Irish goods exports to the United States jumped threefold in February compared to the same month last year as firms stockpiled produce – the bulk of it medicines – in the US in advance of the threatened introduction of tariffs, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy.
Tariffs were also on Michael O’Leary’s mind as the Ryanair boss warned that the airline could delay deliveries of Boeing aircraft if they become more expensive, setting up a battle between manufacturers and airlines over who will shoulder the costs from Donald Trump’s trade war.
Mortgage arrears have surged again among a segment of Irish boom-era mortgage borrowers who had previously had trouble meeting repayments, following a spike in variable interest rates in recent years, ratings agency S&P Global said. Joe Brennan reports that more than one in four loans that were back on track are again behind in payments.
Getting back to airlines, the Government is heavily touting capacity at Shannon Airport as a viable alternative for US visitors amid growing airline concern over Dublin’s passenger cap, with Mark Hilliard reporting that officials extolling the virtues of Shannon and its hinterland to Delta executives at a recent meeting.
When I go, I want to be reincarnated as a leveraged hedge fund
US stockpiling sees Irish exports spike and mortgage arrears on the rise again for some
70% of Dublin’s ‘new’ private rented sector housing has no sustainability rating
Who gets the house: have you spoken to your parents about happens when they die?
Almost half of 701 firms surveyed for a Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment assessment of the impact that statutory sick leave (SSL) was having on companies said they offered better terms than the minimum ones required by law, writes Emmet Malone, raising a doubt about Government action to put the brake on sick leave in order to reduce business costs.
Speaking of illness, Conor Pope looks at the annual market report of the Health Insurance Authority which notes that the cost of some private health insurance plans jumped by more than 25 per cent last year, with an average price increase of in excess of 12 per cent. People over the age of 65 are paying 44 per cent more for cover than the average.
In his second day in the witness box in a Washington DC courtroom, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg conceded he bought Instagram because it had a “better” camera than the one his company was trying to build under its flagship Facebook brand at the time. That appeared to bolster allegations by US antitrust enforcers that Meta had used a “buy or bury” strategy to snap up potential rivals, keep smaller competitors at bay and maintain an illegal monopoly.
Also under the cosh was a farmer who challenged a Revenue assessment that he owed €351,545 in capital gains tax. Gordon Deegan reports that he has lost an appeal to the Tax Appeals Commission.
In Money Matters, Joanne Hunt asks whether you have talked to your parents about inheritance? It’s not the easiest conversation to have, she concedes but it can spare a family some surprises, prevent unintended consequences and disputes, and possibly save some tax.
John McManus looks at the collapse in US bond markets last week which triggered an abrupt U-turn by US president Donald Trump on his tariff policy and examines what may have trigged the selling.
In Commercial Property CBRE Ireland head of sustainability Rachel McGinley says the majority of big apartment landlords are not implementing sustainable processes that would maximise value of their investment.
And John Moran, chief executive and head of capital markets at JLL Ireland argues that institutional investors can help to bring an end to Ireland’s housing crisis but only if regulatory policy is grounded in stability and simplicity.
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