INDEPENDENT NEWS & MEDIA CONTINUES TO SEE TOUGH CONDITIONS - Trading conditions, particularly in Ireland, remained very difficult in the first half of this year according to Independent News and Media, which has interim results out this morning. The group says its underlying advertising revenue was down 7.3% in the six months, and circulation fell 2.1% compared to the same time last year. Revenues for the six months fell by 12.3% after the group disposed of the London Independent titles, and because of poor conditions here.
Vincent Crowley, Independent News and Media's Chief Operating Officer, says the fall in the company's revenues are due to the fact that people are buying newspapers less frequently due to the economic pressures and poor consumer sentiment. He predicts that the second half of the year will continue to see the same trends, and says that while the situation is not getting any worse it is not getting any better either.
The Irish Daily Star Sunday, in which INM was a 50% shareholder, and the Sunday Tribune, in which INM was a 29.9% shareholder, closed earlier this year. But Mr Crowley says the rest of the group's Irish titles are all profitable and it is planning no further closures. However, he says that tough market conditions continue for all media groups and states that some of INM's competitors are losing money. He says that while there is good news on the Irish economy - the rising level of exports as well as a strong agriculture industry - it will take some time to translate that positivity into better consumer sentiment.
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MORNING BRIEFS - Ireland's borrowing costs fell below 9% yesterday for the first time since February. The interest rate, or yield, on Irish 10-year bonds has been falling in recent days and weeks - having been at above 14% not so long ago. Others, meanwhile, are going in the other direction. The cost of Greek borrowing hit a new record yesterday - going up to 18.34% - on fears the country could default. Portuguese 10-year bond yields were at 11.18%. But the Irish cost of borrowing remains much higher that those of Spain and Italy - Spanish 10-year bonds fell yesterday to 4.99%, and Italian 10-year yields were steady at 5.05%.
*** Trade on the markets - both bond and equity - is predicted to be quite volatile today as they wait for a key speech by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. He will be speaking at an annual gathering of central bankers at Jackson Hole, in Wyoming. Last year, his speech paved the way for $600 billion of quantitative easing - injecting cash into the financial system to try to boost the economy. The markets are speculating that further QE may be on the cards.
*** On the currency markets, the euro is trading at $1.4420 cents and 88.3 pence sterling.
