Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/616203
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2015 12 Regular market closed – 15/12/2015 Symbol Code Volume Traded Value Traded Trades High Price Low Price Open Price Close Price Change ▼ BOV 22,549 52,133.760 11 2.324 2.305 2.324 2.320 -0.004 ▲ GO 14,711 43,465.470 7 2.965 2.949 2.949 2.965 0.015 ▼ HSB 4,612 8,135.880 3 1.781 1.755 1.781 1.755 -0.030 ▲ LOM 325,710 797,974.500 7 2.475 2.430 2.430 2.475 0.064 ▼ MDI 5,700 1,995.000 1 0.350 0.350 0.350 0.350 -0.015 ▼ MDS 1,000 2,095.000 1 2.095 2.095 2.095 2.095 -0.005 ● MIA 7,250 29,000.000 7 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 0.000 ● MPC 157,100 78,821.240 22 0.511 0.481 0.511 0.500 0.000 ▲ RS2 30,650 96,240.250 4 3.149 3.125 3.125 3.140 0.045 ▼ G20B 1,500 1,770.300 1 118.020 118.020 118.020 118.020 -0.150 ▼ G21A 10,000 12,413.000 1 124.130 124.130 124.130 124.130 -0.140 ▼ G28B 100,000 131,410.000 1 131.410 131.410 131.410 131.410 -0.340 ▼ G29BA 8,000 8,448.000 2 105.600 105.600 105.600 105.600 -0.320 ▼ G30A 36,500 51,742.400 2 141.760 141.760 141.760 141.760 -0.390 ▲ G31A 3,000 4,262.400 1 142.080 142.080 142.080 142.080 0.570 ● G32A 2,500 3,397.250 1 135.890 135.890 135.890 135.890 0.000 ▼ G32B 121,000 160,095.100 3 132.310 132.310 132.310 132.310 -0.810 ▲ G40A 34,400 37,300.050 4 108.600 108.300 108.350 108.600 0.150 ● 6PM25 200 219.120 1 109.560 109.560 109.560 109.560 0.000 ▲ AX24A 8,300 9,538.360 2 114.920 114.920 114.920 114.920 0.010 ▼ HB18A 50,000 53,755.000 1 107.510 107.510 107.510 107.510 -1.490 ● IB25A 7,500 7,912.500 1 105.500 105.500 105.500 105.500 0.000 ● MI21A 6,100 6,069.500 1 99.500 99.500 99.500 99.500 0.000 ▲ MO19A 1,000 1,036.100 1 103.610 103.610 103.610 103.610 0.010 ▼ PT24A 1,300 1,389.700 1 106.900 106.900 106.900 106.900 -1.100 ▲ TI20A 2,000 2,122.000 1 106.100 106.100 106.100 106.100 0.090 Market Summary as at December 15 , 2015 Equity Offi cial List Session State ................................................................... Market Closed Number of trades ............................................................. 88 Volume Traded ................................................................. 962,582 Value of € denominated securities .................................... 1,602,741.880 Value of US$ denominated securities ................................ 0.000 Value of GBP£ denominated securities .............................. 0.000 Current Index ................................................................... 4,467.524 Previous Index ................................................................. 4,475.627 Change in Index (%) ......................................................... -0.181% 6pm Holdings plc ......................... 0.680 0.00% MaltaPost plc ................................. 1.908 0.00% Bank of Valletta plc ....................... 2.320 -0.17% Medserv plc .................................. 2.095 -0.24% FIMBank plc ................................. 0.692 0.00% Mapfre Middlesea plc .................... 2.150 0.00% GlobalCapital plc .......................... 0.750 0.00% MIDI plc ........................................ 0.350 -4.11% GO plc .......................................... 2.965 0.51% Plaza Centres plc ........................... 1.000 0.00% Grand Harbour Marina plc ............. 1.040 0.00% RS2 Software plc ........................... 3.140 1.45% HSBC Bank Malta plc ..................... 1.755 -1.68% Simonds Farsons Cisk plc .............. 6.400 0.00% International Hotel Investments plc 0.801 0.00% Tigné Mall plc ............................... 0.965 0.00% Island Hotels Group Holdings plc .. 1.101 0.00% Pefaco International plc ................ 2.240 0.00% Lombard Bank Malta plc ............... 2.475 2.65% Santumas Shareholdings plc ........ 2.000 0.00% Malita Investments plc .................. 0.985 0.00% Malta Properties Company plc ....... 0.500 0.00% Malta International Airport plc ....... 4.000 0.00% MSE Index 12 Business Today University of Malta engineering graduates 'far more employable' Engineering and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) graduates from the University of Malta have nearly double the pros- pects of landing themselves well-paid employment in a field that lives up to their career aspirations. This has emerged from a comparison with other state-funded institutions offering Engineering and ICT education, published in the national Employability Index Report issued by the Ministry for Education and Employment, this October. "The University is clearly shoring up the national statistics when it comes to the overall employability of tertiary education graduates." The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Dr Ing. Andrew Sammut, said that during last month's graduation ceremony he had the opportunity to listen to the immediate plan of each and every graduate. "I was very happy to hear that not one student mentioned that he or she was still seeking employment. Roughly half have found immediate employment in an engineering field, and the rest have chosen to continue studying, some in Malta, but many of them overseas - mainly in the UK's top universities." The chart shows the percentage of graduates of the 2012 and 2013 cohorts who immediately found employment matching their field of study, and then held it in the years subsequent to the year of their graduation. In some cases, this percentage appears to increase with time. "What really matters is that our students are able to find employment in the areas they were trained for, or in related fields that they ultimately enjoy working in. It would have been a great shame if after having invested so heavily in our students, they were limited to employment for which they feel grossly overqualified. However, clearly this doesn't seem to be happening. They are indeed using their skills, and our product is evidently being appreciated by the industry and by international universities," the Dean said. The practical element in all Engineering courses is now at the strongest levels ever, with students spending over half their learning time in state-of-the-art laboratories, where they gain analysis and design skills in a wide range of subject areas covered by six departments: Systems and Control, Electronics, Electrical Power Conversion, Materials and Metallurgy, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering. The assessment methodologies adopted in the Engineering fields have been re-geared to measure the students' ability to perform on the job. There is a much higher focus on problem solving skills, teamwork, self- motivation and the students' capacity to expand their own knowledge and their intellectual capacity to handle unforeseen challenges facing the industry now and into the future. Ing. Alexander Galea is Senior Engineering Manager at Methode Electronics Malta Ltd. As a subsidiary of Methode Electronics Inc., this is a major company in Malta developing, manufacturing and producing switches, sensors and controls for various industries predominantly the automotive sector. "Retaining competitiveness has been possible through the development and launching of new technologically advanced products and processes, which in turn have been developed and maintained through our highly technical workforce," Galea said. "The University of Malta, especially through the engineering and sciences faculties, has been instrumental, through its cooperation with the industry, in training engineers and providing technical resources that are of a high standard, immediately employable, and with the ability to develop further and rapidly within Methode Electronics to become future inventors and leaders". There are also clear indications that higher levels of education are leading to better employability of the overall workforce. Between 2008 and 2014 Malta had registered a 10% decline (95.9% to 86.8%) in the employability of young people with non-tertiary education (ISCED 3-4). This was reported in the recent EU Education and Training Monitor Report recently published by the European Commission. However, the situation is markedly better in the case of those with high-end tertiary education (ISCED 5-8) where the employability remained more buoyant (95.5% to 94.6%) across the same interval. The University of Malta is seen as one of the crucial assets of the country, tangibly contributing to Malta's economic development. The University has earned itself a solid reputation for quality education that can be evidenced in the way graduates of the Engineering, ICT and other faculties are being received by the industry. Such graduates are certified to meet the highest standards required to be able to remain competitive in a fast changing world. Nurofen maker Reckitt Benckiser defends Australia packaging The UK maker of the Nurofen "spe- cific pain" range of products has defended their packaging, after an Australian court ordered the prod- ucts off shelves. The court said the UK-based Reckitt Benckiser had misled consumers. It said products marketed to treat specific pains, such as migraine, were identical to one another. Nurofen said the products had been "designed to help the consumer easily navigate our range", particularly in groceries where there was no pharmacy. "Consumer research indicates that 9 in 10 people (88%) look for pain relief for a specific type of pain (eg headache, migraine, back pain) and 7 in 10 (71%) say pain-specific packs help them decide which product is best for their needs," said Dr Aomesh Bhatt, regulatory and medical affairs director for Nurofen. The products affected by the Australian court order include Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension Headache. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) watchdog had brought the matter to court earlier this year. The ACCC said the court had found that the firm had "engaged in misleading conduct in contravention of the Australian consumer law by representing that its Nurofen Specific Pain products were each formulated to treat a specific type of pain, when the products are identical". Each product contained the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg. The ACCC said the products were found to be "no more effective at treating the type of pain described on its packaging than any of the other Nurofen specific pain products". The comission's research also found that in Australia the products were sold for almost double the price of Nurofen's standard product. The retail price for each of the pain-specific products was also found to be "significantly higher" than other comparable products, the ACCC added. Manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser said the case related only to Australia, and that it was continuing to work with regulators there "to ensure Nurofen packaging continues to be fully aligned with all guidelines and requirements".