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

Profit at Bank of America drop by 95%

Profit at Bank of America sank 95 per cent in the last three months of 2007, hurt by more than $7 billion (€4.79 billion) of losses tied to writedowns, poor trading decisions and mounting credit woes.

Fourth-quarter net income for the second-largest US bank fell to $268 million, or five US cents per share, from $5.26 billion, or $1.16, a year earlier. Revenue fell 31 per cent to $12.67 billion.

Excluding merger costs, profit was nine cents per share. Analysts on average expected 19 cents per share on revenue of $13.26 billion. - ( Reuters)

Court rejects Enron class action appeal

The US supreme court has rejected an appeal by Enron investors seeking to proceed with a $40 billion (€27.4 billion) class action lawsuit against investment banks that put together financing deals for the energy trader, which collapsed in 2001.

The rejection followed the supreme court's ruling in a similar case on January 15th that limited the ability of shareholders to sue third parties in securities fraud cases. - ( Reuters)

18,740 new Irish firms set up in 2007

There were 18,740 new companies formed in the Republic last year, a slight decline on 2006, according to the Bank of Ireland's business start-up barometer.

While there was an overall decline of 2 per cent, the number of new businesses was significantly down in construction and real estate, where start-ups declined by 26 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

Restaurant registrations rose by 30 per cent, to 528.

Ulster Bank staff to study accountancy

Ulster Bank has joined an Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) scheme that enables its staff to train for accountancy qualifications while at work.

The bank has so far enrolled 19 students in the ICAI's 2008 "training in business" scheme, the institute said yesterday.

Most students studying to become chartered accountants have to qualify via public practice, but this scheme lets them study at their workplace.

Rise in passengers at Dublin airport

Passenger numbers at Dublin airport rose by 2.1 million last year, according to the Dublin Airport Authority.

More than 23.2 million passengers used Dublin airport in 2007, an increase of 10.6 per cent from 2006.

European traffic grew by 18 per cent, while domestic travel was up 5 per cent, to 900,000 passengers.

Headcount revenue reaches €6.5m

Dublin-based engineering recruitment firm Headcount solutions has posted its third year of strong growth.

Headcount, which finds skilled staff and performs contract work for companies including Coca- Cola, Diageo and Johnson & Johnson, recorded revenues of €6.5 million in 2007 and said it expected to double that figure in 2008.

Minco finalises joint venture deal

Exploration company Minco has finalised an agreement with joint venture partner Xstrata Zinc for a €6 million exploration of the Pallas Green project in Co Limerick.

The firm, which has been investigating the area for some years, said it would drill about 50,000m (164,000ft) of ground this year to trace zinc deposits.

Managers 'aware of' mobile broadband

A TNS mrbi survey for O2 of managers in small to medium-sized firms has found that, of those who own laptops, 14 per cent already use mobile broadband. Awareness of the technology is high, with 95 per cent saying they were aware of it.