CRH’s €6.5bn acquisition of certain assets offloaded by European cement giant LafargeHolcim – which completed, slightly ahead of schedule, this week – could enhance its earnings by more than 30% over the next year, it has been claimed.

Kelsius – a food monitoring technology firm – said it has completed a contract to install its new and “unique” FoodCheck technology systems in SuperValu and Centra stores.

London Pride, Piccadilly – and love is in the air. I can’t get away from all the affection.

NTR – the wind farm, water treatment and roads investment conglomerate — has said it is still on course for another tens of million-euro payout to its warring shareholders later this year —after completing the sale of wind turbines in the US.

Time to go back to school, and maths classes, to try and calculate the floor area of 10 The Courtyard – it’s sort like of calculating the area of a triangle.

Republic of Ireland 2 Oman 0

IN May, the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank – now referred to as the troika – were called into debt-ridden Greece on the verge of financial collapse.

REVENUES at the Irish radio division of UTV Media – which includes FM104 and Q102 in Dublin and Cork stations 96FM and C103 – fell by 2%, on a year-on-year basis, in the first 10 months of the year and is expected to continue in this vein until the end of the year.

THE recapitalisation of the country’s two main banks – AIB and Bank of Ireland – has improved the flow of credit to the small business sector, according to the body which was established to oversee corporate lending patterns of NAMA-related banks.

IT is a sad indication of how low our politicians’ stock has fallen that, despite repeated denials by Taoiseach Brian Cowen and a good number of his senior colleagues, it is difficult to dismiss the possibility that Ireland might have to turn to the EU or the International Monetary Fund – or both – to sustain even the most basic functions of this society.

Dublin: UPC Ireland – the multi-disciplined communications company which owns the Chorus/NTL brand – has reported a 9.3% year-on-year increase in total third-quarter subscriber numbers to 762,700, as interest in its bundled offering of television, Internet and telephone services grows.

IRISH oil and gas exploration company Petroceltic – which has its main operational focus in North Africa and the Mediterranean – has appointed former Tullow Oil chief financial officer, Tom Hickey, as its corporate development officer. Mr Hickey joins the Petroceltic board with immediate effect and will take up his new role at the beginning of next month.

THEY’RE both from the North of Ireland, they’re both members of the Horizon Sports Management team – and they’ll be playing together in the last match on the course in today’s third round of the Andalucia Masters.

REAL Estate Opportunities (REO) – the international property development company controlled by Irish firm Treasury Holdings – has slashed its first-half pre-tax losses to £45.3 million (€52.2m), from just under £200.5m last year.

REAL Estate Opportunities (REO) – the international property development firm controlled by Treasury Holdings – has moved closer to a total restructuring of its debt linked with its purchase of the Battersea Power Station site in London.

DAVY FITZGERALD has defended his decision to substitute Eoin Kelly in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final against Tipperary – and has backed the Mount Sion star to bounce back strongly next season.

BRITISH pub group Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) – in which Irish financiers John Magnier and JP McManus have a sizable shareholding through their Elpida investment vehicle – has reported a 2% year-on-year increase in sales for the 12 months to the middle of September.

THE latest quarterly findings of InterTrade Ireland – the North-South trade and business development body – show that the recession has hit firms harder than initially envisaged; with 28% of companies saying they failed to remain profitable.

SHANNON Foynes Port Company – which manages Foynes and Limerick ports – turned a small profit for 2009.

DIGICEL – the international mobile communications operator owned by Denis O’Brien – has announced a 10% rise in its subscriber base over the past 14 months, bringing its customer numbers past 11 million.

THIS time last year there were no farm sales recorded in the Dublin region by estate agent, Knight Frank – the big news item of that year’s report.

SPANISH bank Banco Santander – Europe’s biggest – is the front runner to buy AIB’s stake in Polish bank Zachodni WBK, in a head-to-head bidding war Poland’s biggest bank PKO BP which could garner €2.5 billion for the troubled Irish bank.

THE two main banking stocks – Bank of Ireland and AIB – both grew by around 5% yesterday as investors reacted positively to Friday’s news of them passing their EU stress tests.

CPL RESOURCES – the Dublin-headquartered international recruitment agency – has maintained profitability in the year, against what it has called “a difficult operational backdrop” and expects full-year profits to meet expectations.

REHABCARE – the health and social care services subsidiary of broader disability services provider, the Rehab Group – recorded an operating deficit of €20,000 in 2009, according to latest accounts filed with the Companies Office.

URUGUAY coach Oscar Tabarez said his side had been insulted by claims they would play for a draw against Mexico – and duly proved it as a first-half from Luis Suarez was enough to help Uruguay secure top spot in Group A and progress into the last 16 of the World Cup.

PR firm the Communications Clinic – which grew out of the management exodus from Carr Communications in early 2008 – generated profits of just over €150,000 last year, accounts lodged with the Companies Office state.

VENTURE capital specialist TVC Holdings – which yesterday announced a return to profitability – remains confident of selling off its non-core investments and realising its aim of building a portfolio of “four core platform investments”.

NTR plc is to net €96 million from the sale of its waste management business Greenstar UK – the company plans to keep its Irish and US Greenstar branded waste businesses.

AFTER all the excitement of last Sunday’s game between Cork and Tipperary – and fair dues to both teams for that – I’m beginning to wonder if there is any game at all on this weekend in Munster?

A DECISION regarding the future status of Elan’s drug-delivery business – Elan Drug Technologies (EDT) – may not be made until next year.

SMALL firms’ lobby group ISME has said it doubts the country’s two main banks – AIB and Bank of Ireland – will accurately fulfil their requirement of making a combined €12bn in new credit available to the SME sector over the next two years.

PROVIDENCE Resources – the Irish oil and gas exploration company headed by Tony O’Reilly Jnr – is understood to have finalised a significant farm-out agreement regarding its newest licence in the Celtic Sea.

TOP-level talks that could determine the future direction of EBS Building Society and Cardinal Capital Group – led by Irishmen Nick Corcoran and Nigel McDermott – are talking place.

TRANSPORT Minister Noel Dempsey has criticised an unnamed airline – understood to be Aer Lingus – for providing insufficient information to passengers stranded by the travel crisis.

FIRST quarter profits at M&T Bank – the New York-based institution in which AIB holds a 23% stake – grew by $87 million (€64.5m), on an annualised basis, to $151m, helped by a lowering in lending costs.

AFRICAN Diamonds – the Irish-headquartered precious stone mining company – is set to generate annual revenues of around $80 million (€60m) from upping its stake in the high potential AK6 diamond mine in Botswana.

ENTERPRISE Ireland has been drafted in by the Taoiseach in an attempt to alleviate the threat of job losses at the Quinn Group – the general insurance division which was placed in provisional administration by the High Court last week.

THE head of the new Credit Review Office – aimed at overseeing bank lending to SMEs – has expressed confidence in his role making a difference, despite the fact that he will have no statutory powers.

NED O’Keeffe TD has said NAMA could “create a bigger mess for us than we’ve ever seen in our life before” and that Brian Lenihan’s judgment is “not great in the whole area of finance”. (RTÉ News at One, March 29).

CORK’s newest hotel – the River Lee Hotel – is also one of the city’s most established.

AFRICAN Diamonds – the Dublin-headquartered mining company – has reported pre-tax losses of £205,000 (€230,000) for the first half of its current financial year.

GREEN Plains Renewable Energy – theNasdaq-quoted, US bio-ethanol business in which Irish group NTR is the single largest shareholder – has reported a full year net profit of $19.8 million (€14.6m), for 2009.

DSG INTERNATIONAL – the electrical goods retailer which operates the Currys and PC World chains – has announced that current trading is ahead of its previous expectations, across all of its geographical markets, due mainly to strong Christmas sales.