Barry O'Hallorantakes a sideways glance at business this week
THE NUMBERS
$170
The price that Opec president Chakib Khelil predicted a barrel of oil will reach before the end of the year on the back of fears about yet more strife in the Middle East.
€5.2 BILLION
The amount by which Government spending is expected to overtake tax receipts this year, close to three times the budget day forecast of €1.8 billion.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"If were not decisive, there's a risk of inflation exploding"European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet on the volatile and downright dangerous nature of his job. What he's really saying is that your mortgage repayments are going up next month.
"If they're looking to cut costs, this is an easy place where they could start"Trevor Stirling, analyst at Bernstein Research in New York on reports that Budweiser brewer, Anheuser Busch, has eight executive jets. The company is trying to cut spending by $1 billion a year to fend off a hostile bid from Belgian rival, Inbev.
GOOD WEEK
AstraZeneca
The pharmaceutical company was one of the few stocks to gain ground this week when its schizophrenia treatment, Seroquel, saw off a patent challenge from two rivals in the US courts, securing future sales of $4 billion a year. It's enough to make investors turn to drugs.
Spain
Just a day after its footballers captured their first European football championship in 44 years, Spanish property minister Beatriz Corredor predicted that the country's hard-hit property market should begin to recover by the second half of 2009.
BAD WEEK
The economy
The outlook for the Irish economy got even more confusing this week with the news that it is growing and shrinking at the same time. Gross domestic product was down 1.5 per cent in the first quarter of the year, while gross national product was up 0.8 per cent. So run that by me again - are we, or are we not, in recession?
Stuart Rose
The Marks Spencer executive chairman is drawing heavy fire after announcing that sales are down 5 per cent. The shares fell 25 per cent and four of the chain's big institutional backers are planning to vote against its annual report and accounts at a shareholders meeting next week. Just how they think this will boost sales of ready meals and shirts is not clear.
