MARKETS AWAITING MORE EURO MOVES - This morning, the European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet said he was more than confident about the future of the euro, and that a return to sound finances was vital for economic growth.
KBC economist Austin Hughes said the fact that Mr Trichet was making such comments showed how the recent crisis had gripped the markets.
He said Mr Trichet was probably right, in that Europe would 'muddle through' the crisis, but there were significant strains on the European economy.
Mr Hughes said markets were waiting to see signs of improvement from countries such as Greece and Spain on their public finances, but they would also be watching for signs of more growth in Europe. He said it would be some time before fears in the markets eased.
The economist said there was a silver lining for Ireland, as the weaker euro would make it easier for exporters to survive, while there was also little prospect of a rise in interest rates.
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BORD GÁIS NOW WORTH €3.5 BILLION - More people are spending their euro with Bord Gáis as - according to its annual report published today - 350,000 customers have switched to Bord Gáis Energy. The semi-state company also says its investment in wind energy company SWS late last year, along with a boiler-fixing or Home Services Initiative, will see it create 500 jobs over three years.
Asked about talk that Minister Eamon Ryan was considering a move to break up Bord Gais, chief executive John Mullins said a proposed break-up of the company was in line with EU guidelines on providing greater separation between its networks and energy businesses. But he said both would remain under the same group. He said the company was now worth €3.5 billion.
Mr Mullins said the level of disconnections was still at around 400 a month. He said many of the issues the company had in this area were due to people leaving the country and leaving a significant amount of debt behind. Mr Mullins urged those who had difficulty paying bills to contact the company to work out a budget plan.
He said the company was hoping to create around 250 jobs through the building of wind energy assets, and another 250 through its home services initiative, which involves upgrading homes to make them more energy efficient.
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NEWS IN BRIEF AND CURRENCIES - Exploration company Tullow Oil says it has performed strongly in the first few months of this year.
In a trading update issued to coincide with its AGM, it said its financial performance was in line with expectations. It also stuck to its forecast of producing 55,000-59,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day this year.
On the currency markets this morning, the euro is trading at $1.2646 and 84.77p sterling.
