Business Briefs: Low interest rates cause deposit rethink

By Harry Keaney

A bank deposit account was once regarded as the safest place to keep your money. But now, people in Ireland are beginning to think twice about this. With interest rates low and the possibility of inflation creeping slowly upward, it may be time to reassess the once reliable deposit account. In fact, one investment banker went so far as to say that the most dangerous place to have your money at the moment may be on deposit.

Many immigrants keep deposit accounts in Ireland, and they often dip into these accounts to pay expenses and bills while on vacation “at home.” The rate of return on deposit accounts was never that high compared to riskier investments, but accessibility and low cost were often the main attractions.

However, financial advisers say investors should first decide if they need regular income from their savings or if they are in the lucky position to be able to opt for longer-term capital growth. Investors should also know how much assess they need to their money.

BOSTON EVENTS The Irish Networking Society of Boston will hold a meeting on May 6 from 6:30-9 p.m. in the John Hancock Conference Center, 40 Trinity Place, Boston. The society will hold a conference on “Marketing the Product, from the Top Down,” a look at the development and marketing of an industry-pioneering product and what it is actually like to sell that product to consumers. Speakers will be Gail Sch’ffer, vice president of John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, and Mark Mathers, marketing representative for the Bradley Advisory Group. Admission is $5 for Irish Networking Society members and $10 for non-members. Tea and coffee will be served. There will be a social gathering after the meeting at the Back Bay Brewing Company, 755 Boylston St. For information on the Irish Networking Society, call (617) 446-8074 or www.irishnet.com/ins

Meanwhile, on May 18 in the John F. Kennedy Library, Columbia Point, Boston, the second annual conference on technology and investment opportunities in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Isr’l, will take place. The event will start at 7:45 a.m. in the museum pavilion. For information, call (617) 287-7180.

FORBES SPLASH The Ireland-United States Council for Commerce and Industry is sponsoring a supplement in Forbes Magazine, scheduled for publication in Forbes’s issue of Nov. 2 next. The full-color supplement will carry detailed information on the current state of economic, commercial, business and investment relations between Ireland and America, according to the president of the council, Michael J. Roarty. For information, call David O’Sullivan at (212) 921-1414.

MEANWHILE, AT NEWSWEEK Ireland will be among the first batch of countries to implement the euro, Europe’s new single currency. However, the impending official endorsement of the euro as the single currency for nations of the European Monetary Union has provoked much heated debate. In opposing guest essays in the current issue of Newsweek International, Norbert Walter, a managing director at Deutsche Bank Research, and Steven Rattner, deputy chief executive at Lazard FrTres, debate the merits and shortcomings of the proposed new currency. The magazine went on newsstands on Monday.

DUBLIN HOTEL The International hotel chain Radisson is about to sign a deal with developers Cosgrave Brothers, which will complete the _30 million transformation of the historic landmark St. Helen’s House, in south Dublin, the Sunday Tribune has reported. The house will be turned into a luxury five-star hotel.

GUINNESS SALE Guinness Ireland has brought in AIB Corporate Finance to advise it on the sale of all or part of its 49.6 percent stake in drinks group Cantrell & Cochrane. The sale has been force on Guinness by the European Commission as one of the conditions for the approval of Guinness’s merger with Grand Metropolitan. Allied Domecq, which owns 50.4 percent of C&C, has the first option to buy the Guinness stake. If it declines to do so, the Guinness has the right to offer its minority stake for sale elsewhere.