MARKS AND SPENCERS COMMITTED TO USING IRISH PRODUCE IN ITS STORES - The Dublin Chamber of Commerce's annual Green Economy Forum Conference is being held in Dublin today. One of its key speakers is Mike Barry, who is in charge of the environment and sustainability at Marks and Spencers.
Mr Barry says that Marks and Spencer is conscious of the fact that consumers are increasingly concerned about their household finances and do not want to pay a 'green premium' for certain goods. He says that M&S saved €60m last year on less packaging on its goods and on lower energy costs, and so the company was able to absorb the costs of fair trade goods itself. He says M&S supports better factories and farmers engaged in fair trade and green industries and says this is a sustainable way forward.
The M&S man says the retail giant is committed to using Irish produce in its stores and says it sources water, salmon and chicken here. Mr Barry says the group carries 350 lines in its stores from Irish producers and growers. He points out that M&S has ploughed €250m into the Irish economy over the last six years. He also says the company creates opportunities for Irish growers to export to the UK markets.
He urges Irish business owners to reduce their energy and waste costs and plough those savings back to create a more sustainable business with a plan for the future.
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MORNING BRIEFS - A statement from Kingspan this morning says trading in the first four months of 2011 was well ahead of the same time last year. Group sales of €439m were 33% ahead of last year's sales in the same period. It says there is a gradual improvement in residential construction in the UK, there are tentative signs of an upturn in Europe with Germany performing well, good sales growth in America and in Australia, but sales flat in Ireland. The country now represents 4% of group sales.
*** Fyffes has had a positive start to the year and is increasing its 2011 target earnings, the company said in an interim management statement issued ahead of its AGM today.
*** Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has forecast slower growth and higher inflation for the UK, saying there are difficult times ahead. He also said there are difficult times ahead and warned that UK utility bills could rise by up to 15% if the price of oil remains high, which he predicts it will. He said inflation is likely to be 5% this year, much higher than the bank's 2% target, and that Britain faces a slow adjustment to the financial crisis. He also warned that the extended holiday to celebrate the royal wedding last month will hurt GDP growth.
*** 'Like so many others recently, he let greed and corruption cause his undoing' - that was the conclusion of the prosecutor behind the trial of hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, who faces up to 19 years in jail, pending appeal. He was found guilty in the US yesterday of making tens of millions of dollars from insider trading, in what prosecutors call the biggest hedge fund insider trading case in history. The jury found him guilty of getting a circle of corrupt insiders into giving him stock tips. The illegal information helped him make more than $63m, according to the prosecutors. He was released on a $100m bail with an electronic tag until the sentencing date of July 29. In 2009, Forbes listed him as the 559th richest person in the world.
*** Easy Link, a US technology firm, is doubling its workforce by creating 20 jobs in Clonakilty. The jobs are for finance and accounting staff.
*** On the currency markets the euro is trading at $1.42 cents and 86.9 pence sterling.
