Paschal Donohoe is not looking forward to the budget process if his evidence to an Oireachtas committee is anything to go by. He said making “confident predictions” about the impact on the Irish economy of a breakdown in trade relations between the US and Europe, is without precedent, and that forecasting short-term scenarios – key to the budget arithmetic – has never been more difficult. Ian Curran reports.
Trinity College recorded a surplus in excess of €50 million last year, according to accounts just published but still described their finances as “finely balanced”. Hugh Dooley finds out why.
US health insurance giant Elevance opened an Irish business less than four years ago and rebranded with fanfare in Thomond Park just over two years ago. Now it is packing up, cutting more than 300 staff at its Limerick operation loose.
Legendary Apple designer Jony Ive and artificial intelligence pioneer Sam Altman are promising to create a device that will take artificial intelligence firmly into the real world, reimagining what it means to use a computer. They’re not the first to make such promises and Ciara O’Brien suggests it is not yet time to turn your back on the current generation of technology.
Trump and the ‘nasty’ Taco trade
The bond vigilantes are on the prowl
‘The Japanese want to see you have the attention to detail, customer service and quality they expect. You have to deliver’
Average pay has passed €1,000 a week. The figure offers some key messages about where the economy is and how households are doing
Meta’s chief privacy officer warns that Europe risks becoming the “museum of the world”. Her particular bone of contention is the EU’s wariness of Meta plans to start using the public posts, comments and other data of EU users to train its AI models. She tells Ciara it is just an attempt “by a vocal minority of activist groups to delay AI innovation in the EU and that ultimately harms consumers and businesses who can benefit from these technologies”.
The Irish Hotels Federation says it is joining a Europe-wide legal action against Booking.com over what they say are inflated commission rates they were forced to pay over 20 years. Conor Pope has the details.
Ireland’s largest business lobby group, Ibec, says skills gaps and mismatches in the Irish workforce are “eroding the competitiveness of Irish industry” though it’s somewhat short on details, writes Hugh Dooley.
Meanwhile, the Convenience Stores & Newsagents Association has secured High Court sanction to proceed with a judicial review of what it says are “punitive” fees to sell tobacco and nicotine products from next year. Corner stores currently paying €50 a year for the privilege will face bills of €1,800 under the new regime. Hugh has the details.
Marketing and advertising budgets are often the first casualties during times of economic stress. So a new report that foresees stagnating client spending this year might be cause for concern. Ian Curran reports.
Eoin Burke-Kennedy assesses a KPMG report that says Dublin needs a €70 billion investment in housing, transport, water and energy over 15 years if it is to catch up on years of underinvestment that has seen the city outgrow its infrastructure.
When Covid disrupted retail, fashion designer Aideen Bodkin turned her attention to the thorny question of ensuring clothes bought online actually fit. Now she has developed an AI-powered tool for fashion retailers that matches customer measurements to a brand’s sizing to ensure the perfect fit first time.
“I spent over 20 years in high-end ladies fashion and, in recent years, I’ve watched in horror as fast fashion and overconsumption have become normalised. Over 50 per cent of global online garment returns stem from incorrect fit and this fuelled my commitment to create an innovative sizing solution,” Bodkin says.
Finally, on our Inside Business podcast, Lisa Brankin, chairman and managing director of Ford UK & Ireland, joins host Cliff Taylor to discuss the challenges of going electric, her plans for the company’s future, and the launch of Ford Power Promise across its range of electric cars in Ireland.
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