CEMENT giant CRH has accused Goode Concrete of making “scandalous” claims that it and others engaged in anti-competitive practices for decades.

Building materials group Kingspan has said that sales for the first quarter of 2011 are up 33% on the same period last year, to €439.3m.

POLAND’S competition regulator – the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (OCCP) – has imposed record multi-million euro fines on the Polish units of CRH Plc for alleged price fixing and other anti-competitive behaviour.

The value of the ISEQ index of Irish shares rose by 15% from January to June of this year, it was confirmed today.

THE value of mergers and acquisitions in Ireland plunged 70% over the past year with food, health and energy the most active sectors.

THE top 10 unsecured creditors of troubled construction company John F Supple Limited are owed more than an average of €250,000 each.

CRH has announced that on July 14 UBS Ltd purchased, on behalf of the company, 96,180 Ordinary Shares of €0.32 each in CRH plc at prices between €15.16 and €15.48 per Ordinary Share.

Walling and ventilation specialists Williaam Cox has been awarded the contract for the design, manufacture and installation of the Lansdowne Road stadium roof, façade and internal screens.

CRH Plc has increased first-half profits by 27% as acquisitions and better cement sales delivered results in line with market expectations.

CRH plc, the international building materials group has announced the completion of the acquisition of Ashland Paving And Construction Inc. (APAC) in its biggest-ever transaction worth $1.3bn (€1.01bn).

BUILDING materials group CRH Plc has bought a 50% stake in American Cement Company LLC (ACC) for $50 million (€39m) in cash via its US subsidiary Oldcastle Materials Inc, it said yesterday.

CRH plc has made a number of senior management changes at Oldcastle Inc., the holding company for CRH’s American operations.

FORMER senior Roadstone executives told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday there was no evidence of political interference when the company privately bought State lands in Co Wicklow that contained large sand and gravel deposits 15 years ago.

CRH plc, Jurys Doyle Hotel Group plc and Concern have been cited for the excellence of their annual reports and financial accounts in this year's Published Accounts Awards, announced today.

There were mixed fortunes for building and contruction shares on the ISEQ today after Minister for Housing Noel Ahern announced a levelling off in housing construction figures.

CRH plc chief executive Liam O’Mahony is Ireland’s best-paid chief executive, earning €3.5 million in 2004, putting him more than €1m ahead of any of his peers.

CRH, ESB and Focus Ireland were among the companies saluted for their achievement in setting benchmarks for excellence in financial reporting in Ireland in this year's Published Accounts Awards, announced in Dublin today.

CRH plc yesterday announced the co-option to the board yesterday of Professor Joyce O’Connor and Nicky Hartery, as non-executive directors.

Building materials group CRH has bought of a 49% stake in Secil, a Portuguese manufacturer of cement and ready-mixed concrete for €333m, with goodwill of €45m.

THE value of mergers and acquisitions involving Irish companies has almost trebled in the fourth quarter of 2003 to 2.2 billion compared to the same period in 2002.

THE ISEQ closed in positive territory yesterday, rising 43.16 points from Thursday's tally to 4419.56 points.