The Government’s investment fund, tasked with supporting economic activity and creating jobs, has invested just over 2.5% of the €6.8bn in available funds in the past nine months.

The Irish Infrastructure Fund has completed its first investment in the renewable sector by acquiring majority interest in the portfolio of wind farms from Viridian Group for an undisclosed fee.

The Government is “satisfied” that Nama’s debts will not be brought onto the Government’s balance sheet, according to a Finance Ministry spokeswoman.

STATE-controlled AIB has sold its asset management arm to South African investment management firm Prescient Holdings for an undisclosed sum.

IRISH investors suffered a double whammy yesterday, with the ISEQ starting the week with a fresh decline and new figures showing recent dramatic falls in domestic pension fund values.

Irish Life & Permanent has reported a loss of €197m for last year as a strong performance at its life business was offset by further losses at its banking business Permanent TSB, where the number of mortgages in arrears increased by almost 50%.

Dublin: Patrick Burke, director of Irish Life Investment Managers, has been elected chairman of the European Federation for Retirement Provision (EFRP), which represents national pension funds in 26 European countries.

THE sale by AIB of its Polish unit Bank Zachodni WBK for €2.5 billion has not guaranteed it will avoid falling under state control.

SHARES at Bank of Ireland jumped 5% yesterday after the bank announced details of its €3.4 billion fundraising drive.

The Irish banking group Irish Life & Permanent has recorded an operating loss of €196m for the year.

IRISH Life and Permanent has appointed Corkman, Kevin Murphy as its chief executive – an employee of the bank for the last 37 years.

IN the lead-up to the emergency board meeting at Irish Life & Permanent last night, political opinion had hardened that Anglo Irish Bank engaged in fraud by seeking the assistance of IL&P to boost its deposits.

Global equity markets are likely to remain extremely volatile for most of the current year before finally showing signs of recovery towards the end of the year, a leading investment company said today.

THE decision by the Irish Association of Investment Managers (IAIM) to put forward a bank recapitalisation programme will give the private equity players stalking the banks food for thought as they scramble to secure significant holdings in some of the country’s troubled institutions.

AS RIVAL investors battle to inject billions into the six Irish-owned banks, significant uncertainty still surrounds their future.

TWO reports this week produced jolting reminders that the party may well be over for the Irish economy.

Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM) has announced the appointment of James Forbes as a senior equity strategist.

Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM) has announced the appointment of Hillary Fitzgibbon as head of structured property.

A PENSIONS conference held yesterday in Dublin heard as many as 40% of Defined Benefit Pensions Schemes in the private sector have closed to new members with that percentage likely to grow significantly.

AIB Investment Managers has appointed Eugene Kiernan as head of multimanager investments.

PENSION funds have shot ahead by 9% in the first six months of the year, one of the country’s biggest fund managers said yesterday.

The first six months of the year have seen solid returns for investors in financial markets, with pension funds estimated to deliver about 9% for the first half of 2005, according to a report from Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM).

IRISH Life & Permanent, Ireland’s largest life insurer and mortgage lender, has named Gerry Keenan to head its fund management unit, which oversees more than €20 billion.

The chief executive of Irish Life & Permanent plc, David Went, has announced a number of changes to the group’s senior management team.

Irish inflation at 2.2% is still heading in the right direction, but the gap between goods and services inflation remains, according to Eugene Kiernan of Irish Life Investment Managers.

THE Irish stock exchange has outperformed all major US and European markets this year and has the potential to record further gains, new research from Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM) has found.

DAVID WENT, the chief executive of Irish Life & Permanent, earned close to €1 million last year, according to its annual report for 2003.

Eircom is expected to join the Dublin and London stock markets today at a price of €1.55 per share after the board gave it a market capitalisation of €1.1bn last night.