A round-up of some of today's other business stories in brief...
Builders start work on just 536 homes
• Builders started work on just 536 new homes in the Republic last month, the lowest number of registrations since records began in January 1996.
The number of new homes registered with industry guarantee bodies Homebond and Premier Guarantee in October was down 76 per cent on the number begun in October 2007, according to new data released today.
Planned new homes must to be registered with Homebond or Premier three weeks before construction starts. As such, the data provides a good indicator for residential building activity.
New chairman for Cork Airport body
• Former chief executive of Bord Gáis Gerry Walsh was yesterday confirmed as the new chairman of the Cork Airport Authority by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey following the resignation of Joe Gantly earlier this year.
Yesterday Mr Dempsey also announced that former Fianna Fáil councillor Annette McNamara, an assistant principal of Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal in Blarney and former CEO of EMC2 in Ovens, Dick Lehane, are to join the CAA board.
China-focused firm reports growth
• China Real Estate Opportunties, the Aim-listed property company focused on China, has said its income-producing assets, which represent 75 per cent of the company's total portfolio, have continued to perform strongly in the third quarter.
It said it has continued to drive income growth from both its office and retail properties, but did not give any financial details.
Pan-Andean shares rise by 17%
• Shares in Irish Aim-listed oil and natural-gas explorer Pan Andean Resources rose by almost 30 per cent after announcing a gas find at its drilling site in Texas.
Pan Andean shares jumped 29 per cent by midmorning after saying its drilling programme had encountered significant deposits in two of the three target wells.
By 2.45pm the share price had moderated to 10.25 pence, a gain of 17 per cent on the day giving the company a market capitalisation of £12.2 million (€15.1 million).
The explorer said surveys indicated the Anomalina Sands could contain up to 28 billion cubic feet of gas at depths of between 13,000 and 13,500 feet.
It said drilling stopped at 13,200 feat, 25 feet into the Anomalina 2 Sands, the main target. Pan Andean is in the process of perforating and testing the sands.
Total has 35% rise in profits
• French oil major Total SA beat analysts forecasts to report a 35 per cent jump in third-quarter underlying profits, as high oil prices and strong refining margins made up for a drop in crude and gas production.
The group said in a statement that it was confident it could maintain competitive dividend growth, even in an environment where oil prices are trading at less than half their record level above $147/barrel in July.
The Paris-based firm said net profit, was €4.07 billion ($5.23 billion) against €3 billion in the same period in 2007. ( Reuters)
