A roundup of today's other business stories in brief:
State Street ousts investment chief
State Street yesterday replaced its investment management chief and said it would take a $279 million charge for legal costs related to bad bets on subprime mortgages, but its shares surged on expectations of strong operating results.
William Hunt resigned on Wednesday as chief executive of its State Street Global Advisors unit, a job he had held since January 2005.
Analysts said Mr Hunt (45) was ousted.
- (Bloomberg)
75% foresee stable financial climate
Almost three-quarters of consumers expect their financial situation to be stable or to improve this year, according to new research commissioned by Irish Life. The research finds that the same measure of adults expect to save as much as they did in 2007, if not more.
However, less than one-third of people with stock-market investments said they thought it was a good time to invest in equities. The conclusions come as Irish Life's sister company, Irish Life Investment Managers, forecasts global equity returns of about 12 per cent in 2008. The firm argues that the sell-off in the equity market is "overdone" and says cuts in interest rates should help to fuel equity performance.
German jobless rate at six-year low
German unemployment fell to a six-year low last month. The reduction, more than double the amount economists had predicted, shows the underlying strength of Europe's largest economy ahead of what could be a challenging year.
Federal labour officials said yesterday that seasonally adjusted unemployment fell by 78,000 in December to 3.4 million - almost twice the average monthly fall of the past year. In all, more than 500,000 people came off jobless benefits in 2007.
The internationally comparable jobless rate, which lags a month behind the national data, stood at 7.9 per cent in November - its lowest level since late 2001 - thanks to robust economic growth, an increase in hiring and a fall in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits.
- ( Financial Timesservice)
€450m overhaul for Dublin airport
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) plans to invest €450 million this year in expanding and improving facilities at Dublin airport as part of a €2 billion redevelopment of the airport campus over a 10-year period.
The largest project at Dublin airport this year will be the construction of Terminal Two, which is aimed at increasing Dublin airport's annual capacity to 35 million passengers. The terminal is due to open in April 2010 and will cost €395 million.
Big rise for Tullow Oil
Tullow Oil, the explorer with projects in three continents, rose the most in a month in London, trading on expectations for successful oil exploration in Uganda and Ghana this year.
Tullow rose 36 pence, or 5.6 per cent, to close at 681 pence. That's its biggest gain since November 30th.
Chief executive officer Aidan Heavey said in September that recent discoveries in Ghana and Uganda could double Tullow's reserves in "coming years". The London-based company's shares dropped in December after its Mputa-4 appraisal well in Uganda indicated smaller reserves than had been expected by some analysts.
- (Bloomberg)
DSG issues profits warning
DSG International yesterday warned that its profits would miss expectations by as much as £50 million following weaker-than-expected Christmas trade. Shares in the group, which trades under the Currys and Dixons brands, plunged 27 per cent in London yesterday.
- ( Financial Timesservice)
Passenger figures up at Cork airport
Passengers numbers rose 6 per cent at Cork airport last year to a record 3.2 million, the first full year of operation for the airport's new terminal, according to the Cork Airport Authority's review for 2007.
