A round up of the main financial stories of interest from the weekend papers.

Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Ltd (Cantor) is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Ltd is a member firm of the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange

Monday, 21st September 2015

Saturday 19th Sept 2015

Irish TimesOne51 may be on track for mid-2016 flotation at up to €2.50 a share:One51, the plastics manufacturer and waste-management firm, could be on track for a flotation in the middle of next year. One51 said on Friday it had bought a British hazardous-waste-management business, Greenway Environmental Services (GES), for an undisclosed sum. GES is One51’s third acquisition in the past 12 months. One51 is now understood to be looking towards a stock market launch at some point next year. In 2014, chief executive Alan Walsh signalled the company could go ahead with a flotation within two years. That timeframe would mean going to the stock market midway through 2016. It is understood the company is on track for this. Financier Dermot Desmond’s International and Investment Underwriting (IIU) recently paid €1.85 a share, or €36 million, for a 12 per cent stake in the company. Analysts have speculated One51 could float for as much as €2.50 a share, based on growth in its existing business and the fact it is in line for a cash distribution from NTR, a wind-farm operator in which it holds a stake. Its shares trade on the grey market, meaning they are not listed on any stock exchange. They were quoted on Friday at €1.80 each.

More turmoil as Alitalia chief executive quits suddenlyLoss of Silvano Cassano after one year in job the latest chapter in tumultuous corporate history of Alitalia, with no full-year profit since 2002; Alitalia chief executive Silvano Cassano has stepped down abruptly for “personal reasons”, ushering in fresh uncertainty at Italy’s flagship airline after last year’s rescue by Etihad. Luca di Montezemolo is to act as chairman until a permanent successor is found. The loss of Mr Cassano – after just one year in the job – marks the latest chapter in the tumultuous corporate history of Alitalia, which has not reported a full-year profit since 2002. Last year’s investment by Etihad – which valued the Italian carrier at €1.7 billion – initially generated hopes of a turnaround and a return to earnings by 2017. Mr Cassano’s departure, however, will raise fears that the transition is not going as smoothly as planned when Etihad took its 49 per cent stake, and the target for a return to profitability might slip. In January, James Hogan, Etihad’s chief executive, warned that this was “the last chance” to save Alitalia, which required a “radical change in its way of working to lower costs and boost productivity”.

Irish IndependentEuropean stocks hit two-week low on back of Fed rates decisionEuropean stocks fell the most in two weeks after the Federal Reserve's decision to keep rates unchanged stoked global-growth concerns and a stronger euro weighed on export-dependent companies. Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW dragged carmakers to a 3.3pc drop, and Germany's DAX Index led declines among western-European markets with a 3.1pc slide. The Fed hasn't lifted rates in almost a decade and Thursday's decision had been keenly anticipated. Faltering Chinese growth and last month's yuan devaluation in particular have shaken investor confidence and roiled markets. Futures traders are now pricing in an 18pc chance of a rate hike in October, a 46pc possibility at the December meeting and about a 54pc likelihood in January.

Case for BoE rise some way offThe case for raising UK interest rates is "some way from being made," according to Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane, who suggested rates may have to actually be cut. Downside risks to inflation include the slowdown in emerging markets and the rise in the pound's exchange rate, he told Poradown Chamber of Commerce. That's a concern when core inflation is subdued and unit-wage cost growth is still a percentage point below the level needed to reach the central bank's 2pc inflation target. "With subdued world growth and prices, and a sharp appreciation of sterling whose effects in lowering imported prices have yet to fully pass through, I am not as confident as I would like that one percentage point of additional pickup will be forthcoming over the next two years," he said.

Michael O'Leary comments from Institute of Directors luncheonThis week, Mr O'Leary predicted that Ryanair will be carrying one in every four air travellers in Europe over the next eight to 10 years. It currently has a 14pc share, and will carry about 104 million passengers in its current financial year, which ends next March. Ryanair's aim is to carry 160m passengers a year by 2024 as its fleet size increases to 520 aircraft from its current 315. Its decision to transform its customer service, as well as altering its strategy to target more growth at primary airports, is a function of ensuring it stays ahead of competition and attracts enough passengers to fill that growing fleet. "We can only do that if we maintain our dedication, our obsession, our passion for low prices. That is our objective." "Bigger means you can buy more aircraft cheaper. Bigger means you generate more cash and by generating more cash you pay down more debt and all that allows us to lower our costs." "The average fare in Ryanair last year was €45," he added. "We a plan in the next five years to take that average fare down to about €25. We may not get there, but at least we're determined to keep driving down the cost of travelling to make it more affordable."

Sunday 20th Sept 2015

Weekend Financial TimesSyriza secures clear victory in Greek general electionAlexis Tsipras’s radical left Syriza party was on track for victory in Sunday’s Greek general election, suggesting his gamble on snap elections after striking a deal on a new €86bn bailout had paid off. With just under half of the votes counted, Syriza was on 35.3 per cent of the vote, giving it 145 seats in the 300 member parliament, well ahead of centre-right New Democracy on 28 per cent and 75 seats. Mr Tsipras’s clear win secures his place as the pre-eminent figure in Europe’s far-left anti-austerity movement and is likely to galvanise sympathisers including Spain’s Podemos and Jeremy Corbyn, the hard-left leader of Britain’s Labour party.

Stocks unsettled by dovish Fed statementGlobal stocks took a heavy hit and US Treasury prices extended gains as the cautious tone of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy statement seriously undermined confidence among market participants. The US central bank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday hardly came as a surprise — indeed, the futures market had priced in a less than 30 per cent chance of a rise. But it was the dovish nature of the accompanying comments, most notably concerns that developments in the global economy and markets could “restrain US economic activity somewhat”, that set alarm bells ringing.

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Dollar falls after Fed holds ratesThe dollar stepped out on the downward path that currency strategists expect it to follow in the near-term in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s dovish stance, trending lower against the euro and most of its major peers. The Fed’s decision to hold rates, coupled with Fed chair Janet Yellen’s cautious rhetoric, pulled the greenback to a three-week low against the euro, while the dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of peers, slumped 1.2 per cent from its weekly high.

Fed doves turn managers cold on emerging markets stocksFear can often drive markets — a fact that has not escaped the attention of the US Federal Reserve after the central bank held fire over raising rates. Investors say the dovish hold, with a Fed statement that acknowledged the fragility of emerging markets and pointed to concerns over low inflation, was influenced by the recent bout of market volatility and falls in stock prices. It also reinforced views that developed world equities are the place to stay invested, with worries of a hard landing in China and the dangers of a further unwind and sell-off in emerging markets the biggest risk for portfolio managers.

Biggest obstacles to AB InBev-SABMiller deal lie in USThe world’s two largest brewers — Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller — have their headquarters in Europe. But the biggest obstacles to a potential merger between the, respectively, Budweiser and Miller Lite brewers, are likely to come from the US. Richmond, Virginia, on the US east coast is home to Altria, the tobacco group that makes Marlboro cigarettes. As the largest shareholder in SABMiller, with a 27 per cent stake, its decision will be crucial to the success of the takeover approach by AB InBev, that emerged last week. It is also in the US that a potential merger faces the biggest competition problems, though antitrust regulators the world over would scrutinise a deal.

China revs up its bid for WTO market economy statusBeijing is accelerating its push for World Trade Organisation market economy status (MES) despite growing international criticism that it has backed away from difficult economic reforms. China’s moves to devalue the renminbi and bail out its stock market, among other steps, have raised concerns that it is backtracking from much-heralded efforts to give a freer rein to market forces. A controversial stock market rescue plan and unambitious blueprint for reform of China’s state-owned enterprises have cast further doubt on Chinese officials’ appetite for tough reforms, making it that much more difficult for western politicians to declare China a market economy.

Emerging markets ponder mixed feelings after Fed rate holdFrustration eclipsed relief for emerging market countries in the aftermath of the US Federal Reserve’s decision not to tighten its monetary policy, with officials in China and Indonesia criticising the Fed for keeping the world guessing about its next moves. Janet Yellen, the Fed chair, stressed slowing growth in emerging markets was an important consideration behind the decision to keep US interest rates on hold. She added that financial market volatility had been heightened by worries over the adeptness of the Chinese authorities’ response. But a Chinese official on Friday slammed the Fed for leaving the world on tenterhooks every time it meets. “When it involves the whole global economy, central banks should be responsible and provide better guidance to the market,” Yao Yudong, director of the People’s Bank of China’s financial research institute, was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying. The agency added that Mr Yao was speaking as a researcher, not on behalf of the central bank.

Matteo Renzi upbeat as Italy upgrades growth forecastsItaly has upgraded its economic forecasts for 2015 and 2016 in a sign of growing confidence within the government of Matteo Renzi, the reformist prime minister, that a recovery is taking hold after three years of recession and stagnation. Ahead of next month’s budget law, Italy said output would rise by 0.9 per cent this year and 1.6 per cent next year, compared with earlier forecasts of 0.7 per cent growth in 2015 and 1.4 per cent in 2016.

VW apologises for cheating US car exhaust emissions testsThe chief executive of Volkswagen has apologised and ordered an external investigation into findings that the carmaker cheated on US emissions tests to make its vehicles appear less polluting. In a statement on Sunday, Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of the German carmaker, said the board of management took the findings “very seriously”.

O2 to become public company again after merger with ThreeO2 is being lined up to become a public company again under plans by CK Hutchison, after it has completed its £10.3bn acquisition to create the UK’s largest mobile telecoms group. CK Hutchison, which is controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, is buying O2 from Telefónica, and will merge it with its Three network depending on regulatory approval. In an interview with the Financial Times, Canning Fok, co-chief executive of the Hong Kong group, said the combined UK business would be run by David Dyson, Three’s chief executive.

Bank of America braced for bruising shareholders’ voteAs chief executive of Bank of America over the past five years, Brian Moynihan has sold businesses worth tens of billions of dollars and paid a heavier toll in fines, settlements and provisions than any other global lender. But on Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, he faces one of his toughest tests yet. At an extraordinary meeting of shareholders, investors in the second-biggest US bank by assets will vote on whether to ratify the board’s decision last October to change its bylaws to hand Mr Moynihan the additional role of chairman. Under Delaware law the bank was entitled to do so without consultation with shareholders but the change upset a lot of institutions, who demanded a say. BofA insiders are braced for a bruising encounter. The bank has spent about $150,000 on the services of two vote-soliciting companies, which have been ringing around individual shareholders with the message that the bank simply wanted the flexibility to pick and choose the best governance structure for any point in time. A senior team of executives has also travelled around the world to try to win over top investors. But the way some institutions see it, this was a classic case of a too-big-to-fail bank acting just as it pleases.

Sunday Business Post Dee's Wholefoods in Dutch supermarket vegan food dealCompany: Dee’s WholefoodsDone deal: €1 million Dutch supermarket dealThe clincher: “Reports are showing that as many as 3.5 million Dutch consumers regularly abstain from eating meat at least a few days a week, and, globally, the market for meat-free food continues to grow,” Dee’s Wholefoods founder, Deirdre Collins. Dee’s Wholefoods, a vegan producer based in Cork, is valuing a new contract to supply Dutch supermarket chain, Jumbo, at €1 million. The deal with Jumbo, which holds a 25 per cent share of the Dutch grocery market, will make the Dee’s Wholefoods range of meat-free meals and snacks available in 600 supermarkets across the Netherlands. The pact follows existing overseas deals with Booths supermarkets and Ocado in Britain. Spinneys, Waitrose, Choitrams and Lulu Supermarkets in the United Arab Emirates also stock the

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brand. In Ireland, the Dee’s Wholefoods range of vegan burgers, sausages and “veg pots” are stocked by Tesco, SuperValu, and Dunnes Stores.

Limerick radar tech start-up wins €2m in Chinese aviation safety dealsCompany: ArralisDone deal: Chinese aviation contracts worth €2 millionThe clincher: “With the growth in airports and surface vehicles in China, runway debris has become a serious hazard. Currently, we use teams of people to visually search for debris at regular intervals. Arralis’ short wavelength high definition radar modules will allow us to build systems that do this automatically.” - Ma Jian Zhong, chief executive, Sino TekCo. A start-up in Limerick has secured Chinese contracts worth €2 million to improve airspace safety using cutting-edge radar technology. Beijing Bluesky will use Arralis’s high-definition radar to help helicopters land in low-visibility conditions, such as dust clouds. The system will be used to detect obstacles, like overhead power lines, which can be difficult to identify in bad weather. Arralis will work with Bluesky initially to develop a prototype, with a view to producing thousands of patent-pending sub-systems in the future. Sino TekCo will use the same technology to develop a system to detect debris and track birds at airports. Arralis chief executive Barry Lunn said the contracts were in “one of the most dynamic and high-growth aerospace markets internationally,” highlighting potentially diverse applications for its technology.

Manguard invests Euro 1m in command centreCompany: Manguard PlusDone deal: €1 million control and command centreThe clincher: “We strived to build to the highest EN-standard and certified centre possible, from bricks and light bulbs to security doors and ventilation systems.” - Bill Brown, managing director, Manguard Plus. Irish-owned security firm Manguard Plus will create 40 jobs in Kildare with the opening of a €1 million command and control centre. The facility in Tougher Business Park will operate 24 hours a day, coordinating the company’s manned and mobile patrol services. Manguard offers a remote monitoring and response service using a software platform that consolidates clients’ CCTV systems. The company’s control centre will monitor CCTV, intruder, fire alarm and access systems.

Stock take: market weekBritain’s Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second-biggest visitor attractions’ operator, said last week that key summer trade had remained weak at its British theme parks after a roller coaster crash at its Alton Towers resort in June. The firm controls brands such as Madame Tussauds, Sea Life and Legoland. “The trends we reported at the half year have continued throughout the summer. The performance of our Legoland parks operating group has remained strong, with very positive guest satisfaction. But this has been offset by the impact of reduced visits across the resort theme parks operating group, primarily at Alton Towers resort, and euro weakness impacting visits at our London attractions.” Nick Varney, Merlin Entertainments chief executive

Inditex reports jump in net profitsFashion retailer Inditex, the owner of Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka, has reported a 26 per cent increase in its net profits for the first half of the year. “Inditex opened new stores in 35 markets during the first six months of the year, bringing its total store count across its 88 markets to 6,777. Zara has just launched online sales in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan; the current number of markets in which the group sells online is 28.”Inditex statement

Beer behemoths confirm merger talksAnheuser-Busch InBev, the maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, has made a bid for rival beer giant SABMiller, which controls brands such as Coors Light, Grolsch and Peroni. “AB InBev confirms that it has made an approach to SABMiller’s board of directors regarding a combination of the two companies. AB InBev’s intention is to work with SABMiller’s board toward a recommended transaction. There can be no certainty that this approach will result in an offer or agreement, or as to the terms of any such agreement.”Anheuser-Busch InBev statement

Are Ryanair shareholders in for a treat?Will Ryanair’s new friendly, customer-centric image extend to better treats for shareholders at its annual general meeting? Shareholders have been used to frugal offerings pre and post meetings, which are usually held very early in the morning at Dublin Airport. In reality, that is all its investors have to complain about at the airline. It has been a phenomenally successful couple of years, with profits jumping and bundles of cash being paid out through dividends and share buy backs. Thanks to lower oil prices, better fares and more passengers, Ryanair hiked its profit guidance for the financial year, which ends next March, to €1.22 billion. To put that number in context, Ryanair’s net profits are not far below the entire amount of revenue Aer Lingus generates in a year. The only things investors can complain about are the coffee and biscuits. Even those may get better!

Watsa rides to FBD’s rescuePrem Watsa, the Canadian billionaire, has come to the rescue of another troubled Irish financial company, thanks to his decision to take up a €70 million convertible bond issued by FBD. We’ve reported extensively on the difficulties of FBD this year, from rising losses, management overhaul and an insurance industry going through a period of hefty compensation claims. FBD is selling off its hotel joint venture, slashing costs and raising capital to meet new European rules for insurers that come into effect in January and deal with its own legacy issues. But Watsa, who was one of the handful of international investors who saved Bank of Ireland from state ownership in 2011, isn’t doing this because he’s a friend of distressed Irish companies. The bond deal, which requires the approval of investors, comes with a coupon of 7 per cent. That’s an annual payment of nearly €5 million until it converts into equity. Shares in FBD rose sharply on the back of the deal, although they are well off where they started the year, and the insurer called Watsa’s decision a “significant vote of confidence in FBD and in our future success”. The deal also raises the question as to why FBD, which has a strong anchor investor in its founding shareholder – Farmers Business Development – and a supportive Irish Farmers Association, which signalled it would invest in a bond transaction, didn’t go straight out and do a rights issue to raise cash. Perhaps we’ll find out the answer to that question from FBD soon.

€1.5bn investment and revenue growth in the EirThe boss of telecoms company Eir, which changed its name from Eircom last week, said the company isn’t under pressure from its investors to return cash or sell the business. Eir last year abandoned plans to seek a stock market listing and more recently turned down a €3.3 billion takeover attempt, which it said undervalued the business. Richard Moat, who took over as chief executive almost a year ago, said another change of ownership is “not on the horizon”. The company is generating hundreds of millions of euro a year in cash, but Moat said this will be ploughed back into the business rather than going back to investors. It plans to invest €1.5 billion in its telecoms network over the next decade.

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NextGear to finance car dealers buying stock as market growsNextGear Capital, a fast-growing provider of inventory financing to car dealers, is targeting striking deals with up to 25 per cent of franchise car dealers within three years. The US-based subsidiary of Cox Automotive Group last week said it plans to fund between 5,000 and 7,500 used vehicles in Ireland in 2016. It’s also targeting 50 independent dealers. It is already processing €10 million in financial applications from dealers. In three years, it believes it can reach turnover of €250 million. Globally, the group employs 24,000 in over 150 locations. Brian Geitner, president of NextGear Capital, said the business will inject significant funds to help car dealers to increase their stock to meet a growing demand from buyers. “I think the timing is very right post-financial crisis. There has been an absence of funders due to the crisis and we had great success via our England operation over the last year,” said Geitner. Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures from this year show that car sales have increased by 32 per cent and van sales are up by 50 per cent

Boardroom BriefingMobile phone services provider Zamano has reported a 19 per cent rise in first-half, pre-tax profit to €1.15 million. The company said that sales rose by 19 per cent to €10.4 million, helped by a strong third-party sales performance in Britain, an improvement in margins in Ireland, and tight cost control. Zamano also advised shareholders to take no action for the time being in relation to a preliminary and “highly conditional” approach regarding a possible offer for the company, which was announced on August 3. “There continues to no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any offer,” Zamano said in a statement.

Applegreen profits at the pumpsPetrol forecourt retailer Applegreen reported a strong set of first-half results last week, with both revenue and pre-tax profits up. The company reported an increase of 43 per cent in first-half, pre-tax profit to €5.2 million, helped by new site openings and an increased contribution from food. Revenue rose by 16 per cent to €517 million, with the company boosting site numbers to 175 at the end of June from 152 at the end of December. “Growth was evenly spread across both the Republic of Ireland and Britain, with the latter’s contribution also benefitting from the strength of sterling against the euro during this period,” chief executive Bob Etchingham said. Applegreen said that trading since the end of June had been positive. Although it expects growth to be slower in the second half than in the first, it is on track to deliver results in line with market expectations.

Delisting is end of an era for Aer LingusLast Wednesday marked Aer Lingus’s last day on the Iseq index. The airline also delisted from the London stock exchange last week, after its takeover by IAG. In a note issued last week, Goodbody suggested that the expansion of Aer Lingus’ North Atlantic plans under IAG ownership would “add 60p of value/share to the group by 2018”. “Obviously, an important requirement for this to be successfully executed is for Dublin’s infrastructure to be appropriately maintained and expanded,” the broker noted. “In that context, confirmation of new capital spend by Dublin Airport Authority is welcome.”

Sunday TimesWorldpay boss to land £50m from blockbuster floatTHE boss of Worldpay is set for a £50m windfall when it floats in London next month in a deal that will also make dozens of his fellow

managers millionaires. Philip Jansen, 48, who took over the payment processing specialist in April 2013, is set to make at least £50m. About 230 Worldpay managers will be given shares worth £350m in total, City sources said. The listing, likely to be the biggest in London this year, will propel Worldpay straight into the FTSE 100. The share awards to management are expected to be confirmed when the company publishes a float prospectus in a few weeks. Worldpay announced its intention to list last week. The company spurned last-ditch offers from French payment firm Ingenico and Wirecard, a German rival. Worldpay, which is backed by the buyout firms Bain Capital and Advent International, is expected to have a market value of about £5bn when it floats. Worldpay works with large companies including Google, British Airways and Sony, handling more than 31m payments a day. The company, based in London, employs more than 4,500 people, all of whom will be given shares or a cash equivalent as part of the float. Jansen’s windfall comes two years after he joined and pumped more than £1m of his own money into the business. Jansen, who has acted a senior adviser to Bain for several years, is also chairman of the food company Brakes. He is expected to make a further profit when the Bain Capital-backed food supplier floats next year for an expected £2.5bn.

Hotel giant to grab RafflesTHE InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is closing in on a £1.9bn deal to buy Fairmont, the Canadian giant that owns Singapore’s Raffles hotel. The FTSE 100 company has beaten rivals, thought to include Wyndham and Accor, and is likely to seal the deal within weeks, according to City sources. Fairmont was put up for sale earlier this year by its owner FRHI, which counts the Qatari government as its biggest shareholder. It manages more than 100 hotels around the world. Earlier this year IHG ruled itself out of a merger with rival Starwood, owner of the Sheraton and Westin brands. Since then the Holiday Inn owner has gone on the offensive. It has also been linked with Swiss operator Mövenpick — a deal banking sources said IHG was still pursuing.

SAB kingpin opens door to saleTHE American tobacco giant that holds the key to SAB Miller’s future has appointed its own advisers ahead of the brewer’s £75bn showdown with Anheuser-Busch InBev. Altria has signed up the investment banking heavyweights Credit Suisse and Perella Weinberg in a move seen as a sign that it is interested in selling its 27% stake in SAB. If the maker of Marlboro cigarettes does decide to sell, it would be almost impossible for SAB to hold off the advances of Brussels-listed AB InBev. Credit Suisse and Altria declined to comment. Perella Weinberg did not respond to a request for comment. SAB, the owner of Grolsch and Peroni, said last week it had received an informal approach. AB InBev, brewer of Budweiser and Stella Artois, now has until October 14 to make a formal offer, and if successful, the US giant could switch its tax base to the UK. AB InBev, which has its tax domicile in Leuven, Belgium, is keen to ensure that SAB Miller’s key shareholders escape an onerous tax bill on future dividends from the combined company.

TG4 seeks gold rushIrish-language station calls for more fundingTG4 will struggle to break even this year without more public funding, claims Siún Ní Raghallaigh, chairman of the Irish-language station and head of Ardmore Studios, writes Samantha McCaughren. TG4 recorded a loss of €44,000 last year despite a 10% rise in commercial revenues to €3.4m, according to its annual report. Ní Raghallaigh said that, despite extensive funding and cost cuts in recent years, the public funding would again fall by €510,000 this year. According to the report, TG4 provided 1,821 hours of original Irish-language content, ahead of its 1,710 target. This year’s shows include An Klondike, pictured, a four-part series based on a

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Canadian gold rush. It was financed by TG4, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and Section 481 funding. More than 90% of TG4’s income comes from public funding, which was €32.75m last year. Overall revenue was up by less than 1%.Paddy Power shares ‘undervalued’ by 30%SHARES in Paddy Power, the €4.5bn betting giant, are undervalued by 30%, based on cost and revenue “synergies” it can expect from its planned merger with Betfair, according to new research from stockbroker Davy. Davy analysts David Jennings and Robert Stokes have set a new price target of €129 on the bookie’s shares, which broke the €100 mark last week and closed at €102.70 on Friday. Paddy Power shares were trading at €69 at the start of this year. The analysts said Betfair’s shares could also rise 30% and set a new price target of £41.30 for its stock. They said Paddy Power Betfair would “rank as one of the highest-growth stocks in Europe”. In detailed research, the analysts forecast the combined group, which will have its main listing on the London stock exchange, would have revenues of nearly £1.8bn (€2.5bn) in 2017 and make more than £507m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda). Earnings should hit £563m the following year.

British lenders spark war with the return of 95% mortgagesFOR one English couple in their twenties, buying their first home seemed an impossible dream despite living on little more than jacket potatoes in order to build up a deposit. Then, last week, Tahrir Mohd Zaid and Zeynab Almadani heard Nationwide Building Society, Britain’s second-largest mortgage lender, was offering home loans to anyone with a 5% deposit. The monthly repayments would amount to £1,100 (€1,500) — affordable for the couple, who were saving £1,000 a month while paying £500 rent. For Irish borrowers struggling to raise a 20% deposit, this is an echo from another era. Last week Santander and Nationwide launched mortgage products at 95% loan to value, joining HSBC, Halifax, NatWest and Virgin Money. And the fierce mortgage war has prompted Lloyds — a lender being propped up by the British state — to offer 120% mortgages to existing customers. Before the crisis hit in 2008, UK banks recklessly lent billions. The most infamous case was the 125% Together mortgage from Northern Rock, which later collapsed.

Social fund on track for surplusJoan Burton's department predicts exit from deficit next year THE social insurance fund is slowly climbing out of the red as the recovery continues but is still heading for a €180m deficit by the end of the year, according to figures from the Department of Social Protection. According to estimates, the fund will take in over €8.2bn this year but will spend over €8.4bn, leaving a deficit of €180m to be provided by the exchequer. In the eight months to the end of August this year, the fund, which pays out social insurance benefits (not allowances) — including the contributory state pension, jobseekers’ benefit as well as statutory redundancy payments to workers — spent almost €5.6bn. Income from PRSI contributions from employers, employees and the self-employed came to over €5.5bn. The department’s estimate on income for the year of €8.2bn represents a €354m, or 4.5%, increase on the outturn for last year, reflecting the increase in employment. However, the overall expenditure for this year is estimated to drop by only €7m, less than 1%.

Amazon to boost presence in IrelandAMAZON is seeking permission to demolish a large building beside its data centre in Clonshaugh, north Dublin, signalling further expansion plans for Ireland. Amazon Data Services Ireland has submitted a plan to demolish buildings with a total floor space of 16,500 sq metres (177,600 sq ft). The site used to hold manufacturing company Diamond Innovations, which closed in 2013 with the loss of 79 jobs. Amazon has been expanding is data centre

space in Ireland. In July it acquired the 20-acre former Jacob’s biscuit factory on Belgard Road in Tallaght, Dublin. The online retailer is also investing in a large data centre at the former Shinko Microelectronics site in Tallaght, having acquired the site last year. It will be nearly 12,000 sq metres, according to planning documents.

StitcherAds looks to USBETAPOND, a Facebook marketing company, has raised €1.2m in funding and rebranded as StitcherAds in a “repositioning” to focus on the US. The investment was led by existing investors Delta Partners and the Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund. Lift ACM Ventures, based in Delaware, also invested. The company had previously raised about €3.2m from investors. Maurice Roche, general partner at Delta, said Waterford-based StitcherAds was beefing up its staff in Austin, Texas, and in its office in England. The company had losses of €1.5m at the end of 2013, its latest accounts show. Enterprise Ireland is a backer, most recently investing €160,000 earlier this year.

Lioncourt builds €11m profitLIONCOURT Homes, a British housebuilder backed by Irish investors Michael Tunney and David Andrews, made an £8m (€11m) operating profit in the year to the end of March, after selling two sites for £21m. Revenues at the company hit £40.1m, up from £11.6m the previous year, when it made £1.1m profit. Lioncourt said it completed 95 homes in the year and secured five new development sites with potential for 229 homes. The company increased its borrowing facility with HSBC to £30m last month, giving it firepower for expansion. It also raised £4.3m in equity investment from new and existing shareholders last December. Lioncourt has property assets worth more than £30m and ambitions to build 500 homes a year in Britain. Tunney and Andrews set up investment group Lioncourt Capital in 1998 and have a range of interests, including stakes in travel group Usit and in Valeo Foods.

Biomedical firms mergeTHE Murtagh family has merged two biomedical companies under its control in a deal that values the resultant business at $67m (€59m). The Murtaghs controlled both Faxitron, a US radiology cabinet maker, and UK company Scintacor, which supplies caesium iodide for applications such as dental X-rays. A new company, Faxitron Scintacor, has been registered in Dublin. Faxitron cabinets are used to X-ray tissue specimens, and 7,000 systems are installed worldwide. Once owned by Hewlett-Packard, the Murtaghs invested in 2005. Scintacor, formerly Applied Scintillation Technologies, traces its roots to the development of the H2S radar screen during the Second World War. Following an investment by the Murtaghs last October, it has plans to triple production capacity. Paul Murtagh, son of Kingspan founder Eugene Murtagh, is the chairman of both companies.

Directors targeted for loans taxDIRECTORS who have not paid benefit in kind (BIK) tax on company loans are being hit with sizeable bills by Revenue. Accountants say that Revenue has been targeting the business perk since June and is seeking unpaid tax going back over four years, which can result in tens of thousands of euros in underpaid tax. Anthony Casey, of accountancy firm Noone Casey, said Revenue is applying an interest rate of 13.5% on the loans when calculating BIK tax payable. If a director had borrowed €100,000 from his or her company, the interest over four years would be calculated at €54,000. Revenue would consider this a benefit in kind, taxable at 52%, equating to a total tax payment of over €28,000. BIK tax has always been required on directors’ loans but Casey said it had rarely been declared by directors and this had rarely been challenged by Revenue. “It’s an enforcement of existing legislation,” he said.

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Bidders go cool on Nama loan auctionProject Arrow could be left with only one interested party. PROJECT Arrow, Nama’s largest loan auction yet, is in danger of collapse this weekend, with fears that a second bidder from a shortlist of just three is considering pulling out of the process. There are fears that Apollo Global Management, a large American fund, may not submit a bid for the massive €7.2bn loan portfolio, which includes more than 2,000 separate loans. Two weeks ago, a joint bid between Goldman Sachs and CarVal pulled out of the bidding. If Apollo exits the process, then just one firm, Cerberus Capital Management, will be left in the auction. Cerberus is caught up in a Northern Ireland assembly and US Department of Justice probe over alleged payments made in connection with the purchase of Project Eagle, a loan portfolio with an unpaid balance of £4.3bn (€5.9bn) at the time of purchase. Cerberus, which has strongly denied making any inappropriate payments, had purchased the portfolio for just over £1.3bn.

The Sunday IndependentGovernment should heed last week's useful adviceWith less than a month before Budget 2015 is unveiled, both the public finances watchdog and the Paris-based OECD weighed in last week on how the package should be constructed. Both outfits continue to make the case for avoiding a return to the bad old "if I have it, I'll spend it" ways. Before getting into their views in more detail, let's cheer ourselves up a bit this Sunday morning. For a very long time, there was nothing but bad budgetary news. It was depressing to write about it and, no doubt, depressing for readers to read. Thankfully, and although things are (fiscally) far from hunky dory, there is some better news now. The cheeriest development relates to the amount of cash that is flowing into the Government's coffers, and, more importantly still, the reason why that is happening. Revenue is now growing strongly, helping to move the public finances back from the brink at which they teetered just a few short years ago. Better again, that is happening not because the taxman is shoving his hand further into your pocket - but because greater activity in the economy is generating more revenue.

Investment in renewable energy will place upward pressure on bills - ESB chiefElectricity bills will come under upward pressure because of the investment needed to transform the way we consume power, according to ESB chief executive Pat O'Doherty. O'Doherty told the Sunday Independent that the single biggest policy challenge in the sector is to move away from a primarily fossil-fuel-based system in a manner that maintains affordability. "Looking at all of this technology and all these changes, it's going to require significant investment. And investment has the potential to drive up price, for sure. And the challenge from a policy point of view is to make sure that still delivers security of supply and meets the environmental obligations. But it does have the potential for prices to go up, there is a cost to this."O'Doherty said that in the short term the prices of oil and gas drive electricity prices here - and that those prices are falling. He said Electric Ireland - the utility company arm of the ESB - was keeping its prices under review."At Electric Ireland, we know full well the imposition that the cost of electricity has on consumers. We are one of nine electricity companies in Ireland and we have to be

competitive and we will be competitive. We will always be competitive," he said.

More skilled workers coming to Ireland than are leavingAbout 20pc more skilled professionals came to Ireland than left during the second quarter of 2015, data scientists at LinkedIn have found. The software industry was the most popular sector for professionals moving to Ireland, reflecting the country's popularity as a destination both for European start-ups looking to expand and for US firms looking for an EU base. Healthcare and retail sectors also attracted foreign professionals. The company is working with the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland on strategies to encourage the return of skilled ex-pats.

Eir will refinance €350m bond next year and sell propertiesEIR chief executive Richard Moat will refinance a €350m bond next year for significantly lower than the debt is currently costing the company, and begin a sell-off of some of the company's 1,000 properties as he returns the newly renamed company to a financial stable position. Eir's debt is trading at par, Moat told the company, compared to the 77c on the euro its debt traded for when he joined the business in 2012.The number of creditors to whom the business, which was rebranded to Eir from Eircom last week, owes debt has significantly reduced. When it left examinership , its debtors totalled around 200 different lenders. There has been significant consolidation since then with commercial banks selling their loans. “Today our debt trades at par and our bonds trade at a premium. The market is clear that it is going to be repaid. We are in a totally different financial position compared to the company that left examinership" said Moat.

Martin lays down red lines on business ahead of coalition talksFianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has said "many" of his party's policies on entrepreneurship will be "red lines" in coalition negotiations after the next general election. Martin told the Sunday Independent that he wants to put issues on the table in order to swing debate in his favour ahead of any talks that might take place. On Thursday last, he told a meeting hosted by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce that his party is planning to cut capital gains tax from 33pc to 15pc for businesses sold up to a maximum of €10m; to allow the self-employed to opt in to Class A PRSI to receive jobseekers' benefit; and to set up a new "fully fledged" enterprise bank that Martin believes "would be a permanent solution to the lending gap that exists in the Irish banking sector". Afterwards, he told this newspaper that he thinks "most people in the business community, particularly people involved in foreign direct investment, know that our heart was in the right place in terms of creating a strong business environment in the country. "We're a centre-ground party that sees business as important in terms of job creation. We're pro-enterprise, basically," Martin said.

Competition commission in new probe on grocery pricingA formal investigation into pricing in the groceries sector has been launched by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the Sunday Independent can reveal. The news emerges as the Commission prepares to beef up its staff by almost a third - including hiring new investigators. It has also designated government procurement as an "area of interest". Grocers in this country are at war over prices. Kantar Worldpanel director David Berry said that the market is "intensely competitive". Shoppers are benefiting from price cuts but concerns have been raised about prices paid to suppliers. "You've got the three big players, each of whom has just over 20pc share of the marketplace, and then you have Aldi and Lidl below them with almost 10pc each," Mr Berry told

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the Sunday Independent. "Elsewhere, you wouldn't have that same level of competition and what that means is when one retailer has a certain amount of activity in the market then the other ones have to respond. "It is very, very fierce...price inflation remains very subdued, so there are limited price increases and if you look within the store there would be a number of areas where prices are actually reducing."Upstart IEX applies for stock exchange status with SECUpstart trading venue IEX Group - the star of Michael Lewis' bestselling book Flash Boys - has filed to become a registered US stock exchange. If the application is approved by regulators, IEX will begin operating as 'The Investors Exchange' in the mid-to-late first quarter of next year. IEX, which launched in October 2013, calling itself a fairer market for investors, would be the 12th US stock exchange, competing against more established market operators, such as BATS Global Markets, Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange's NYSE unit. IEX and its chief executive officer Brad Katsuyama were thrust into the spotlight in March of last year as the heroes of Lewis's book, which claimed the market was rigged in favour of high-speed traders. The book chronicled IEX's efforts to develop an exchange that would feature an electronic "speed bump" that they said would level the playing field for all investors. The technology is designed to delay electronic trading by tiny fractions of a second in order to block so called "front-running", the controversial ability of big banks to profit by leap-frogging smaller investors' online trades. Irishman Ronan Ryan is IEX's chief strategy officer and one of the central characters of Lewis' book. Last year Newry-based First Derivatives won a contract to provide the exchange with software to help monitor suspicious trading activity.

Virtual currency Bitcoin is officially a commodity - regulatorVirtual money is officially a commodity, just like crude oil or wheat. So says the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which on Thursday announced it had filed and settled charges against a Bitcoin exchange for facilitating the trading of option contracts on its platform. "In this order, the CFTC, for the first time, finds that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities," according to the press release. While market participants have long discussed whether Bitcoin could be defined as a commodity, and the CFTC has long pondered whether the cryptocurrency falls under its jurisdiction, the implications of this move are potentially numerous. By this action, the CFTC asserts its authority to provide oversight of the trading of cryptocurrency futures and options, which will now be subject to the agency's regulations. In the event of wrongdoing, such as futures manipulation, the CFTC will be able to bring charges against bad actors. If a company wants to operate a trading platform for Bitcoin derivatives or futures, it will need to register as a swap execution facility or designated contract market, just like the CME Group. And Coinflip - the target of the CFTC action - is hardly the only company that provides a platform to trade Bitcoin derivatives or futures.

Turnover nears €100m at Murphy's MonexAnnual revenue at Frank Murphy's Kerry-based Monex Financial Services is closing in on the €100m mark following its expansion into 46 countries, the Sunday Independent has learned. 2014 revenue jumped by 14pc to €97m, while pre-tax profit more than doubled to €8m.The company, whose headquarters are in Killarney, processed 163 million transactions in the year, up 28pc on the previous year, with a combined value of €28bn. One of Monex's main business activities is in dynamic currency conversion (DCC), which offers ATM users the option to pay in either the currency of their card or the currency of the country where they are making an ATM withdrawal. This enables Monex's clients to generate new profits from existing transactions while offering the cardholder a new service. Its services are now available on 68,000 ATMs in Europe and North and South America, including ATMs on Las Vegas' famed

strip. The company is fast becoming the go-to global DCC provider for the ATM sector.

RTE One market share has fallen by 20pc since 2004RTE's flagship television channel has lost a fifth of its market share in the past decade. Analysis of the company's latest annual report, released earlier this month, shows that RTE One's peak-time market share fell by 20pc between 2004 and 2014. The channel had 25.1pc of the national audience at peak time last year compared to 32.3pc of the market in 2004. RTE One's all-day share fell even more dramatically, by 28pc, from 25.8pc to 18.7pc. Market share at the station's youth-oriented channel has also fallen. RTE2's peak-time market share is down by 15pc while its all day market share is down by 40pc. Viewer numbers for top shows, though, have grown dramatically. The most watched show of the year hasn't changed in a decade; for both, it was the Late Late Toy Show. But the Toy Show has 1.6m viewers in 2014 compared to just 940,000 in 2004. The second most watched show last year was Love/Hate, with 1.1m viewers followed by the RBS Six Nations France v Ireland with 891,000. In 2004 the second and third most watched shows were You're a Star: The Results Show and the Late Late Show. RTE's biggest television rival, TV3, also saw its market share decline during the decade. Its peak-time share fell by 16pc, to 11.6pc of the market in 2014. Its all-day share fell by 24pc.

Asystec set for US expansion on back of 50 jobs announcementLimerick-based data-management company Asystec is formulating plans to set up an office in the US on the back of announcing the creation of 50 new jobs on Friday. The company. whose clients include EMC, Symantec and Cisco, plans to set up in Massachusetts initially. Co-founder Brendan McPhillips told the Sunday Independent that his clients wanted the skills available in Ireland to also be available in the United States. "I suppose a lot of these multinationals are used to - in Ireland particularly - being big fish in a small pond. In the US, they would be seen differently, even if they have large numbers of employees. "The levels of service and expertise that they get here simply aren't available to them in the US and we've had a number of our customers here say to us that if we were to bring similar levels of service and expertise to the US that they would very happily deal with us. "The plan initially is to open in Massachusetts and that's to follow a number of large customers that we would have that would be based there. "But we're already transacting business in places like Arizona and Colorado, again through relationships we have in Ireland."

Software entrepreneur building Ireland's next private equity fundA group led by healthcare software entrepreneur David Raethorne is preparing to launch a new private equity fund targeting mid-size Irish and UK companies. The fund will invest between €5m and €50m in growing companies in all sectors. Cornerstone investors have already committed to the fund and the process of opening new offices on Hatch street in Dublin 4 is also underway. Raethorne has a long track record of growing and investing in successful companies. A graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology, he founded healthcare software business Helix Health in 1987. The company, which started life as Systems Solutions, grew to become the largest healthcare software firm in Ireland and the UK, and bought several smaller British rivals while under Raethorne's control. Helix Health was bought by US investment group Eli Global in 2014 for a reported €40m. Raethorne was an early investor in Smiles Dental, the rapidly-growing dentistry chain founded by Topaz chief executive Emmet O'Neill and sold to Oasis Dental in 2014 for €36m. His investment vehicle Brentwood Investments also bought the coffee chain BB's Coffee and Muffins earlier this year for a sum thought to be in the region of €10m. The new private equity fund

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should help to address an emerging shortage of funding for growing mid-size companies and those operating in sectors outside of the funding-saturated software industry.

Group led by Gresham's manager expected to bid for the iconic propertyA group led by the Gresham Hotel's general manager and backed by an American hotel management company is likely to bid for the Dublin institution. The 301-room hotel, which dates back to the early 1800s, is expected to be put up for sale by NAMA next month. Windward Investments, which is led by the Gresham's general manager Patrick Coyle, and the fourth largest hotel management company in the US, Pyramid, is likely to make a play for the property. Pyramid bought the 132-bed Temple Bar Hotel earlier this year from insurance group FBD for a reported €30m, with Winward taking over the day-to-day management of the property. The group would probably continue to operate the Gresham as a hotel rather than attempt to convert it into retail or office space. NAMA took control of the Gresham from Precinct Investments, the company owned by builder Brian Cullen. Precinct took the Gresham Hotel group private in 2004, in a €117m deal. It also owned Cork's Metropole Hotel and the Park Inn in London but sold those properties shortly before its loans passed into NAMA. The country's biggest hotel operator Dalata has said it will bid for the hotel. Dalata chief executive Pat McCann indicated it could sell for somewhere north of €60m. Dalata recently raised €160m to build a war chest for acquisitions. US billionaire John Malone, Kennedy Wilson Europe - which recently bought Kildare's Carton House - and Japanese hotel chain Toyoko Inn are other likely bidders, industry sources said. Toyoko Inn is owned by the Nishida family, who bought Charlie Haughey's former estate Abbeville two years ago.

The Sunday TelegraphVodafone talks with Liberty Global hit trouble over taxTalks over a potential £140bn merger of Vodafone with Liberty Global have hit a roadblock over the cable operator’s complex tax arrangements, according to City sources. Liberty owns Britain’s cable network, Virgin Media, and is controlled by the US billionaire John Malone. It has been in months of talks with Vodafone towards trying to combine the two giants’ mobile and cable networks in the British, German and other European markets, either through asset swaps, a merger or a takeover, but this weekend appeared at an impasse over tax.

Banks pay £31bn in tax as their fortunes recoverBanks in Britain paid a total of £31.3bn in tax last year, with foreign banks responsible for just over half of the sector's tide of cash into the Treasury's coffers. The figure is a sign of the financial recovery sweeping through the sector as the tax haul increases as banks make bigger profits and hire more staff. In 2008, the industry paid a total of £33bn, before the financial crisis struck and dragged tax payments down to a low of £20.2bn in 2010, according to the study by PwC and the British Bankers Association (BBA). Since then the sector has recovered once more, with employment taxes and VAT responsible for the majority of the increase in tax payments, resulting in the contribution to the public sector rising to 95pc of its pre-crisis level.

Apple's self-driving car may be close to appearing on public roads

Apple has reportedly met officials in California to discuss regulation of self-driving cars, which may suggest that the company is preparing to put its rumoured autonomus vehicle on public roads. Mike Maletic, a senior Apple lawyer, met bosses at the California department of motor vehicles in August, according to documents obtained by The Guardian. Apple has been rumoured for several months to be developing self-driving car technology. Several major executives from car companies have joined the company, and Apple boss Tim Cook is believed to have recently toured a BMW factory in Germany.

Volkswagen could face $18bn fine over secret device that 'intentionally cut emissions' - but only when cars were being testedUS regulators have charged Volkswagen with manufacturing vehicles designed to evade government pollution controls, and said the German auto giant should urgently fix nearly 500,000 cars. Volkswagen could face an $18bn penalty over the software made to meet clean-air standards during official emissions testing but which would intentionally turn off during normal operations, US and California regulators said. As a result, the diesel cars emit greater-than-allowed quantities of pollution linked to smog and various health ills.

UDG Healthcare sells off £300m drugs businessUDG Healthcare, a provider of medical equipment and healthcare services, is to sell its drug distribution businesses for €408m (£300m). The Dublin-based group announced the proposed sale of its United Drug Supply and MASTA travel business to McKesson, one of the largest US-based pharmaceutical distribution companies in the Fortune 500. The FTSE 250-listed company will receive €407.5m in cash for the combined businesses, which generated revenues of €1.4bn and adjusted earnings of €30.3m in the year to September 2014. The funds will be used to repay €142m in bank debt and further the expansion of its healthcare consultancy business.

Opec has victory in its sights in oil price war with US shaleThe Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has given the clearest signal yet that it believes it is winning its oil price war with the US shale industry. The group of 12 mainly Middle Eastern producers has said that output from outside the cartel in 2016 will be over 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) lower than it had previously predicted, as lower prices shut down more production. In its closely-watched monthly market report, Opec said: “There are signs that US production has started to respond to reduced investment and activity. Indeed, all eyes are on how quickly US production falls.”

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