Today's other stories in brief
Jury in Black fraud trial deadlocked
The US jury in the criminal fraud trial against former media mogul Conrad Black and three co-defendants told the judge last night that it is deadlocked in trying to reach a unanimous decision.
Judge Amy St Eve of the US district court asked defence lawyers and prosecutors to meet to decide how they want her to reply to the jury of 12 men and women who were handed the case on June 27th after nearly 15 weeks of testimony. (Reuters)
Dublin airport numbers up 11%
Passenger numbers at Dublin airport exceeded 10.8 million for the first six months of the year, an 11 per cent rise over the same period last year, according to figures released by the Dublin Airport Authority. Almost 1.1 million additional passengers were facilitated during the first six months of the year.
IN&M buys back 1.5m shares
Independent News & Media has returned to market, spending a total of €4.44 million on the purchase of 1.5 million shares. The shares were acquired at a price of €3.625 and €3.63. IN&M shares on the Dublin market closed a half cent weaker last night at €3.63.
The shares repurchased are being held in treasury. The latest buybacks bring to 15.08 million the number of IN&M stock now held in treasury since the group started a buyback programme as "dissident" shareholder Denis O'Brien made moves to increase his stake in the business.
Pfizer wins drug patent case
Pfizer has won a patent case over its Lipitor drug in the High Court, which ruled a patent protecting the blockbuster cholesterol fighter would be infringed by a competing product from India's Ranbaxy Laboratories.
The decision by the High Court prevents Ranbaxy from launching its drug before the basic Lipitor patent expires in November 2011. A Ranbaxy spokesman said the company would appeal the ruling.
Lipitor is the world's top-selling drug. It is manufactured at Pfizer's plants in Little Island and Loughbeg in Cork. The group employs 2,000 people in the Republic. (Reuters)
TVC Holdings shares start trading
Shares in TVC Holdings, the holding company for Trinity Venture Capital, begin trading today on the Irish Stock Exchange's IEX market for small and medium-sized companies.
TVC Holdings has raised €50 million in new equity to finance new investments and to develop the group's existing portfolio of investments.
Rise in number of companies formed
Registration rates for new companies picked up in the second quarter, according to figures gathered by Bank of Ireland. The bank found that 10,041 new companies were formed in the Republic in the first six months of the year, slightly ahead of the same point in 2006.
Port of Belfast to reclaim land
The Port of Belfast is planning to reclaim 120 acres from Belfast Lough at a cost of £630 million. The proposed initiative is designed to "accommodate economic growth".
McLoughlin the new CEO of Ipso
The Irish Payment Services Organisation (Ipso) has named Pat McLoughlin as its new chief executive. He was most recently deputy chief executive and director of the National Hospitals Office in the Health Service Executive.
