A roundup of today's other business news in brief

Banks increased holdings in PIGS debt in first quarter

Banks increased their holdings of Greek, Irish, Portuguese and Spanish debt in the first quarter even as the sovereign crisis roiled credit markets, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Banks boosted the amount they had at risk to the nations by $109 billion to $2.6 trillion, the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS said in its latest quarterly report. Banks in euro-zone countries held the greatest share of bonds from the four countries and Italy. European banks were most likely to buy the debt because they could use it as collateral for funds from the European Central Bank, according to the BIS. The region’s lenders may also have been more comfortable assessing the risk of investing in the countries, the report said.

“During the period under investigation, all euro-area government debt could be used as collateral at the ECB on identical terms,” the BIS said.– (Bloomberg)

Blackrock to change its name

Blackrock International Land is to change its name, following a trademark dispute with a US company.


The firm will seek permission from shareholders to change its name to Balmoral International Land plc at an egm next month.

The name change is part of the resolution for the dispute with US-based international asset management and investment management company BlackRock Inc.

The terms of the agreement will remain confidential.

Top IMF economist cautions on growth

Economic growth will likely remain weak in Europe and the US, despite recent strong growth figures in

Europe, and Germany in particular, IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said yesterday.


"If the American economy slows, that would have an impact on Asia automatically, . . ." Le Figaro quoted Mr Blanchard as saying. He also said euro-zone governments should produce credible plans to cut deficits over the medium term. – (Reuters)

Ryanair seat sales up 12% last month

Ryanair said yesterday that 7.68 million booked seats were sold in August, a 12 per cent increase on the same month in 2009.


The airline had a load factor of 89 per cent in August, one percentage point down on a year earlier.

In the 12 months to the end of August, Ryanair had sold 70.9 million booked seats.

This included up to 1.45 million passengers who were booked to fly on flights cancelled when airspace was closed due to volcanic ash.

Good drilling news for African Eagle

African Eagle has reported "favourable" results from drilling at the Zanzui nickel project in Tanzania.

The testing uncovered nickel grades at Zanzui that were marginally lower than at its flagship Dutwa nickel project, located 50km away. However, the company said cobalt grades at Zanzui were significantly higher.

"The deposit apparently enjoys the same favourable processing characteristics as Dutwa," managing director Mark Parker said.