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

Ormonde Mining shares jump 12%

Shares in Ormonde Mining jumped 12 per cent yesterday after the firm said the results of the second-stage drilling programme at its Barruecopardo tungsten deposit in Salamanca, Spain, had exceeded expectations.

In a statement to the Dublin Stock Exchange, Ormonde said the results confirmed the presence of a high-grade continuous tungsten vein system and suggested that the deposit had the potential to become a relatively simple, high-margin, underground mining operation.

The stock, which trades on Dublin's IEX, closed just under two cents higher, at almost 17 cents.

Small firms less optimistic - ISME

Small firms are less optimistic about their business prospects than a year ago, according to ISME's second quarterly business trends survey.

It found that 28 per cent of firms were more optimistic about business prospects in the next 12 months, with 28 per cent less optimistic. This compares with a 36 per cent optimism level in 2006.

€7m Port Tunnel deal signed

Dublin Port Company has signed a deal with Topaz Energy Group to open Ireland's largest service station at the gateway to the Port Tunnel.

In a deal worth more than €7 million, Dublin Port will fund the building and infrastructure costs while Topaz, which operates the Statoil and Shell service stations in Ireland, will be responsible for the operation of the complex.

'Fall in house registrations'

There has been another sharp fall in house registrations, according to AIB Global Treasury.

After a 60 per cent year-on-year fall in the month of June from the very high levels in the same month a year ago, house registrations are now down by 34 per cent year-on-year for the first half of 2007, it said.

Commencements are down 14 per cent year-on-year in the first four months of the year. AIB Global Treasury said that if the current trend continues, the level of completions in 2008 could dip below its current forecast of 70,000.

AIB extends 'Green Line'

AIB has extended its "Green Line" package of initiatives aimed at incentivising and rewarding customers who choose greener options.

The bank said that, for every customer who opts to receive statements online using its new eStatement service on internet banking, it will donate €5 to the AIB "Add More Green" fund.