OECD WARNS IRELAND OVER 'PREMATURE' SHIFT FROM AUSTERITY - Ireland has "prematurely" shifted from austerity to stimulus and remains "very vulnerable" to external shocks, according to the OECD.
In its latest economic outlook, the Paris-based think tank also recommends that better-than-expected government revenue be put towards reducing the State's high public debt, writes the Irish Times. Overall, the OECD paints a positive picture of Ireland's recovery, noting the economy is now on a "robust rebound" and projected to grow strongly over the next two years. It forecast the economy would grow by 4.3% in GDP terms this year and by 3.3% next year. The organisation said strong growth in the State's main trading partners together with rising house prices, tourism receipts and consumer confidence were "helping to underpin a virtuous circle of higher employment, incomes and spending". However, it also cautioned that the strong cyclical recovery needed to be complemented with continuing structural reforms to increase competition, raise innovation, make it easier to start and grow a business, and improve the relevance of vocational training to the labour market. It noted that while employment growth was robust, with the jobless rate falling to 11% this year, the share of long-term unemployed remained large and approximately 40% of the unemployed were "poorly educated and skilled".
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COMMUNICORP CEO SAYS ADVERTISING MARKET IS GROWING AGAIN - The Irish advertising market returned to growth this year and looks set to expand further in 2015, according to the head of the group behind radio stations including Today FM and Newstalk. Communicorp said in its latest set of accounts that trading conditions in Ireland steadied in 2013 while management remain focused on tight cost control, says the Irish Independent. Communicorp owns Today FM, Newstalk and Dublin's 98FM as well as stations overseas. It became the fourth biggest radio group in the UK last year after it bought eight local radio stations there. Chief executive Gervaise Slowey said that the group was "very pleased" with the results for 2013. "Against a difficult market background, revenue from our existing operations stabilised in 2013," Ms Slowey said, pointing out that the overall Irish radio market saw revenue decline 3% last year. Communicorp's turnover in Ireland fell by a slightly lower 2.5% last year to €34.7m. Ms Slowey said there had been "good forward momentum" for Communicorp this year across all its 27 radio stations. Ms Slowey said that the current year also saw the Irish advertising market return to growth. "Early indicators for 2015 are that clients are investing in growing their business in Ireland," she said. Revenue at the group fell 27% to €42.3m last year as it continued to dispose of assets in mainland Europe, according to new accounts for the business.
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CLOCK IS TICKING FOR DRAGON - Exploration firm Dragon Oil has an official window of three weeks to put up or shut up regarding the prospect of a takeover of the Irish firm Petroceltic. The Irish Takeover Panel yesterday formally set a December 19 deadline of 5pm for Dragon to either announce an intention to make an offer for the Dublin-based firm or announce it won’t go ahead with an offer. If it announces the latter, Dragon would be restricted from making a further approach for a year, reports the Irish Examiner. The takeover panel said in its statement: “Following representations made by Petroceltic and its advisers, and correspondence with the advisors to both Petroceltic and Dragon, the panel has ruled that - except with the consent of the panel - Dragon must, by 5pm on December 19, 2014, either announce an offer for Petroceltic under rule 2.5 of the takeover rules or announce that it will not proceed with an offer for Petroceltic.” Early last month, news broke of a possible 230p/$790m (€636m) cash offer from Dragon for Petroceltic, with the management of the Irish firm saying it would be willing to recommend such an offer if forthcoming, to its shareholders.
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APPLE'S MARKET VALUE HITS $700 BILLION ON iPHONE 6 SALES AND CHINA POTENTIAL - Apple's market capitalisation touched a record-breaking $700 billion on Tuesday, as strong iPhone sales and anticipation of new products pushed its shares to more than double the point at which Tim Cook took over as chief executive. The momentum behind the iPhone 6 and its growing prospects in China have seen Apple’s stock set several successive all-time highs in recent weeks, after passing the $100 mark back in August. At an intraday peak share price of $119.75 in morning trading on Tuesday, the world’s most valuable public company’s market capitalisation exceeded its nearest rival ExxonMobil by almost $300 billion. Apple’s stock market worth also stands far ahead of Microsoft and Google, both of which are currently valued below $400 billion, says the Financial Times. Its shares closed at $117.61, down 0.86%. After swinging from September 2012’s high above $100 to a low close to $55 in April last year, the magnitude of Apple’s rally can be seen from both near- and long-term perspectives. Its stock price has increased tenfold since the iPhone was first announced in January 2007, while it has risen almost 50% so far this year. It has gained more than 20% since mid-October, when the company released its latest earnings report, which surpassed Wall Street forecasts.
