MARKETS WAIT AER LINGUS FLOAT DETAILS - Later this morning, Aer Lingus will issue its flotation prospectus. That is anticipated to set a price range for the shares of between €2.10 and €2.70. Those figures are yet to be officially confirmed...
Meanwhile, Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion is expecting to begin one of dozens of meetings with potential institutional investors over the next fortnight.
Davy aviation analyst Stephen Furlong said Aer Lingus would be telling that a market that it was a restructured company which needed funding for its growth plans. He said the price level would determine the level of interest.
Mr Furlong said there was an appetite for the stock among Irish investors. He did not think there would be a repeat of the recent Air Berlin float, which was priced too high and had to be delayed.
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GUNNE SEES PROPERTY BLAZE DYING OUT - Gunne has become the latest firm of auctioneers to call time on the roaring property market here. This morning it says the indications are that growth will ease considerably before the end of the year.
Managing director of Gunne's residential division, Declan Cassidy, said he hoped for a more stable market in the last four months of the year. He expected the market to be slower next year, though Budget measures to help first-time buyers may lead to a lift early in the year.
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NEWS IN BRIEF AND CURRENCIES - British building society Nationwide is to merge with Portman in what is the biggest building society tie-up.
The enlarged society, which will be named Nationwide Building Society, will be the UK's leading mutual organisation with total assets of more than £150 billion.
Bathroom suites maker Qualceram Shires has reported pre-tax profits of just under €2m for the first half of this year, following a €3.4m loss in the same period last year.
The euro is worth $1.2710 and 68p sterling.
