Breakfast Business

It’s been more than a year since the toughest and most unified sanctions ever were applied to Russia by the EU and Nato sanctions that have also impacted European business. The Russians say that their economy has been barely unaffected, while the EU says they are having a devastating impact. Who is correct? Ian Bond is a former British diplomat in Moscow, and is now the director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform joined Joe this morning.

It’s been a fortnight of turmoil for banks around the world. Four of them have collapsed or been swallowed up by a rival bank and there are now worries that those that remain might rein in their lending to companies and consumers. Some even fear we might be back to where we were in 2008. Speaking to Joe this morning on Business Breakfast was Brian Hayes the Chief Executive of the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland.

A run-through of some of the business stories today with Business Editor Joe Lynam.

The technology sector has been rocked by wave after wave of job cuts - having hired too many people during lockdowns. So what is the mood out there among tech entrepreneurs in Ireland and how will they get funding amid rising interest rates and a more cautious market? They are among the themes which will doubtless be discussed at the Deeptech fest which starts in Cork today and Eshna Gogia the Programme Manager at the Republic of Work, where the event will be held spoke to Joe this morning ahead of the event.

For many of us, our eyes glaze over when it comes to our pension - even if it’s gonna be quite a few years before we draw it down. The same could be said for healthcare benefits from your employer. Many don't know how we can access them and don't even use their services. This is where the Irish start-up Yonder comes in. It is a new platform to enable employees to make changes to their pension savings online as well as deal with healthcare issues. And they've just signed a deal with Irish Life to do exactly that. Luke Mackey, Co-Founder, and Chief Executive of Yonder joined Joe this morning on Breakfast Business.

A run-through of the main business stories today with Joe Lynam.

March has been one helluva month for Ireland and Irishness. We had St Patrick's Day, a record number of people in employment, soaring DP, a slew of winners at Cheltenham, winning a Grand slam and we even had the Guaranteed Irish awards. Not bad for a small nation. Joining Joe this morning was Brid O’Connell the Chief executive of Guaranteed Irish.

The regular consumer sentiment survey is out from the Credit Union. The good news is consumers are more confident than pessimistic and certainly in a better mood than last Autumn. But confidence has slipped slightly since last month. Austin Hughes is the compiler of the Credit Union consumer sentiment survey and joined Joe this morning.

A look at today's business papers and markets with Aidan Donnelly from Davys Stockbrokers.

Amid the shortage of housing, every aspect of the inputs required to build homes is being looked at. Now the timber industry says there are enough trees in Ireland to build 1.4million homes with plenty of wood left over for pallets, fences, and other wooden items. But why don't we build many homes fully made using timber and what needs to change to ameliorate that? To discuss Joe spoke to Mark McAuley the Director of Forest Industries Ireland.

Although Credit Suisse was a systemic and large bank, Silicon valley bank nor Signature bank, which also collapsed this month were certainly not and yet, they have sent shivers down the spine of governments, central banks, and even consumers worldwide. The banking rules are not strict enough according to Thierry Philipponnat, the Chief Economist with Finance Watch, the European NGO advocating to make finance serve society who spoke to Joe this morning.

A run-through of some of the business stories today with Newstalk Breakfast Editor Joe Lynam.

A look at today's business papers and websites with Joe Lynam.

Shares in banks on both sides of the Atlantic have stabilised somewhat after a week of turbulence that brought down one of the oldest and biggest banks in Europe, Credit Suisse. But trouble had been brewing at the Swiss bank for years and some felt it was only a matter of time before it ran out of road. But how did it come to this? Joining Joe to discuss further was John Murray a former Managing Director of CS and senior adviser to then CEO Tijean Thiam and a former senior financial regulator in the UK throughout the Great financial crisis.

With housing now at an all-time high - even higher than it was pre-crash in 2007 - many turn to renovation or extensions to improve rather than move. But according to a new report from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland called ‘The Real Cost of Renovation Report 2023.’ Doing it yourself is far more costly and time-consuming than you think. Joining Joe on the show this morning was Nick Taafe is a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and is renovating his own place in Dun Laoghaire and contributed to the report.

We all know the drill when we call up a major company and have to identify ourselves by saying something like our date of birth down the line. Behind that voice recognition are some pretty clever stuff and Liam Dunne, Chief Executive of Klearcom the Irish firm checks that voice recognition to ensure their multinational clients such as MasterCard and other giant pharma companies get the service and security they need. Liam Dunne, Chief Executive of Klearcom spoke to Joe on the show this morning.

The is a real concern that bondholders in the soon-to-be-defunct Credit Suisse lost out while some Shareholders held onto some of their value. That could set a very dangerous precedent and a massive contagion or disruption elsewhere. To discuss the ramifications of the UBS merger and other market news Joe was joined now by Andreas Clenow, the Chief investment officer of Acies Asset Management and author of the best-selling novel ‘A Most Private Bank’. and Paul Kavanagh is the Chief Executive of Patronus partners

Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam takes a run-through of some of the business stories today.

The ESB has been in the electricity business in Ireland for a century and in Britain for 25 years. It has set a target of 2040 to be completely carbon neutral and to get them towards that goal, they have signed a deal with the GeoEnergy company DcarbonX to provide ONshore energy storage in the form of Hydrogen in Britain and Ireland. Tony O'Reilly the chief executive of DcarbonX joined Joe this morning.

Business Editor Joe Lynam takes a run through Monday's business stories in newspapers and websites.