| EDITORIAL |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| Taxation and its place in the coming election |
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| European firms are unprepared for business risk |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| Fifty per cent of Europe’s mid-sized firms are ill prepared to deal with high impact risks according to new research conducted by Marsh, the global risk and insurance services firm. |
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| First pilot PPP project signed in Ireland |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| On November 16th 2001, sixteen months after commencement of the process, the Minster for Education and Science, Michael Woods, signed a Project Agreement with Jarvis Plc’s Irish subsidiary for the design, build, finance and operation of five new post primary schools. Even by UK standards, this represents one of the fastest procurements of a project by way of public private partnership (‘PPP’), Kevin Feeney explains. |
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| Gamekeeper turned poacher? A career civil servant turns independent business consultant |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| Don Bergin was well known as the public face of the Department of Finance dealing with the IFSC during its important years between 1992 and 1997. Subsequently he went on to handle such matters as the state bodies area and the privatisation of Eircom, and was the head of the PPP unit in the department during its formative years. Having spent 25 years working in the civil service, he took early retirement from the Department of Finance at the end of last year, and is now an independent business consultant. |
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| Houdini, Minister for Finance |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| And with a single leap, our hero is free! Well actually Mr McCreevy required three leaps - one over the PRSI fund, one over the Central Bank, and one over the business community. The critical election year budget has been delivered nonetheless. |
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| How the Irish markets fared in 2001 |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| Over the past twelve months, the environment has changed utterly. A reprint of the previous edition of the guide to Irish financial markets simply won’t do. Some rewriting is required and John Keilthy does that. |
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| How the non-life insurance landscape has changed |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| 2001 will prove to be a watershed period for the insurance industry - both on a global and local basis. A combination of factors has conspired to bring the phrase ‘getting back to basics’ to the forefront of many discussions. It has, by any standards, been a dramatic year, says Paul Donaldson. |
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| Ireland prepares for IAS |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| While global convergence in accounting standards is still a long way off, and many countries continue to show major differences between domestic and international standards, Ireland is responding to the challenge. |
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| Mergers and acquisitions holding up well |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| About twelve months ago it was already clear that a technology-led slowdown was getting under way. Mon O’Driscoll said that insofar as merger and acquisition (M&A) activity was concerned, one of the key questions was whether there would be a pattern of the strong surviving while the weak went to the wall, or a pattern of amalgamations and takeovers. Both outcomes have been in evidence and at the end of 2001 some of the companies in the sector are still running out of money and again one speculates as to whether they will fall by the wayside or be taken over. |
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| Myriad corporate finance rules made simple |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| Paul Tansey reviews ‘With A Tap On the Knee - Memoirs of a Reluctant Banker’ by Bob Ryan - MIS Books. E25.39; IEP20.00 |
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| New competition reforms are crucial for Ireland |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| Peter Sutherland made the keynote address at the recently held seminar in Dublin entitled ‘The Future of Competition Policy in Ireland.’ He described the need for regulated competition to encourage Ireland’s economic growth and commended the latest reforms. The following is extracted from his speech. |
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| NTMA returns to international debt markets |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| For the first time in 15 months, Ireland is to issue debt to meet its refinancing requirements. |
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| Operational risk: ignore it at your peril |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| Chris Karow explains that while operational risk is not new, changes in the business, regulatory and operating environment are creating increased recognition of such risks. |
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| Opportunity abounds in structured finance |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| The Irish market saw lower deal volumes in the current year partly reflecting the slowing global economy but also the fact that 2000 represented the culmination of a period of exceptionally strong investment activity. However Christine Moran said notwithstanding this there was still considerable transaction and development activity ranging from buyouts in the SME sector to the national roads programme. |
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| Outdated corporate reporting poses threat |
Issue: 01 / 2002 |
| A dramatically different reporting framework has been called for in order for companies to gain competitive advantage in volatile markets. |
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