Investment event 'to be success'

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has said he expects a US-Northern Ireland investment conference this week to be a success.

There had been fears US companies would be reluctant to make commitments due to uncertainty about the American economy.

However, Mr McGuinness said far more than originally envisaged are coming.

"I think the fact that we're having such a very large turnout from the US is a very clear indicator that people there are interested," he said.

"Remember whenever we set in train the whole process of having this conference the indications were there would be 30 to 40 senior executives coming here.

"That has now doubled - we're finding it quite difficult to cater for everybody who wants to come.

"So we are seeing a huge turnout and we're seeing that in the context of the economic difficulties that people in the US are experiencing."