Morning business news - Nov 27

IRISH INSURANCE FEDERATION WANTS 1% LEVY AXED - The Irish Insurance Federation says that up to 2,000 jobs could be axed from the life and pensions sector unless a 1% levy on life assurance premiums announced by the Government earlier this year is reversed. The Federation is also worried about the possible introduction of a single standard 33% rate for tax relief on pension contributions.

Mike Kemp, the chief executive of the Irish Insurance Federation, says the levy provides an extra disincentive to pension provision, because it applies to pensions as well as savings, investment and life policies. It only applies to products issued by life assurers and not competing investment products. Mr Kemp says the levy creates a major distortion in the level playing field. Saying that it looks like a small tax, he says that when it is compared to the charges on products and the effect it has on the net investment value for people, it really does create a major problem.

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BELGIUM NOW OUR SECOND BIGGEST EXPORT MARKET - External trade figures from the Central Statistics Office for the year to the end of August show that what was once our second biggest trading partner - the UK - was knocked into third place because of a spectacular boost in our exports to Belgium. Exports to Belgium saw a boost of €2.4 billion in the first nine months of this year.

John Whelan, of the Irish Exporters Association, says that the country exported €10 billion worth of goods and services to Belgium in the first eight months of the year. He says the increase in exports to the euro zone country is due to the rapid growth in the amount of pharmaceutical and medical devices goods being sold. The country has become one of the biggest sellers of active pharmaceutical ingredients to the Belgian market. At the same time, exports to the UK would be mainly from the country's indigenous firms and would constitute food and drink products. These sector has taken a hammering of late, he states.

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MORNING BRIEFS - Dubai World, the Dubai government owned holding company behind much of the country's frenetic building boom of recent years, this week asked for a debt standstill for six months on $59 billion worth of loans. Markets, which had assumed neighbouring oil rich Abu Dhabi would step in to help out, have not been responding well. Ratings agency Standard & Poors has described the suspension of debt repayments as a default. European banks which are owed an estimated $13 billion fell in value yesterday. AIB ended down 7.6% at €1.60; and in the UK Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland lost nearly 8% in value and HSBC Holdings fell 7%. The main European markets closed more than 3% lower.

*** Two companies received €100,000 each after beating off the challenge of 223 other emerging companies to win top prizes in the IntertradeIreland Seedcorn competition. Cauwill Technologies in Limerick won for an application that helps users locate their hotel using their mobile phone. Their product 'Pinpoints' has subscribers in 66 countries. The other winner was Belfast-based Sophia Search, which is a web search technology developed by scientists at the University of Ulster and the St Petersberg State University in Russia.

*** On the currency markets, the euro is worth $1.4842 and 91.16 pence sterling.