FINANCE IRELAND EXITS SUB-PRIME BUSINESS - Quoted mortgage company Finance Ireland has sold out its 40% stake in mortgage lender Nua Homeloans to its partner in the venture, South African bank Investec Ireland.
Nua offers loans to people who have difficulty securing loans from bigger financial institutions - in other words it is a sub-prime lender.
In a statement, Finance Ireland said the Nua sale price was at the same level as its initial investment.
Its chief executive Billy Kane said Nua was a 'very successful' mortgage company but he said 'the directors believe it is not in the best interest of shareholders to provide an open ended commitment of future capital to this business'.
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WATCHDOG AGAINST BSkyB ITV BUY - Britain's competition regulator has ruled that broadcaster BSkyB's purchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV, Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster, restricts competition.
The Competition Commission, publishing provisional findings of its investigation into the stake, said it would now consult on possible measures, including forcing BSkyB to sell the stake.
BSkyB spent £940m buying the stake last November in a move that effectively blocked cable group NTL - since relaunched as Virgin Media - which had said it was interested in buying ITV.
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FEWER DEFINED BENEFIT PENSIONS - SURVEY - A new report on pensions coverage this morning makes alarming reading. The number of firms offering only a defined benefit pension scheme has almost halved from 67% to 37% in five years. There has also been a big jump in the number of companies shutting new employees out of the defined benefit scheme offered to existing employees.
The chairman of the Irish Association of Pension Funds, Patrick Burke, said there were some positive developments. More than 10% of companies were considering changing to hybrid schemes, which involve elements of both types of pension scheme, while more employers were chipping in to defined contribution schemes.
Mr Burke said employers were communicating with workers, but this was sometimes not reciprocated. He said messages should be simplified, and employees should know more about the incentives available for pensions.
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NEWS IN BRIEF AND MARKETS - Two of the new companies born out of Fyffes - Blackrock International Land and Total Produce - have spent €25m on 135 acres in North County Dublin at The Ward close to the N2 motorway which links the M50 to Ashbourne. 36 of those acres are zoned agri-business - the remaining 99 acres are a speculative buy and the company says are bought to take 'advantage of the significant development expected to take place' in the area.
The euro is worth $1.4225 and 69.67p sterling.
