The Irish Independent says the value of Dublin pubs which changed hands in the first six months of the year reached €78m, as an increasing number of premises were sold for redevelopment.
The paper says around 18 Dublin pubs were sold in the first half of 2006 and a further five premises changed hands in July. [...]

The Irish Times reports that Fairyhouse racecourse, home of the Irish Grand National, has taken the first step towards selling part of its lands and redeveloping its facilities.
The paper says the course has asked Meath County Council to rezone land it owns next to the racetrack for commercial and residential development.
The track’s owner, Fairyhouse Club [...]

UK Auction Info
Traders from across the UK descended on Hopes Auction Mart at Wigton yesterday for its summer sale of horses and ponies.
The high temperatures were felt in the crowded ring as more than 80 lots went under the hammer. One of the highest prices reached was 2,200 guineas for an eight-year-old skewbald mare from [...]

UK Auction Info
Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium will stage its final event tomorrow when 600 items, including goalposts and a waxwork image of former coach George Graham, are auctioned before the soccer venue is turned into luxury apartments.
Locker-room clothes hooks, dugout benches and chairs from the coach’s office will also go under the hammer a week after [...]

Sophos has revealed that over 75% of all phishing emails are targeting users of PayPal or eBay.
Experts at SophosLabs scanned all phishing email messages received in the company’s global network of spam traps during 2006, and have revealed that 54.3% were attempting to steal information from users of PayPal. The second most common targets, at [...]

The Irish Times Ltd, publisher of The Irish Times, has announced that it has bought MyHome.ie, the leading Irish online property portal. The deal values the business at up to €50 million, comprising an initial payment of €40 million and an additional payment of €10 million deferred over a five-year period.
The deferred payments are tied [...]

UK Auction Info
A government review has criticised the police for failing to take online fraud seriously, leaving criminals free to target Internet users
UK police are failing to protect and support businesses and individuals who suffer Internet fraud, the government’s top legal advisor has warned.

Echoes of the foot-and-mouth crisis of five years ago were evident yesterday as British racing prepared to mount its defences against swamp fever, a killer disease that has already struck nine horses in Ireland.
Limiting and monitoring equine movement between the countries is likely to be introduced imminently and a complete ban is not ruled out. [...]

eBay.ie is holding a €0.05 euro listing promotion from July 29 – July 30. Sellers listing in Auction-style, Auction But-It-Now or Buy It Now Only (Fixed Price) formats in any category, will pay a €0.05 euro Insertion Fee. Only listings in Euros on eBay.ie will qualify for the promotion. All other fees will apply.

UK Auction Info
The contents of one of London’s most prestigious addresses – Dudley House, 100 Park Lane, London – are to be sold in a series of sales at Bonhams Auctioneers in London. A collection of fine furniture and important paintings from the house on Park Lane, the most expensive position on the ‘Monopoly’ game [...]

UK Auction Info
An armoured-plated popemobile used by John Paul II during his British visit is being auctioned off, it has been announced.
The 24-ton converted British Leyland truck was used by the late pontiff when he toured Scotland in the summer of 1982.
He travelled in the vehicle to Bellahouston Park in Glasgow and Murrayfield in Edinburgh, [...]

UK Auction Info
A collection of every British No. 1 single since charts began in 1952 is to go on sale later this month, auctioneer Cooper Owen said on Monday.
Stephen Hitchcock’s collection of 2,139 items, reflects not only the shifting pop landscape over the last five decades, but also the changes to how we listen to [...]

A first edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses is reportedly expected to sell for tens of thousands of euro when it goes under the hammer in London today.
Sotheby’s regularly auctions first editions of the work; last December, it sold one for €95,000.
The 1922 print has a guide price of between €36,000 and €50,000, but is expected [...]

A 79 acres island off Islandeady is expected to sell for in excess of €3m, writes Marian Harrison.
Illanteige Island, known as Bilberry Island, five miles from Castlebar and six from Westport, went on the market earlier this month causing huge interest.
The island, which can be accessed from the Castlebar to Westport Road at Islandeady, [...]

Christie’s has teamed up with a Florida company, Auction Management Solutions, to develop customized software that provides a live audio and video feed from the auction salesrooms. That allows clients to monitor the auction in real time and bid from their computers.
Christie’s collaboration is Auction Management’s first foray into the world of upscale art auctions, [...]