Central Bank Pays High Security Costs for Anglo-Irish Bank’s Dockland HQ

Figures released by the Central Bank reveal it has paid nearly €300,000 to date to the Carlow-based security firm, Netwatch to secure its new Headquarter building on Dublin’s Docklands, the building, originally intended by the former Anglo Irish Bank as its HQ.

The Central Bank recently announced that Walls Construction had been awarded the near €70m tender to complete the building, which is expected to be ready for occupation by 1,400 staff late next year.

The figures show that architects, Henry J Lyons has received €2m for architect and construction advisory fees to date .

Aer Lingus Passenger numbers Fall in April

Overall passenger numbers down 5.2 per cent in April compared April 2014 – equivalent to about 50,000 passengers.

Short-haul services continue to show the impact of increased competition on price and routes out of Irish airports. Number of short-haul passengers down 5.5 per cent.

Aer Lingus continues to register growth on its long-haul transatlantic routes with passenger volumes close to 2 per cent higher last month than April last year.

Irish address ranks top for US tax fraud

An address in Kilkenny came top in a list of addresses used for suspected tax fraud in the US

Published by the US Treasury, the list contains addresses used for multiple potentially fraudulent tax returns made to the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the Irish Times, the address was used for 580 returns in 2012, leading to 'refunds' of $218,974.

Further details of the address were not given.

Overall, the report identified $2.1 billion in fraudulent tax returns made in 2012.

Japanese stocks at highest since 1997

The latest figures bring good news for the Japanese economy.

Wages grew faster than inflation in April for the first time in two years, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index hit a 15-year high.

According to the Financial Times, the index has has improved for 12 straight sessions - the longest streak since 1988.

Wage growth was a mere 0.1 per cent, raising questions about its sustainability, but hopes are high for a rise in consumer spending and a subsequent boost for the economy as a whole.

Intel buys Altera

Intel have agreed to purchase semiconductor producer Altera Corp for $16.7bn.

According to Bloomberg, the offer is $54 per share, an 11 per cent premium on Friday's closing price.

Intel is looking for growth outside the shrinking market for personal computers, and Altera's chips are used in a wide variety of markets - from communications to consumer electronics.

The agreement follows Avago's purchase of Broadcom for $37bn - the largest ever purchase in the semiconductor business.

Netflix debuts ads

Netflix has long taken a harsh view of advertising, but customers are beginning to notice a change in the company's outlook.

In January 2014, CEO Reed Hastings said: "Our brand... really stands for that commercial-free experience that we have, where the consumer is in control of the experience… So it’s fundamental to that control orientation that we don’t cram advertisements down people’s throats."

However, some users have reported being forced to view short promos for Netflix's original content before and after shows.

An executive told Quartz that Netflix was "experimenting" but the policy "remains unchanged."

Aldi brand overtakes Tesco

Tesco's brand value declined by 37 per cent to $9.4m as customers turn towards smaller discount stores, according to the latest BrandZ ranking from WPP and Millward Brown.

Aldi's brand has grown 22 per cent to $11.7m, while Lidl's increased by 27pc to $6m. Recent figures now put Aldi as the sixth biggest supermarket retailer in the UK, with the market share of the big four retailers - Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsburys and Asda - now at 72.8pc, its lowest level in a decade.

Tesco dropped more than any other company in the top 20 retailers, with companies in that category growing 24 per cent overall.