HOTELS AT FULLEST SINCE 2007 AS FOREIGN VISITORS RETURN TO IRELAND - Hotel occupancy has returned to pre-crash levels, driven by a big jump in visitors from the US and Canada.
An extra half a million visitors helped push the occupancy rate for hotels and guesthouses to 64% in 2014, the highest level since 2007, according to research from Failte Ireland. "Ireland is now firmly back on the tourism map and there is a real sense of optimism in the sector," said Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) chief executive Tim Fenn in advance of the lobby group's annual conference in the Slieve Russell in Cavan today. Some 7.3 million foreign visitors came to Ireland during the year, up 586,000 on 2013, updated figures showed, says the Irish Independent. North America delivered a particularly stellar performance with visitor numbers jumping 15% to 1.2 million. North American tourists are especially welcomed by the industry as they have higher than average spending power. Visitors from Britain - Ireland's main tourism market - grew by 8% to 3.1 million. Visitors from mainland Europe were up 7% to 2.5 million. Domestic demand for hotels also grew, albeit at a less pronounced rate.
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DIGICEL TARGETS US COMPANY WITH LAWSUIT AND ENLISTS HAITIAN POLICE - Digicel, the Caribbean mobile phone company owned by Denis O’Brien, has stepped up its war on internet telephony firms it accuses of profiting from a “free ride” on its networks by not paying fees to connect with its customers. Digicel has launched a lawsuit in the United States alleging that an internet telecoms company has been engaged in a multimillion-dollar organised crime racket designed to defraud its unit in Haiti, one of the largest and most most profitable parts of Digicel’s empire, says the Irish Times. According to recent court filings, Mr O’Brien’s company enlisted the help of the Haitian police to help it investigate the alleged “bypass fraud”. It says this is being carried out by UPM Telecom, an Oregon internet telephony group that has yet to respond to the allegations. Haitian police have arrested people in Haiti that Digicel described in the court documents as “co-conspirators” of UPM. The police investigation, Digicel told the court, had also turned up evidence of wire transfers between UPM executives and the “co-conspirators” in Haiti, as well as copies of shipping documents that it claims prove the US company has targeted it for bypass fraud.
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YELLEN FACES INTEREST RATES LANGUAGE TEST - The US Federal Reserve is facing a delicate communications challenge as it discusses ways of weaning investors off its low interest rates message while avoiding a knee-jerk response in financial markets, writes the Financial Times. Chairman Janet Yellen will face an early test on Tuesday when she takes questions from the Senate Banking Committee on the Fed’s interest rate stance, amid expectations that policy will be tightened this year. The central bank promised after meetings in December and January to be “patient” before raising interest rates - meaning it will not make a move for at least two subsequent meetings of its monetary policy committee. A growing number of Fed officials have advocated watering down that pledge at the Fed’s next meeting in March in order to open up the option of raising rates at the later meeting in June. At the same time, officials also want the flexibility of keeping rates at near-zero at the June meeting if America’s economic recovery sputters, given remaining concerns among committee members about persistently low inflation readings.
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SPORTS DIRECT BILLIONAIRE MIKE ASHLEY PROPS UP PENSIONS LEAGUE TABLE - Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct made one of the lowest contributions to its staff pensions of any FTSE 100 company last year, according to new research writes the London Independent. The retailer managed to avoid having to automatically enrol staff on to pensions following law changes because the vast majority of Sports Direct staff are on zero hours contracts. Just £82 a year on average was paid to staff in pensions benefits, against a FTSE 100 average of £3,000, according to the trading firm Banc De Binary, which did the research. The revelations will be embarrassing for Mr Ashley as it comes just weeks before he appears at a Scottish Affairs Select Committee hearing to answer questions over his use of the controversial contracts. He will also have to explain allegations of mistreatment of staff made redundant at his fashion chain USC, which Sports Direct bought from itself in a pre-pack administration.
