IRISH EQUINE FIRM UNVEILS US EXPANSION PLAN - The Irish Times reports on the expansion plans of UCD spin-out company Equinome, as part of which the company will create 10 jobs.
The company, which specialises in equine genomics, says it is planning to double its workforce to twenty in the next twelve months in response to the strong take-up in its genetic tests by racehorse owners and breeders.
Founded by Dr Emmeline Hill in partnership with Irish trainer and breeder Jim Bolger in 2009, Equinome is headquartered at NovaUCD, the centre for new ventures and entrepreneurs, with a sales office in Australia
It has 6 new DNA-related tests in development which it intends to launch over the coming 24 months.
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IRISH BANKRUPTCIES SURGE IN FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR -Almost three times more people were made bankrupt here in the first half of the year than in the whole of 2013, data reported by the Irish Independent shows.
Experts attributed the increases to the changes in the bankruptcy regime. There were 164 cases of bankruptcy between January and July, up from 58 during the whole of last year. The change of law here means that the period of automatic discharge has been reduced to three years from 12 with all debts written off, as well as the establishment of the Insolvency Service of Ireland.
Michael O'Maoileoin of London-based Hugh James solicitors said there are fewer so-called bankruptcy tourists coming to the UK.
"In particular people with modest assets are remaining in Ireland as they no longer consider it to be worthwhile coming to the UK as the gap between the two countries' bankruptcy laws have narrowed," he said.
"However, we're still seeing a lot of previously wealthy and high profile business people coming to the UK, so that they can take advantage of the more lenient bankruptcy regime in England & Wales."
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ROUBLE ROCKED AS OIL PRICE PLUNGE TURNS UP THE PRESSURE ON RUSSIA: The Financial Times reports on the rouble's worst intraday falls since Russia’s 1998 financial crisis amid renewed fears over the impact of tumbling oil prices on the country’s economy.
At one point the rouble hit a record low of 53.86 per dollar – a move of 6.5%, according to Reuters data – though it later pared some of its losses.
The near 40% fall in the oil price since mid-June has put huge strains on Russia, which last year derive more than half of its budget revenues from oil and gas extraction. It is a big challenge for President Vladimir Putin, whose regime is already struggling to cope with US and EU sanctions over its intervention in Ukraine.
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CONRAD SEES STRONG RISE IN BOTH PROFIT AND REVENUE: The Examiner reports on results from the firm that owns the Conrad Hotel in Dublin. The company’s pre-tax profits for last year more than quadrupled to €915,575.
Newly-filed accounts for Earlsfort Centre Hotel Proprietors Ltd - the 191-bed hotel’s holding company - also show a 6% rise in revenues to €12.16m.
In the accounts, the firm’s directors state that they believe the 2014 forecast will trend ahead of plan. They confirm that shareholders have agreed to a significant injection of equity into the business to fund a capital expenditure programme.
Shareholders last month injected nearly €4.3m to fund the capital works.
Earlsfort Centre’s directors’ report also states that management was pleased with the Conrad’s 2013 trading performance and with the performance to date in 2014, adding that cash flow remains strong.
