OWNER TO REASSURE UNIONS ON ARNOTTS - The businessman Noel Smyth, whose Fitzwilliam Finance Partners got control of the Arnotts department store earlier this year, is to meet union leaders next week to reassure them about his commitment to the retail business.
The meeting comes in the wake of concerns raised in the Dáil on Wednesday by the leader of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, that Arnotts could suffer the same fate as Clerys. It is understood that Mr Smyth will tell officials from Mandate and Siptu that Fitzwilliam’s plans for Arnotts include the continued operation of the department store as an independent retailer, writes the Irish Times. At the time Fitzwilliam won the battle for control of the landmark business earlier this year, it issued a press statement saying it would continue to develop both Arnotts and the surrounding properties as market conditions improved. The former owners of Arnotts accumulated a huge property portfolio surrounding the department store in the period before the crash. It is understood that Mr Smyth envisages the development of the Abbey Street/Henry Street/ Liffey Street area, in tandem with the development of the Henry Street-fronted store.
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PETREL CHAIR ASKS SHAREHOLDERS TO SIT TIGHT AS LOSSES MOUNT - Petrel Resources Chairman John Teeling has urged shareholders to hold onto their stakes in the exploration firm as it was revealed yesterday that losses increased to almost €2.5m last year. Mr Teeling also revealed that the firm plans to bid for "one or two" oil exploration blocks in the Government's Atlantic Margin Licensing Round, says the Irish Independent. The company has a track record in the area, having been awarded an exploration licence for the Irish Atlantic's Porcupine Basin last year. The Dublin-based oil and gas exploration firm, which is active in offshore Ireland, Iraq and Ghana, yesterday announced that its loss before taxes last year almost hit €3m. This compared to a before-tax loss of just €526,783 the year before. The sharp increase was mainly due to a significant €2.5m impairment charge booked against the company's assets in Iraq, the value of which the firm has decided to reduce to nil due to the political instability in the country. Losses per share also rose sharply, jumping from 0.63 cent to 2.97 cent. The AIM-listed company's stock price fell sharply on the back of the news, dropping by more than 6% in London yesterday to a low of 2.8 pence. The firm's share value has been decimated in recent years, dropping by more than 90% since 2011 as losses have mounted. The company has faced delays in projects in Iraq and Ghana due to political difficulties in both countries.
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IRISH FIRMS FACE €240,000 ANNUAL CYBER CRIME BILL - Companies’ failure to tackle cyber threats in a proactive and intelligent manner is contributing to an average annual bill of €240,000 to deal with the issue, an expert has warned. The approach most companies take to preventing cybercrime is a “constant fire-fighting” exercise which is a drain on resources but adds no real value to the organisation, says the Irish Examiner. Tackling the issue should not involve throwing money and internal resources at it, according to information security provider Ward Solutions chief executive Pat Larkin. “The €240,000 average yearly spend on cyber security highlights the growing threat of cybercrime and the huge financial impact it has on Irish organisations,” said Mr Larkin. New research has found almost half of Irish organisations have experienced targeted spear phishing attacks whereby a member of an organisation has been targeted with fraudulent and personalised emails by skilled impersonators. Employees’ tendency to access personal and work accounts from the same devices also poses a significant threat.
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UNIVISION TO DONALD TRUMP'S MISS UNIVERSE: YOU'RE FIRED - Donald Trump’s insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants have cost him a lucrative broadcasting deal, after Univision ended its relationship with the Miss Universe Organization. The international beauty pageant part-owned by Mr Trump will have to find a new television home after the largest Spanish language broadcaster in the US quit the partnership. The move is the first sign that Mr Trump’s strident opinions could be affecting his business empire, writes the Financial Times. Announcing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination last week, he said that Mexico was sending to the US “people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those problems [to] us. They’re bringing drugs; they’re bringing crime; they’re rapists; and some, I assume, are good people.” He said he would build a “great, great wall” on the Mexico-US border, adding that “the US has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems”. Mr Trump has since said he was “personally offended” by the “mainstream media’s attempt to distort my comments”. Univision said it saw “first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country”.
