WEXFORD BROADBAND GOING TO WASTE?- We all know how crucial high-speed broadband access is to doing business these days.
The Wexford town mayor, and Labour party councillor George Lawlor is not happy with the roll-out of the MANS system.
MANS stands for Metropolitan Area Networks - in layman's language it could probably be described as an industrial-strength type of broadband connection.
The system has been rolled out to around 30 towns around the country over the past few years.
Mr Lawlor claims the system is not being used by local businesses and is going to waste, with only a dozen people signed up to the service.
Mr Lawlor believes that the MANS system should not be run with the focus on making a large profit and the aim should be making it more accessible instead.
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ICG BIDDERS MUST DECLARE OFFER - The two groups seeking to buy ferries group Irish continental have until 5 o'clock this evening to disclose the highest bid they are prepared to make for the company.
The Moonduster consortium - which includes One51 and Doyle Shipping- and Eamonn Rothwell's management group Aella have both so far offered €22 per share.
Property tycoon Liam Carroll has also entered the fray- he has quietly built up a 10% stake in ICG and could still decide the fate of the company.
Stuart Draper, head of research at Dolmen Securities says so many people seem to want to get their hands on the ferries group because of its stable cash flow situation and also its land assets.
Mr Draper says that ICG owns 33 acres in the Dublin Docklands, with the potential to move some of its activities outside Dublin to free up that area.
He said land in that area can fetch up to €11m an acre and this is why non-shipping groups are taking an interest.
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NEWS IN BRIEF - Signature Capital, the company founded by investment bankers Ciaran McNamara and Enda Woods, has spent €60m buying the Raffay Smart City building in Hamburg.
The deal brings the value of Signature's German purchases over the last two years to €400m. The company spent over €61m last month on a department store in Berlin.
***The long-running saga regarding media baron Rupert Murdoch and the fate of the Dow Jones Company may be drawing to a close.
The Australian has given the Bancroft family until close of business to decide on whether its going to sell him the company and the Wall Street Journal newspaper.
Mr Murdoch made an offer of $5 billion three months ago, and it's thought that a further slide in the stock markets today may force the Bancrofts to accept the deal.
** The euro is now trading at $1.36.6 and 67 pence sterling.
