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A wide range of sporting stars are forming a partnership to invest in a €180m tax-driven property deal. The Waverton Property LLP investors include Rory McIlroy, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Kenny Dalglish and West Ham manager Sam Allardyce.

The U.K. provides lucrative tax breaks to encourage investors to regenerate commercial premises. Waverton Property LLP are to convert a Birmingham warehouse into a datacenter. €72 million will be put in as cash with the remaining €108 million to be funded by debt. The sporting stars will need to hold onto the property for seven years to avail of the tax breaks before it can be sold on.

Rory McIlroy is currently the world number one meaning he is likely to earn a large amount in sponsorship deals and competition prize money. This tax deal will help McIlroy minimise his tax bill over the coming years.

Spain’s crisis affects AIB

AIB successfully raised €395m on UK mortgages, in the first time it has raised unguaranteed funding since November 2009. This victory has been tainted by the deepening eurozone crisis which sees Spain teeter on the brink.

The eurozone is rapidly approaching a tipping point as Spain’s banking system approaches collapse.

The Spanish government are now in control of Bankia, the country’s fourth largest bank.

Over 80% of Bankia’s €37.5 billion property loan book is seen as challenged.

The local banks in Spain have lent over €80 billion to the property market, if anything close to 80% of these loans are in trouble, it would be inevitable that Spain would require a bail-out.

The funding required to bail-out a county of Spain’s size would likely be too great for the troika but the country is also too key a player in the E.U. to be allowed fail.

Facebook trials charge to post

In a further attempt to monetise Facebook, the social network is trialing a system of charging people or companies to promote their posts.

The trials are taking place in New Zealand and are designed to make the posts harder to miss for a person’s friends or a company’s fanbase.

Reports from New Zealand say that $2 USD was the charge requested to promote a post by having it displayed on a yellow background.

By having the post on a yellow background would make it more conspicuous to the Facebook user would also make it easier to identify ads and thus ignore them.

The value of the Facebook page and relationship that companies have with their fan-base is that it is not direct-selling or offer-orientated. It is an exercise in increasing brand loyalty.

Mobile-usage of the site has surged and advertising options on mobile are as yet very limited.
Facebook have told investors that this may affect profit levels.

NAMA has launched a deferred payment Initative on a pilot basis, the motgage scheme will give home buyers up to 20%  protection against the fall in residential property prices over the next five years.

Home buyers must first obtain mortgage approval for 90% of the purchase price.

Under the scheme 80% of the property price will be paid up front.

The remaining 20% will be due in 5 years.

Depending on the value of the property at that time, this may be waived in full or part if the property loses value.

Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Bank through EBS  and Permanat TSB have been approved to participate in the scheme.

The scheme initaly includes 115 residential houses in 12 developments in Dublin, Meath and Cork.

NAMA said they were piloting the initiative to allow buyers who were putting off purchasing in the expectation that prices would fall even further, to buy now knowing that they will not lose out even if the value of their home fell up to 20% over the next 5 years.

AIB launches a 250 million agri investment programme

AIB has launched a 250 million investment  programme for existing and potential customes in the farming sector.

There are three elements to the program.

-          100 million will be available for on farm capital investment

-          100 million for working capital

-          50 million for asset finance

AIB states the provision of an investment programme will facilitate investment in line  with the Government’s Harvest 2020 Strategy allowing farmers to fully exploit opportunities that lie ahead.

Simon Coveney the Minister for Agriculture said the agri food  sector has proven resilient throughout  the current economic difficulties  and that the AIB initative must be welcomed to ensure greater access to funding for farm enterprise propositions not only to the dairy sector as it gears up towards  a post quota context but to other sectors also”

The CSO states that the average national house prices were unchanged last month.

House prices have fallen by an average 49 % from peak prices in 2007.

In Dublin House prices have fallen by 55 % with apartments prices by 61%.

While prices outside Dublin are still falling, down 0.06% in March, houses in Dublin rose by 0.7 % and apartments by 2.3 %.

Dublin prices are at or close to the bottom, oversupply and higher prices means prices will fall further outside Dublin.

Aer Lingus in talks with Abu Dhabi airline Etihad

Aer Lingus shares increased by 4% in Dublin with the news that Etihad has bought a 3% stake in Aer Lingus.

Etihad has an interest in buying the government’s 25 % stake in Aer Lingues when it is put on sale and believes a partnership could produce commercial benefits for both airlines.

Aer Lingus state that Etihad would not increase its current stake pending talks between the two companies about the possibility of joint procuring arrangements.

Etihad also owns 40% of Air Seychelles and reported to have  had talks with Air France KLM about a possible partnership.

Ryanair said it would welcome another financially strong inverstor aquiring the governments 25% stake.

Tougher Budget 2013 if fiscal treaty rejected

Finace minister Michael Noonan has watned, efforts to restore staility to the country’s finances and bring growth to the economy would be tougher following a No vote on the fiscal treaty.

Stating only countrries who ratify the treaty will have access to funds, if there is a no vote the budget later this year will be dramatically more difficult.

On the second day of the Stability Treaty referendum campaign Taoiseach Enda Kenny was launching Fine Gael’s call for a Yes vote.

The Socialist Party calling for a No vote has accused the Government of scaremongering, claiming effects of the treaty would not come into effect until Ireland came out of its current bailout programme in two years.

In a further boost to the economy, the IDA has announced that five high-growth companies from mainland Europe are setting up an Irish operation. 77 positions will be created in Dundalk, Limerick and Dublin.

Unique Digital, iMosphere, Nimble Apps, Diaceutics, Culture Translate are the five companies who will create the posts.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD believes that although the aforementioned companies are relatively small, they:

“have the potential to grow exponentially and create large numbers of jobs here”.

The IDA are running an event in Berlin on Wednesday, 25^th of April which will be attended by leading emerging companies in Europe. The event will show these companies the advantages of establishing a presence in Ireland.

Retail sales fall 2.6% in first quarter survey

Retail sales have disappointed analysts by falling 2.6% when compared with the same three month period in 2011.

Retail Excellence Ireland conducted the research which showed that retail sales have now dropped twelve quarters in a row.

The post-christmas sales failed to tempt buyers this January as the decline in sales was most marked at 4.7% less than January 2011.

One silver lining from the research was average sales in March 2012 was 0.7% higher than March 2011.

Pharmacy sales performed well on account of high demand for flu medicines and an early Mother’s Day.

iPad 3 or new relationship?

11% of single men choose iPad

The latest iPad has clearly captured the hearts of men everywhere. A poll of 600 people by online casino RoxyPalace.com found that 11% of single men would rather own the gadget than meet a new partner.

The results of this poll seem to reaffirm the numerous media reports detailing the lengths to which some besotted customers are going to own one of the devices. A Chinese teenager sold one of his kidneys to fund the purchase of an iPad and is now suffering from kidney failure.

3% of respondents said they would end a relationship if they were to get a new iPad in return.

84% of women said they would rather have a new partner than a new iPad.

A spokesman for RoxyPalace had this to say:
“even the latest version can’t offer some of the things a new romance can,
but it seems many males are happy to forego this.”

The latest charge to be levelled at tax payers is expected to be between €100-300 for a water meter.

Joe Higgins T.D. from the Socialist Party has said the public will not stand for the charge.

The Government face are likely to face an uphill struggle.

The Government will use the national pension reserve fund to pay for the installation of the meter but the householder must pay for the meter itself.

“We are cognisant of keeping any charge here to the absolute minimum,” said Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Close to a million homes will need to have water meters installed and operational by the end of 2013 if the Government are to keep to the terms of the bail-out deal.

Coolmore Stud in China

The world-renowned Coolmore Stud is to play a major role in the development of the burgeoning Chinese race-horse industry.

The Tipperary stud farm will replicate their operation in the city of Tianjin. A top-class equine centre is currently under construction and is due to open in 2013.

J.P. Magnier said he was delighted to be among the first Irish companies to develop this partnership and “represent Ireland’s hugely successful horse-breeding and racing industries”.

The bloodstock currently contributes €1.1 billion to the Irish economy at present. This figure stands to rise dramatically as a result of this deal.

Augmented reality betting

A revolutionary new app is in development that will identify horses and riders and give real-time odds.

BETFAIR are developing the app at present which aims to link GPS data with moving images from a smart-phones camera.

The information would appear on the screen of the smart-phone as the person watches a race by looking at the mobile as it captures the race on TV.

If a person had a bet on a specific horse, it could be tracked more easily during the race. Information such as form, real-time odds, star-rating would be available as the horse moved through the field.

Richard Hewitt, Betfair’s Head of Mobile Product said, “Augmented Reality might have been just another futuristic concept in Minority Report, but this technology is slowly becoming more mainstream”.

For more information about DBASS, click here.

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) is preparing for a tentative return to the bond markets for the first time in two years.

Ireland has relied on the EU/IMF/ECB bailout loans to keep the economy functioning since 2010.

The NTMA manages Ireland’s debt and plans to issue annuity bonds for sale to domestic pension funds.

The NTMA have told Bloomberg that the bonds will have a range of maturities up to 35 years.
Ireland currently borrows at an interest rate of 7%. This is significantly lower than the 14% high.

Facebook pay $1bn to acquire Instagram

Many analysts fear that a second dot com bubble may be on the horizon with Facebook paying a seemingly outlandish $1bn for the app developer.
Instagram was founded less than two years ago and has ten employees.

Users alter photos with visual effects before uploading them to a variety of social networks. The service will be instantly recognizable to Facebook fans who upload retro photos that look as though they were taken on a Polaroid Instant camera, hence the name Instagram.

Instagram itself is the world’s fastest growing social network with over 30 million users.
The service has gained 1 million followers a week since the recent launch of its app for Android phones.

Kevin Systrom, chief executive of Instagram, had this to say:
“We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience.”

One possible explanation for the $1bn valuation by Facebook was that Google may have purchased the company. This would have provided a much-needed jolt in the arm for its ailing Google+ social network.

An instant 30 million Google+ profiles thanks to Instagram may have provided the search giant with the momentum needed to gain traction in the social-media space.

The Central Bank has kept its economic forecasts largely unchanged.

Economic growth for 2012 is forecasted for 0.5% and would be stronger if not for poor consumer demand.

The value of business carried out by Irish firms is expected to fall by 0.7% this year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2013 is estimated to grow by 2.1%.

It is unlikely that a mini-budget will be required because the economy is performing as expected.

The Central Bank has called for continued economic reform, which will improve international competitiveness and in turn reduce unemployment.

Aer Lingus passengers up 8.2% in Q1

The latest passenger numbers from Aer Lingus would suggest that Irish people are starting to take more weekend-breaks.

Aer Lingus recorded an increased of 6.2% in their short-haul flights and carried 1.7 million passengers.

Passenger numbers in Q1 of 2012 were over 2.08 million, an increase of 8.2% on the same period last year.

The load factor for flights has increased to 78.8%.

Slightly over a quarter of Ireland’s 1.6 million households have registered for the Household Charge.

The Department of the Environment state that 458,615 households have been registered.

The largest number of daily registrations was recorded in the 24 hours up to 12pm today.

The Government are aiming to raise €160 million with this tax, as per the terms of the bail-out.

An estimated 72,000 postal applications have still to be processed.

Promissory Notes

Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan has negotiated a deal with the EU/ECB/IMF to avoid repaying the €3.1bn Anglo debt due at the end of the month.

The Anglo I.O.U. has been replaced by a Government bond not due for repayment until 2025.

Mr. Noonan had this to say in the Dail, “€3.06bn will be settled by delivery to IBRC of a long-term Government bond with an equivalent fair value.”

The total promissory note debt on Anglo exceeds €30bn with a further €17bn for interest payments.

For more information about DBASS, click here.

As Taoiseach Enda Kenny basked in 27c heat in Indiana, the sun refused to come out in Meath for this year’s Ashbourne and Ratoath parades.

The Ratoath parade kicked off at 12pm with great displays from local businesses and sports clubs alike.

In a nod to this summer’s London Olympics and Euro 2012, the parade’s theme was a celebration of the two upcoming sporting events.



Olympic-hopeful, Homer Simpson in the DBASS colours proved very popular with the Ratoath and Ashbourne crowds!

The star-attraction of our float was Dora the Explorer  and Diego.

The balloons and sweets went down a storm also.

Check out more of the action from the parade on our Facebook page.

AIB aim to reduce their staff wage bill to €170 million per year by reducing their staff by 2,500.

The bank are seeking voluntary redundancies and it is expected half of this will be finalised in 2012.

Full detail of a voluntary severance package will be announced by the end of April.

AIB stated other options will have to be considered in due course if the voluntary program

does not meet its objectives and stated the terms of the redundancy were consistent with government

parameters.

New Apple iPad Launched

The new iPad will be launched in Ireland on 23^rd March 2012 at the same price-point to the current range.

Starting at 480 for the 16GB model. The IPad is slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad 2.

What’s New to iPad

‘Retain Display’ – high resolution (2048 x 1536) which will benefit Games and Photo use.
‘Quad – Core graphics’ allows iPad to handle Videogames and complex Apps easily.-
‘Online Connection’ – it can connect online at high speed72Mbs on LTE (4G) or in Ireland up to 21Mbs   on HSPA
Battery life of 10hours
Voice Dictation – similar to iPhone 4s
5 Megapixel Camera – can shoot HD video in 1080p
Personal hotspot -for connection of other devices to it

Drive by Enda Kenny to attract Small Business to Ireland

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has launched a drive to attract smaller business, which may not have been approached by the IDA to locate in Ireland.

The ‘Succeed in Ireland’ initiative hopes to create 5,000 jobs within 5 years.

It will provide financial incentives to create sustainable jobs.

Small and medium business around the world considering expansion will be targeted.

The Irish community will be a major focus of this program.

The initiative will be managed by IDA Ireland who has appointed connectireland.com to promote the initative.