Business

General Motors is to up the size of its stock offering by more than 30pc to US$15.5bn, according to a statement from the company today. If the offer is taken up fully, the IPO will become the largest US deal to date. GM intends to boost the share offering to 478 million shares as a result of surging demand by investors. By late last night, US$70bn worth of orders had already been put in. The IPO could raise nearly US$23bn and will reduce the US Treasury’s stake to a minority one. If share prices remain at the top end at US$33 and all stock is sold, the US Government could…

US fashion retailer Forever 21 is set to open its first Irish store in Dublin’s Jervis Street Shopping Centre tomorrow, creating 250 jobs. The popular store is often labelled as the American equivalent to Topshop with its “fast fashion” – that is runway looks at below-high street prices – and huge crowds are expected at the unveiling on Saturday. The much-anticipated launch, along with a store opening in Birmingham in the UK today,  marks the retailer’s first foray into the European market where it will compete with the likes of H&M, Penny’s and New Look. The group was founded in 1984 and now operates more than 460 stores in America,…

Treasury Holdings-backed Real Estate Opportunities (REO) has received approval from Wandsworth Council for its planning application for the Battersea Power Station site. According to REO, approval of the planning application, the largest ever in Central London, is a major step towards the regeneration of the Battersea Power Station. The next stage of the process will see the application referred to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for their consideration. The Ł5.5 billion redevelopment, which is intended to be completed in a number of phases over 13 years, will create a 10.1m sq ft mixed-use sustainable development with over 3,400 new homes and…

Ireland is rapidly regaining the competitiveness it lost during the boom years, according to a new report released today at IBEC’s CEO Conference. Ireland’s costs are coming into line internationally, exporters are increasing global market share and unemployment appears to have levelled off, explained Danny McCoy, adding that businesses have reacted swiftly and decisively to the recession. “We are now positioned for recovery and equipped to create balanced and sustainable growth,” he said. The IBEC report Productivity and adjustment shows that as pay rates and other costs have been reduced, Irish firms are again performing strongly in international markets. It also found that major restructuring programmes and a stronger focus…

Following third quarter declines and expectations for worse in quarter four, retailer Next has warned customers to expect double-digit price rises for clothes in 2011. The British fashion group said that due to the rise in the price of cotton, retail price increases are likely to be at the top end of the previously-stated 5 to 8pc range in the first three months of 2011. Even further hikes could be seen in quarter two. “Because we’ve bought most of the stock for the first-quarter of next year we can be fairly confident that our number at the top end of that range is right,” said chief executive Simon Wolfson. “We…

A recent study commissioned by Irish oil and gas exploration company Providence Resources offshore Dublin has revealed the presence of a potential direct hydrocarbon indicator. In a technical update this morning, the firm said that further analysis has suggested that the area – offshore Dalkey – may also be prospective for oil. The Dalkey Island prospect is located 10km offshore eastern Ireland. Providence holds an operated 50pc equity interest in its Licensing Option with its partner, Star Energy Group. The company believes the structure at Dalkey could contain up to 870m barrels of oil ‘in place’. It added that the target is in shallow water, facilitating any possible exploitation. In…

Aviation group Lufthansa has announced an operating profit of €612m for the nine months to end-September and says its full-year result will exceed €800m. The airline’s profit is a result of positive demand in passenger and freight traffic, as well as the success of the company’s cost cutting programmes. The first half of the year was marred by extreme weather, pilots’ strikes and airspace lockdowns leading to an operating loss but the group has turned this around with a third quarter profit of €783m. In the nine-month period from January to September, revenue increased by €4bn to €20.2bn. Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said Lufthansa had “flown though the economic…

An ex-professional gambler and former City trader are set to make at least £211m from an initial public offering (IPO) of their 10-year-old company Betfair. On its stock market debut Betfair was valued at £1.4bn. Andrew Black and Edward Wray founded the online bookmakers and both sold around a million shares in the flotation, worth between £14 million and £17 million. They still own more than 20pc of the business. Shares in Betfair were quoted at 1,542 pence at midday, a premium of close to 19pc on the IPO price. The group is licensed to operate in the UK, Australia, Malta, Italy, Austria and Germany, claiming to be the biggest…

The European Commission today tabled its ‘Innovation Union’ initiative, which sets out a strategic approach to challenges such as climate change, energy and food security, health and an ageing population. In a statement today, the Commission said it will use public sector intervention to stimulate the private sector and to “remove bottlenecks which stop ideas reaching the markets.” These barriers can include lack of finance, fragmented research systems and markets, underuse of public procurement for innovation and slow standard setting. Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said if Europe is not transformed into an Innovation Union, economies will “wither on the vine while ideas and talent go to…

Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD said he believes Ireland can become the ‘gateway’ for Chinese investment into Europe. He made his comment yesterday in the wake of meeting a high level Chinese delegation in Government Buildings. The Chinese delegation was led by Mr Li Changchun, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It’s the highest level Chinese delegation to have visited Ireland in the last six years. In 2004, China Premier Wen Jiabao visited Ireland. Cowen said Ireland has important advantages, including being the only English speaking country in the Eurozone. He said that Irish trade with China had…