BLOCKBUSTER SEASON SET TO ATTRACT AUDIENCES BACK INTO CINEMAS - Cinema attendance figures in Ireland per head are among the highest in the world but have been sliding since the onset of recession hit by falling consumer spending. We still managed over 16.3 million cinema visits last year. As the summer holidays are on the horizon, the summer blockbuster season gets underway.
Mark Anderson, the director of cinema chain the Omniplex Group, says that the popcorn season officially starts today as the blockbuster movies start to open over the next few weeks. He says the new Batman, Spiderman and Men in Black movies have the all-star attraction component while the higher quality Oscar-looking movies won't open until September. He says the 16.3 million cinema visits last year equates to four movies a year for every man, woman and child in Ireland but that attendances continue to fall as people do not have the spare cash to treat themselves to a movie. He says that while the cost of property is falling, the businesses in the movie industry are consolidating themselves as consumer spending remains constrained.
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MORNING BRIEFS - The NCB Purchasing Managers index, which is a monthly survey of the people at the coalface in the manufacturing sector, tells us this morning that May was the third month in a row in which output and new orders rose. May was also the third consecutive month of employment growth in manufacturing driven largely by new export orders.
*** The euro sank to a fresh 23-month low against the dollar in Asian trade today a day after touching its lowest level against the yen in more than a decade. Spain was the main factor weighing on investors' minds after news yesterday that €97 billion in cash was withdrawn from Spanish banks over the first three months of the year. The magnitude of the capital flight and the fact that these figures are out of date - and have probably gotten worse since March - has put further pressure on the country to address its banking problems.
*** The Department Of Finance revealed that deposits at the four state-supported banks AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB and IBRC, the former Anglo Irish Bank, rose by 1.4% or €2.1 billion to €151 billion in April. That is the highest level in 14 months and is a very encouraging trend given what is happening in Spain.
*** A planned stock market flotation of Formula One in Singapore - which was due to raise in the region of $3 billion - has been pulled overnight. It is the fifth large public offering to be shelved in Asia this past week. With stock markets as volatile as they are and investor appetite for risk so limited companies are holding off on plans to sell shares to the public. Many of the big global stock markets have seen heavy losses this past month. London's FTSE 100 index had its worst May in three years so not a great time to be looking to float as Facebook shareholders have discovered of late.
