NORTH SUFFERS ITS BIGGEST HIT IN LIVING STANDARDS SINCE THE CRASH - Northern Ireland has taken the biggest hit in living standards of any UK region since the crash, research claims, says the Irish Independent.
The North has moved from being the region with the fourth lowest income per household in 2007, to being the lowest in 2014, according to the study flagged yesterday by the trade union-funded Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI). The stark data comes as the private sector in the North has experienced a rapid slowdown since the end of last year, although activity rose fractionally in March for the first time in four months. New business continued to rise marginally, and firms took on extra staff, according to the latest Ulster Bank Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the North. But research from independent UK think tank the Resolution Foundation based on living standards in different regions found that Northern Ireland has experienced the biggest squeeze on living standards since the downturn of all regions and nations in the UK. Typical incomes fell by 6.7% between 2007/2008 and 2011/2012. They were still 4% below their pre-downturn level last year. The average household in the North making just £20,930 per year, compared to the UK average of £23,540. That compares with Scotland at £23,006, Wales at £21,018 and the North East at £21,374.
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ASHFORD CASTLE REOPENING AFTER $50m MAKEOVER BY NEW OWNER - It has cost $75 million and taken almost two years to complete but Ashford Castle in Cong, Co Mayo, has been restored to its former glory. The final touches are being applied to the 350-acre resort ahead of its official reopening this Friday by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. It was bought in June 2013 by Red Carnation Hotels, a South African company headed by husband and wife Stanley and Beatrice Tollman, who will arrive in Cong tomorrow for the relaunch, says the Irish Times. In addition to the purchase price the couple have spent about $50 million (€47m) restoring the property, which hosted US president Ronald Reagan during his State visit to Ireland in 1984. It also provided a backdrop to actors John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in 1951 when film director John Ford came to Co Mayo to shoot The Quiet Man. Speaking to The Times yesterday, Ashford Castle’s general manager, Niall Rochford, said the restoration work had given it “probably the best hotel bedrooms in the country”. All 820 windows have been replaced, a new lead roof installed, and its stonework repointed. Red Carnation has also added some modern comforts to the five-star property, once home to the Guinness family. These include a spa and swimming pool, a 32-seat cinema, a billiards room and cigar terrace. The grounds have also received a makeover. To reflect the investment, room rates at Ashford Castle have increased by 20% this year.
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€442m PAID BY HSE TO PHARMA FIRMS - According to the HSE’s newly published statistical analysis for 2013, the amount received by three of UDG’s Irish subsidiaries totalled €112.4m in 2013. The payments to the UDG (formerly United Drug) firms make up over 25% of the total amount of €442.2m paid out by the HSE to pharma firms in 2013 in ‘hi-tech wholesale and manufacturer payments’, says the Irish Examiner. The figures show that United Drug Wholesale (Dublin) received €54m with United Drug plc Limerick receiving €33.63m and United Drug plc Ballina netting €24.7m in fees. The €442m paid by the HSE represents a 15% increase on the €385m paid out to pharma firms under the scheme the previous year. The figures show that the top amount the HSE paid to one individual entity was €89m, which went to Abbvie Ltd, a spinout company from Abbott. It was founded in January 2013 with the goal to market groundbreaking science to solve the biggest health problems that face the world. Pfizer Ltd - which recently announced it was reversing a decision to close its manufacturing facility in Little Island, Cork, safeguarding some 160 jobs at the facility - received €57m in 2013. Movianto, which says it develops and implements streamlined logistics and distribution solutions on a European, regional, and local level, received €44.4m in payments in 2013.
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GAZPROM CHIEF WARNS EU OVER PRICING CHALLENGE - Gazprom, Russia’s state controlled gas exporter, has said attempts by Brussels to crack down on its pricing model will backfire - and trigger higher average energy costs across Europe. Alexei Miller, chief executive, issued the warning on Monday as the European Union prepares a landmark antitrust case over accusations that Gazprom overcharged customers in eastern Europe. Brussels is also drawing up plans to challenge Gazprom’s ability to charge widely divergent prices across the EU, by giving the European Commission oversight over the gas company’s contracts, writes the Financial Times. EU officials are encouraging gas purchasers to give themselves more leverage in negotiations with Russia by clubbing together to buy their gas jointly, in higher volumes. Several eastern European countries - particularly the Baltic states and Poland - insist that Moscow has historically used gas prices as a political weapon, charging them considerably more than it charges Germany. But Mr Miller defended the company’s pricing model and explained that prices differed because Europe was a “fragmented market” where the energy mix varied sharply by country.
