AGRICULTURE LAND PRICES BOTTOMING OUT - The results of a study by the Irish Farmers Journal show that after hitting a peak of almost €24,000 per acre in 2006 agricultural land prices have fallen by 57% to a national average of €8,700 per acre. The signs are this could be where the fall will stop, as it is the second year in a row at this level.
Shirley Busteed, Property Editor at the Irish Farmers Journal and author of the report, says that the market is seeing a return of confidence and positivity, while local farmers are also supporting the market as they seek to extend their farms. She says there is a lot of interest in agricultural land from the North, Germany and the US, with US investors especially interested in big estates with country houses. Ms Busteed says the investors are people who did not put their money into shares in recent years and who now see land as a good investment option. She says that the recent reduction in stamp duty - with young farmers exempt - is providing a further boost to farm land sales.
On the availability of credit, she notes that banks have ''eased the shackles'' slightly, but a lot still depends on where in the country the farmer is and his capacity to pay back the loan.
The Farmers Journal survey shows that land in Kildare, Louth and Dublin is the most expensive, while land prices in Leitrim and Mayo are the lowest. Shirley Busteed stresses that the price of land depends on its quality, with good land making up to €5,000 more than marginal land.
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MORNING BRIEFS - Fyffes has reported a 14.5% increase in revenues for the year to the end of December 2011 and said it has made a positive start to 2012. The company said that total revenues rose to €850m from €742m while its pre-tax profits for the year rose to €12.493m from €8.796m. The company said it was recommending a total dividend of 1.925 cent, up 10% on the total dividend of 1.75 cent in 2012.
*** Elan's chief executive Kelly Martin is to stay on for an extra few months having said he was stepping down in May. He has held the top job at the drug company for nine years. The company is still looking for a new CEO, and Kelly Martin will be staying on to steer the company through the upcoming trials of its Alzheimer's treatment. The company says these trials are of ''potentially transformational significance'' for Elan.
*** The chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke says the US economy is continuing to recover, but that growth is bumpy and modest. Speaking to US Congress on the health of the US economy yesterday, he said the decline in unemployment has been more rapid than expected. For much of last year, the jobless rate was stuck around 9%, but it started dropping at the end of last year and hit 8.3%in January. In his speech, the Fed Chairman said that the labour market "remains far from normal".
*** Consumer spending on Fairtrade Certified products in Ireland grew by about 16%in 2011 to rise to €159m. Ireland now has one of the highest per capita spends on Fairtrade Certified products anywhere in the world. The growth in sales has been put down to companies converting well-known brands to Fairtrade. Sales of Fairtrade Certified bananas grew by an estimated 25% in 2011 to 3,250 tonnes, but coffee sales were down 6% by value compared to 2010.
*** According to new figures from company analyst Vision-net eight companies collapsed every day last month. The figures also show that most start-up firms are in the professional services sector. Its figures show that 206 companies collapsed between February 1 and February 27, which was up 16% on the same month last year. Vision Net says that the government, through the Credit Review Office, must continue to pressure the banks to lend to viable businesses.
*** On the currency markets the euro is trading at $1.3340 cents and 83.81 pence sterling.
