BUILDING SECTOR STILL WEAK DESPITE NEW BUSINESS RISE - Companies in the construction sector reported the first rise in new business in three years last month.
New business increased slightly, and confidence is improving, but the Ulster Bank construction report also showed that activity in all three sectors it watches - housing, commercial and civil engineering - fell, though at a slower pace.
Ulster Bank economist Simon Barry said the increase in new business, though welcome, was 'only marginal'. He said activity overall continued to fall, and conditions in all three sectors covered by the survey remained 'extremely tough'.
Mr Barry said the construction sector was several months, and possibly several quarters, away from reaching the 50 mark which would indicate a resumption of growth
The US Federal Reserve meets tomorrow, amid speculation that it might be contemplating new stimulus measures, such as buying mortgage assets or government debt. Mr Barry said that, despite the recent signs of weakening in the US economy, it was a 'little bit early' to expect any concrete action from the Fed yet.
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NEWS IN BRIEF AND CURRENCIES - Figures from Aer Lingus show that it carried just over one million passengers in July, a drop of 8.7% from the same month last year.
But the load factor, or percentage of seats filled, rose by 3.5 points from July last year to 85.8%.
Passenger numbers on short-haul routes fell 8.3%, to 921,000, while the figure for longer routes dropped 12.4% to 99,000.
The load factor on Aer Lingus's long-haul routes rose sharply - by 12.8 points to 89.8%. This was helped by a cut of almost 28% in routes and flights over the past year. The load factor on short-haul routes dipped 1.6 points to 84%.
On the currency markets, this morning the euro is trading at $1.3288 and 83.16p sterling.
