overcharge claim

The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) yesterday rejected claims it was responsible for overcharging electricity and gas customers by up to €140 million a year. Responding to a report submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, CER commissioner Michael Tutty said it had not overvalued the industry's assets, and consumers were not being overcharged.

New VHI business travel policy

VHI Healthcare has launched an annual travel policy for companies whose employees travel frequently. The policy could save some companies as much as 47 per cent, VHI said. The policy can be tailored to meet each company's needs and offers a 40 per cent discount for all VHI Healthcare members.

'Important' results in Miraxion tests

Amarin Corporation, the neuroscience company that develops drug treatments, said its pre-clinical research programmes with the Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin had achieved important results with regard to Miraxion.

The company said Miraxion protected ageing brains from inflammation associated with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's.

Minmet finds more, better gold

Mining and exploration group Minmet yesterday released drilling results completed by its joint venture partner, Northland Resources, from its Barsele gold project in Northern Sweden. The drilling uncovered more gold mineralisation than discovered during an earlier project and found that the quality of some of it is likely to be substantially higher than previous calculations.

Seedcorn firms shortlisted

Dublin-based Idiro Technologies and Eirgen Pharma from Munster are among 18 companies shortlisted for the regional finals of the All-Island Seedcorn Business competition. Organised by InterTradeIreland, the competition has a fund of €230,000.

The final will be held in Dublin on December 6th.

Businesses in race against waste

The Department of the Environment has launched a campaign encouraging small and medium-sized businesses to cut down on waste. The "Race Against Waste" team will hold seminars to show companies how to manage waste and save money.