DUBLIN BAY DECISION ANGERS BUSINESS GROUP - Business groups have reacted badly to the Bord Pleanala decision to refuse permission for the proposal to expand Dublin Port by infilling 52 acres of Dublin Bay. The Dublin Chamber of Commerce has expressed its disappointment and said that Ireland will be depending on ports to deliver an export led economic recovery. The Irish Exporters Association has described the decision as myopic.
John Whelan, CEO of the Irish Exporters Association, says that the decision shows a worrying lack of understanding of the country's economic needs. He says that there is a drive towards new larger ships which need easier access to ports. To meet their needs, most European ports, including the likes of Rotterdam, have been expanding seawards.
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BP FALL-OUT WILL HURT SMALLER EXPLORATION COMPANIES - BP is now saying that it has spent $1.43 billion cleaning up the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Shares in the oil company have fallen to less than half their value since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has now weighed saying that what he calls the 'anti-British rhetoric' levelled at BP is becoming a matter of 'national concern.
Leo Drollas, chief economist at the Centre for Global Energy studies, says that the market is keeping a dim view of the oil spill and BP bonds have fallen to almost junk status. He says that BP will be able to survive the fall-out from the spill as it has huge cash flow, but smaller oil companies will suffer from the backlash. They will be faced with heavier regulation and will see banking lending become more difficult to secure.
