NEW JOBS PROMISED AT VERSION 1 - Over 150 jobs are to be created, most of them in Dublin, at Version 1, which is an IT consulting and services company. The firm is hiring graduates, and senior technology consultants with Microsoft, Oracle and Java qualifications. The company created another 100 jobs last year and already employs 265 staff in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.
Justin Keatinge, Version 1's managing director, says the company wants to recruit senior technology consultants, project, team and practice leads as well as graduates. He says the new jobs are essential as the company is winning lots of new business and is well ahead of its targets. The jobs will be filled over the next 18 months or so. He says that a lot of IT jobs are being outsourced to India and Version 1 is trying to win some of that business back to Ireland. He says that while pay rates are cheaper in India, there are language, time and other difficulties to overcome there.
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PORTUGAL AGREES THREE YEAR BAIL-OUT DEAL - Portugal's interim government says it has reached a 'good agreement' on a three-year bail-out package worth €78 billion from the EU and IMF. Lisbon was forced to ask for a bail-out last month when its government resigned following a parliamentary dispute and the rejection of a fourth round of austerity measures sent its borrowing costs prohibitively higher.
Economist Dermot O'Leary, at Goodbody Stockbrokers, says that Portugal had no choice whatsoever to accept the bail-out package as it has to have funds in place by June 15 when it must repay nearly €5 billion in debts. He says the next part of the plan will come on May 16 when the euro zone finance ministers meet to sign off on the bail-out. Mr O'Leary says that the euro zone focus will now switch back to Greece and what happens there will have an impact on both Ireland and Portugal.
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MORNING BRIEFS - The National Asset Management Agency has sent the receivers back in to take control of Ray and Danny Grehan's assets. This is after the property developers failed to meet a deadline for payment of €650m debt by yesterday. NAMA originally appointed receivers last Wednesday, then on legal advice last Friday stood the receivers down and imposed a new deadline of last evening. This passed as last minute attempts to stop the process failed, and for the second time in a week the Grehan's Irish assets were placed in receivership with Michael McAteer and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton.
*** Financial services group IFG says this morning it has received an approach which may or may not lead to an offer to buy the company. The company said that the approach is preliminary in nature and is subject to a number of conditions. "No assurances can be given that a formal offer will be forthcoming or that any transaction will occur,' its statement says.
*** Ahead of its AGM today, CRH says revenues for the first two months of 2011 showed a good improvement on last year's level. It says that in its Europe Materials business, operations in those European countries experiencing austerity measures - Ireland, Portugal and Spain - continue to face very challenging market conditions, but there are more positive trends in construction activity its more stable developed markets in Switzerland and Finland, while in Poland and the developing economies to the east demand is picking up well.
*** The DIY and builders merchanting group Grafton says turnover for the four months to 30 April was €642m, up 4% compared to the same period last year. In a trading update ahead of its AGM today, it says the rate of decline in turnover in Ireland moderated to 2.6%. The residential repair, maintenance and improvement sector in the UK accounts for over 70% of the group's business, and it says the recovery there continues. But trading conditions in Ireland were challenging because of weak demand and low levels of activity in the new build markets.
*** On the currency markets the euro is trading at $1.48 and 89.89 pence sterling.
