ISME WANTS TO SEE PARTNERSHIP PROCESS ABOLISHED - ISME, the organisation representing small and medium sized businesses, is holding its annual conference in Dublin later today and plans to send a strong signal to the Minister for Finance and the Government ahead of the December budget. It has lined up a number of notable speakers including the economist Colm McCarthy and the head of ICTU, David Begg. ISME is calling for Social Partnership to be scrapped and for 'proper leadership from the Government'.
ISME's chairwoman Eilis Quinlan says that partnership as it stands is past its sell by date and is not representative of all the employers and all the businesses in the country. She says that Irish SMEs employ more than one million people and are not represented at the Social Partnership table. ISME is proposing the creation of a National Representation Forum, where all parties involved will come together, including the unions, IBEC, big business, the banks, the Government and SMEs. She says it is absolutely clear that the country needs immediate cuts both in public sector pay and public sector numbers. She claims the sector has driven wages up in this country due to benchmarking.
Ms Quinlan says the Government has hampered the economic growth of the country through its paralysis and incompetence. She also says that she does not think the passing of the NAMA legislation will see banks start lending to small businesses again.
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MORNING BRIEFS - British Airways and the Spanish airline Iberia have agreed plans for a €4.7 billion merger, ending talks between the two carriers that have been going on for more than a year. BA, which is headed up by former Aer Lingus CEO Willie Walsh, is hoping that the deal will make it more competitive against its larger rivals on the continent as it gives BA access to Iberia's Latin American routes. The new airline will have 419 aircraft and fly to 205 destinations, with the merger expected to be completed in late 2010. Mr Walsh will remain on as chief executive of the new company. Under the terms of the deal, BA shareholders will get one share in the combined company for every existing share they hold in BA while Iberia investors will get just over one share for each they already hold in the Spanish airline.
*** Independent News and Media is due to hold an emergency general meeting today in Dublin. Shareholders will be asked to decide on a motion from Denis O'Brien, that if passed, would revoke the board's authority to issue new shares. Earlier this week, the company's bond-holders approved a proposal that saw it issue 723 million new shares with a value of almost €123m. Meanwhile, it is reported this morning that IN&M is planning to appoint Vincent Crowley as its new chief operating officer. Mr Crowley currently heads up the company's Irish operation.
*** The University of Limerick will later today announce the terms of an agreement with one of the world's largest technology companies AMD. The University has developed a new device called a 'micro cooler' which it says will significantly lower the costs of cooling the technology inside computers. It also says that the device may eventually be used in lap-top computers and hand-held devices such as mobile phones. It also reckons that the deal could be worth over $1m to the university.
*** Germany seems to have put its recession behind it, according to figures released this morning by its national statistics office. The German economy grew by 0.7% in the last quarter. The figure was slightly lower than had been hoped, but a sign nonetheless that it is on the road to recovery. The growth figure for Germany's second quarter has meanwhile been revised upwards from 0.3 to 0.4%.
*** On the currency markets, the euro is worth $1.4860 and 89.50 pence sterling.
