DUBLIN PART OF NEW EUROPE-WIDE IT ECO-SYSTEM - Dublin Web Summit has grown to become the biggest technology and start-up event in the UK and Ireland, and its Summer summit takes place in Dublin's RDS tomorrow with over 800 people attending.
Mike Butcher, an editor at technology blog Tech Crunch, says that in common with several other European cities like Berlin and Helsinki, Dublin is becoming a technology hub as a result of a new generational change of young entrepreneurs. He says that Dublin is part of a wider European eco-system for IT. He says that some great firms are based in Dublin due to the ease of business here and the free market, but he warns that the basics have to be correct too. Broadband remains a bug-bear, he states.
Conor Murphy is the founder of a company called Data Hug. Data Hug's technology measures digital communications to see who knows who and how well, by analysing e-mails in and out of a company. Mr Murphy says he and his partner came back from the US and Australia to set up the business and says that being based here is not a limiting factor for the firm due to Skype and the ease of doing business here.
He says there is a two tier economy in Ireland at the moment - the IT economy and recruitment area is booming with no recession in sight compared to the rest of the economy. However, he says that most of the company's newly recruited staff are from overseas as the right skills set is not here at the moment. He urges people to get in to technology at a young age.
***
MORNING BRIEFS - The governing council of the European Central Bank meets today in Frankfurt to talk about rates. Economists and analysts here expect rates to stay as they are until towards the end of the year, but closer to Frankfurt they are half expecting the code words that would signal a rates increase next month. That would mean ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet saying the bank is maintaining 'vigilance' or 'strong vigilance' if there is a rates hike to come next month. If he says rates are 'appropriate' at the moment an increase is likely to be a long way off.
*** Oil prices rose after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to agree to increase production at its latest meeting in Vienna, a meeting the Saudi oil minister said it was the worst OPEC meeting ever. Analysts had expected output to be raised - this would help calm fears of limited supply and send prices lower. OPEC had predicted that rising consumption this year would drive demand above its current supply - and that was why output was expected to be raised. Brent crude rose to almost $118 a barrel and US light sweet crude went above $101 dollars.
*** A customer services firm in Clonakilty is set to create 150 jobs. SouthWestern, which provides back-office and customer services already employs 650 people in Co Cork and was formerly part of the SWS group. This comes as already this week Dell announced 140 jobs in Dublin and Limerick; Teleflex Medical in Limerick said it was creating 80 jobs; Nua Healthcare announced 40 jobs and social gaming company Zynga will announce new jobs tomorrow.
*** On the currency markets the euro is trading at $1.4628 cents and 89.11 pence sterling.
