Bank of Ireland adds 275m to agri investment fund
Bank of Ireland has announced a 275m increase to its 200m Agri Farm Investment Fund, as part of a number of initiatives aimed at supporting growth of the agri sector. The increase, along with the €25m working capital fund, which was launched in July, adds up to a cash boost of €500m available to the sector since July 2011. The new initiatives include AIB’s Agri Development Loan and Agri Credit Line. Regarding the loan, farmers who are developing their farms to cater for increased dairy output post 2015 may avail of interest only repayment terms in certain circumstances. The bank aims to support these farmers’ cash flows until milk quotas…
Read More745m invested in UK and Irish tech companies in H1 2012
Some £596m (745m) has been invested in UK and Irish tech companies in the first half of this year, the highest amount in more than a decade, according to new figures from London-based corporate finance advisory company, Ascendant. In the second quarter of 2012, £297m (€372m) was put into 60 UK and Irish companies by 102 investors. This compares to an investment of £234m (€293m) in Q2 2011 invested in 48 companies by 70 investors in the second quarter of 2011. “When added to our figures for Q1 that makes £596m invested in 124 companies in the first half of 2012,” saidStuart McKnight, managing director of Ascendant. “It is worth…
Read MoreComplaints against Club Orange billboard ad upheld
The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) has upheld complaints about a Club Orange billboard ad, which featured two oranges and used the tagline ‘The Best Bits in the World’. The ASAI found that the ad should not be displayed again as the imagery used was “intended to represent a pair of women’s breasts”, and “sexual innuendo” was being used merely to attract attention. Club Orange said that the ‘best bits’ in question referred to the bits of natural orange in the drink and had been key to the brand for years. According to agency Chemistry, which created the ad, it was intentionally tongue-in-cheek and humorous. Last year Club Orange’s…
Read MoreJobs Expo returns to Dublin this month
Organisers of the Jobs Expo 2012 event, which was held earlier this year, have said it will return to Dublin this September due to popular demand. This time the event, which will be free of charge, will be held in the Hogan Suite of Croke Park, and will take place on Friday, 28 and Saturday, 29 September from 11am to 5pm. Advice and career opportunities will be available from companies located both in Ireland and abroad such as the British Columbia Construction Association whose members are looking to fill positions in the Canadian province for carpenters, welders, iron workers, plumbers, pipelayers, mechanics, crane operators and sheet metal workers. The exhibition…
Read MoreSocial media impacting TV watching in the US – Horowitz
Social media is having an increasing influence on the TV viewing behaviours of US consumers , particularly in the younger age brackets, according to a new survey from Horowitz Associates. ‘Multiplatform Content and Services 2012’ finds that 24pc of 18-34 year-old adults and 30pc of 15-17 year-olds have started watching a show on TV because of something they saw online or through social media, compared to 16pc of total 18+ adult consumers surveyed. In the survey, 14pc of social media users agreed that social media helps them remember to tune into shows they want to watch. This figures rises to 19pc among 18-34 year-old adult social media users and 28pc of 15-17 year-old…
Read MoreBT ad UK’s most memorable from a London 2012 sponsor – Nielsen
BT ad UK’s most memorable from a London 2012 sponsor – NielsenPictured: BT’s Hola was the most memorable and third most liked A BT ad showing a group of Spanish girls visiting a neighbour’s flat to use their broadband while in London for the Olympic Games was the most memorable Olympic-themed TV ad in the UK from an official sponsor during 2012, according to new figures from Nielsen. Nielsen said the ‘Hola’ ad was 36pc more likely to be remembered than the average Olympic-themed TV ad from an Olympic sponsor. The BT ad was narrowly ahead of McDonald’s free Olympic glass giveaway, which was 32pc more memorable than the average…
Read MoreStephen Rae, Editor, The Irish Independent
Appointment Date: 07.09.2012 Company: Independent News & Media Business Type: Newspapers Position: Editor, Irish Independent Stephen Rae has been appointed editor of the Irish Independent following the retirement of Gerry O’Regan. Independent News & Media (Ireland) said the appointment is effective immediately. Stephen Rae was born in 1966 and was the former group editor-in-chief of INM newspaper publishers, including the Irish Independent, Ireland’s largest national newspaper, from 2012–2018. Rae, who is currently 46 as per this post, had been serving as editor of the Evening Herald since 2005. His previous roles at that paper include deputy editor, associate editor (news), and security correspondent. A graduate of the DIT School of…
Read MoreIreland ranked 10th in Tim Berners-Lee web index
Ireland has come 10th in a new global index of the state of the web in 61 countries around the world. The study, which was launched by Tim Berners-Lee on behalf of the World Wide Web Foundation , placed Sweden in first place for putting the web to work, followed by the US and the UK. The top 10 is rounded out by Canada, Finland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Norway and Ireland, respectively. Nepal is placed bottom of the list, followed by Cameroon, Mali, Bangladesh, Namibia, Ethiopia, Benin, Burkino Faso, Zimbabwe and Yemen. According to the study, Ireland outpaces all other countries in the index in terms of the web’s effects on its economy.…
Read MoreMyBuilder launches survey to find best builders’ breakfast
A café or diner is to be named the home of the ‘Best Builders’ Breakfast in Britain’ in November further to a survey of 63,000 tradesmen launched today. Online venture MyBuilder , which matches reviewed tradesmen with the homeowners who need to hire them, is doing the survey.. It has over 63,000 plumbers, electricians, painters, plasterers and other tradesmen on its books, enabling householders to arrange everything from changing a washer to building an extension online. Nearly 500,000 jobs have been posted on the site since it was founded by US-born stonemason Ryan Notz. Posting a job on the site is free. MyBuilder operates by charging builders, primarily when they get…
Read More“Dangerous” Blackrock Baths to be demolished
“Dangerous” Blackrock Baths to be demolished Blackrock Baths are to be demolished after various structures on the site were found to be dangerous, according to a statement from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The council said that following a recent inspection by senior staff, “it emerged that the structures have suffered from extensive weather damage and the ravages of the sea, making the structures and adjoining land dangerous for members of the public. “It has also been confirmed that the concrete has been seriously affected by the wind and wave action. The pool structure is beyond repair, and the seating and changing block, constructed of structural steel clad in concrete, is in danger of…
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