A week which began with purrings from dealers on Wall Street following the announcement of good employment figures ended with the double whammy of Mr Alan Greenspan's warning on inflation and the Bundesbank's interest rate rise. The tremors, particularly from European Monetary Union fears, were felt on the Irish Stock Exchange which was already slipping from last week's ISEQ record high but which saw a slight revival in its fortunes by Friday.
This drop was initially slight but gathered pace as the news from New York and Frankfurt came through on consecutive days. Among the countries whose central bankers responded in kind to the Bundesbank move were France, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Meanwhile, the Italian political crisis appeared to have subsided yesterday, after the Communist Refoundation leader Mr Fausto Bertinotti said he plans to tell President, Mr Oscar Luigi Scalfarno that the party would support a one-year government along with the centre left Olive Tree, improving chances that Italy would be able to join the European single currency at its outset. The ISEQ rallied on slight trading reversed the 4-day decline, as traders squared their books ahead of the weekend. With further positive pronouncements this week on the Irish economy's state they are secure in the knowledge that the inflation rate is the lowest in Europe, and can expect that Irish interest rates will continue to fall in the short term. Cuisine de France was being held up as a model medium enterprise after an acquisition deal worth £51 million was made by IAWS, and it had some effect on the food and fertiliser company's share price which finished at 255p, 23p up on the week's opening price of 232p. The group is announcing preliminary results next Thursday. CRH's acquisition of two US companies for £18 million failed to impress shareholders. CRH saw its price start this week at 802p, and finish yesterday slightly better at 717p sterling (796.6p).
The managing director of CRH mainland Europe, Mr Brian Hill, hinted at expansion plans in Germany, France and Benelux.
Ryanair, which saw some upward movement on its price, finishing at 407p on Thursday, announced its plan of providing in-flight advertising on overhead screens, in time for an estimated 250,000 Christmas passengers. Gaelic Resources' shareholders voted through the acquisition of European Hydrocarbons, which the company hopes will enable it to achieve a turnaround after losses of £758,000 were announced last year.
Among other exploration companies, Ivernia announced the go-ahead for its Lisheen mine, although this failed to trigger any reaction to its share price.
Bula, which had been languishing at 1.75p, saw a 0.25p increase, following news that it had clinched a deal with Canadian Occidental Petroleum on its Libyan oil interests, only to drop back to 1.75p yesterday. The Jones Group was happy, with half-yearly pre-tax profits of almost £1 million announced after last years £1 million loss.
