Another Donie Blog on St. Patrick's day

Ireland hits new record trade surplus of  €44.7 billion for 2011

      

Ireland generated a record high annual trade surplus of just under €44.7bn in 2011, up by 3% on 2010.

The increase comes despite a fall off at the end of the year, with the monthly surplus falling by 23% in December. Exports for 2011, as a whole — according to new figures published yesterday by the CSO — were valued at over €92.9bn, up 4% on 2010 levels, while import value rose by 5% to €48.24bn.

While the US, Belgium, Britain and Germany were Ireland’s main export markets, last year, exports to key target countries — such as Brazil, Russia and India — rose significantly (20%, 37% and 34% on 2010).

The latest CSO figures also show a good start to this year for Ireland’s export performance — preliminary figures showing a 10% year-on-year rise in value, to nearly €7.7bn. According to Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Minister, Richard Bruton, this confirms there is potential for wider recovery.

“Despite the warnings of some commentators about our exports, recent weeks and months have seen some encouraging signs in the global economy, as well as some further signs that the Irish economy has stabilised and is returning to sustainable growth,” he said.

Alan McQuaid, chief economist with Bloxham Stockbrokers, hailed the January data, as “very positive” and “better than expected” and said that the performance suggests another year of record trade surplus could be on the cards for Ireland in 2012.

“Amid the moderation in external demand, some loss of momentum in Irish merchandise export activity is expected in the short-term. Nevertheless, we believe that, as was the case during the 2009 collapse in global trade flows, the sectoral composition of external demand will shift in favour of goods which Ireland specialises in, especially the likes of pharmaceuticals. As well as that, merchandise export activity looks set to be supported by ongoing competitiveness gains,” he said.

However, Davy Stockbrokers was less enthusiastic — saying the figures give a poor guide to the final goods export contribution to Irish GDP movement.

According to Conall MacCoille, Davy’s chief economist: “The monthly trade data indicates that exports rose by 4.8% in the fourth quarter of 2010, but GDP data indicates that goods exports fell by 5.5% in the same period. The latest release gives us no detail on the traded services sector, which accounts for 50% of exports.

“So, we can infer little from the latest trade data release about the strength of the export sector ahead of next week’s GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2011.”

Back pain warning for our children over their very heavy school-bags

      
One in four children have back problems because they carry rucksacks to school weighing a tenth of their body weight, researchers have said.

A study of 1403 schoolchildren aged between 12 and 17 found a quarter suffered from back-pain which lasted for more than 15 days. The most common problem was curvature of the spine.

Almost two thirds of the children carried rucksacks to school that weighed more than 10 per cent of their own body weight and almost one in five had bags weighing more than 15 per cent. The average rucksack weighed seven kilos.

The findings were published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Although the study was conducted in Spain, the research stated that similar rates of backpain were reported by schoolchildren in Britain in previous research.

Co-author Prof Alberto Ruano, of the University of Santiago de Compostel, in Spain, wrote in the journal: “The results obtained have strong implications.

“Many children transport excessively loaded backpacks, an excess which would not be allowed for workers in employment. We strongly encourage the medical and educational community to start advising parents and school children about the risks posed by heavy school bags and the fact that this risk can be easily reduced.”

Research show’s: Men thinking about being in company of women makes them feel stupid

   

Just thinking about being in the presence of a woman makes men stupid, according to research. Thankfully for men who find themselves lost for word’s while in the company of the opposite sex, there is an answer. It’s not you, it’s science. 

A study from Radboud University in the Netherlands found that men begin to falter and suffer a decline in mental performance as soon as they anticipate interacting with women.

Using a Stroop test — a psychological method to work out how men process competing information — the researchers carried out tests both before and after a lip-reading exercise performed via webcam.

The participants could not see anyone during the lip-reading test — but were asked to mouth words to a supposed observer of either the same or opposite sex who was watching then.

Results found females scored the same before and after the lip-reading, but men who believed they were being observed by a woman performed far worse. So, despite no direct interaction with a female, their cognitive ability dropped significantly.

They confirmed the results with another study. Participants were told they would be performing the same exercise. The secret was that the lip-reading test never arrived. Regardless, male test scores plummeted at the mere anticipation of being observed by a female. Again, women displayed no such effects.

Researchers suggest the findings could be attributed to “evolutionary pressures” that have shaped men to be more likely to sexualise otherwise neutral situations.

Madeleine McCann case review ‘a big step to trace the missing girl’

     

The parents of Madeleine McCann have said a police review of her case was “a huge step” in the effort to help trace the missing girl.

A team of detectives in Portugal has been re-appointed to re-examine the original investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, after she vanished while on a family holiday in the Algarve almost five years ago.

It follows a review by Scotland Yard officers which began last May.

Speaking ahead of a 10 kilometre run for a missing people’s charity in Regent’s Park, London, Gerry McCann said: “We’re 10 months into the Met’s review process and it’s important for us. It’s taken pressure off us, knowing the police are actually reviewing everything. It’s a huge step for us.”

Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family’s holiday flat in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, in May 2007 as her parents Kate and Gerry dined with friends nearby.