UK SUPERCASINO 'DEAD IN THE WATER' - The Independent in London says Britain's casino bosses breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after British PM Gordon Brown in effect killed off plans to create Britain's first Las Vegas-style casino.
The paper quotes British government sources as saying plans for the new gaming hall in Manchester were 'dead in the water' after Gordon Brown promised 'reflection' on the issue over the next few months.
But they said ministers would bring plans to build eight new 'large' and eight new 'small' casinos - all of which are far bigger than any existing casinos in Britain - back to Parliament.
Leading British casino operators welcomed the move to kill off the supercasino, which will remove a competitor that would have huge advantages over their existing operations in Manchester - or any of its rivals.
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DUBLIN PRINTER MADE MARK LAST YEAR - The Irish Independent says Dublin printer Craftprint is holding its own in an increasingly competitive market, increasing turnover by more than 11% last year and making profits of almost €200,000.
The paper says sales at the 24-year-old company came in at almost €7.5m last year, up from €6.7m in 2005. Pre-tax profits also enjoyed a healthy year, coming in at €195,000 for the year-end September 2006, up from profits of just over €4,000 the previous year.
The Indo says the results come amid increasingly turbulent times in the Irish printing industry, with modern technology and overseas competition putting traditional printers under pressure.
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MAGNET HOPES TO DRAW BROADBAND CUSTOMERS - The Irish Times reports that the battle for business broadband customers intensified further yesterday.
Following the announcement by O2 at the start of the week that it had become the latest mobile operator to offer broadband, Magnet Business has introduced what it claims is the fastest service currently being offered over phone lines.
The new broadband product, which is available in the 'main business districts' of Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Galway, Waterford and Portlaoise, provides download speeds of 10Mbits/sec and upload speeds of 1Mbit/sec. The service is uncontended, which means the connection is not shared with any other users.
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LONGER LIVES TO HIT UK PENSIONS COSTS - The Financial Times says the cost of providing British pensions and annuities could soar by billions of pounds after the actuarial profession and its regulator warned that life expectancy was increasing at a rapid rate and estimates of how long people were likely to live in retirement had failed to grasp the pace of change.
The FT says a one-year increase in life expectancy could increase the total UK private sector pensions bill by as much as £40 billion. It could also force life insurers to add as much as £4 billion to their reserves.
The paper says the projections could wipe out gains in pension scheme solvency that have come about through rising markets and increased provision.
It is understood that the profession and its regulators have been meeting behind closed doors in recent months with the Pensions Regulator and the Financial Services Authority, both of which have been concerned that the actuarial profession has not been sufficiently robust in insisting that its clients use the latest and most realistic data, even if it raises costs.
