Breakfast Business

IBEC’s previous 2 quarterly reports last year were fairly pessimistic weighed down by fears over the war in Ukraine and soaring inflation alongside rapidly rising interest rates. Now the Spring forecast is much more upbeat. IBEC now thinks inflation will fall below 4% by the year-end and domestic economic growth could be 3.6% For more on this Joe was joined on the show by Gerard Brady Chief Economist with IBEC.

A run-through of some of the business stories this morning with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

It may be named after a borough in New York, but Manhattan peanuts and popcorn couldn't be any more Irish. They’ve been making snacks as a family business since 1957 in Finglas - starting in the family kitchen. And now 66 years later Don O'Neill runs the business and has been expanding into crisps and peanut butter. He’s also Newstalk Business person of the month for February. Don O’Neill is the chief executive of Manhattan peanuts and joined Joe on the show this morning.

Oil prices soared and with them the cost of living. Confidence evaporated and interest rates climbed rapidly. Just some of the issues initiated exactly a year ago when Russia invaded a sovereign European nation. In doing so it has started an inflection point in history that will change things politically and economically for decades. We assess this economic impact with Dan O'Brien from the International Institute of European affairs.

Business Editor Joe Lynam takes a look at today's business papers and markets with Aidan Donnelly from Davy.

It’s a date that will linger on for generations. February 24th 2022 shook the world when Russia launched an all-out invasion of a sovereign democratic European nation. It also plunged the world economy into chaos, pushing up energy costs and causing a recalibration of who we do business with. It also brought together the international community to punish Russia with the kind of sanctions never before imposed on any nation. Joining Joe this morning on the show was Ireland’s commissioner for Financial Services and the person responsible for the monitoring of EU sanctions Mairead McGuinness.

Section 230 of the communications act in America, has proven to be a seminal piece of legislation when it comes to social media giants. That’s because it offers protections to the likes of Google, Twitter, and Facebook when it comes to the dissemination or spread of controversial content. But now there are two cases before the US Supreme Court, which could amend or even tear up section 230 and in the process, transform social media companies as we know them. To discuss this further Joe spoke to Eoin O’Dell an Associate Professor of Law at Trinity College, Dublin.

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

Brace yourself for notable issues getting your hands on tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, and a whole suite of vegetables that we normally get in the Winter from Spain. That’s because the harvest over there has been erratic due to climate change and other factors and it’ll soon be leaving empty shelves in the fresh Veg section in our supermarkets Justin Leonard from Leonard & Sons Dublin’s oldest fresh produce company spoke to Joe on the show this morning with more on this.

It’s a worrying time for tourism. As it prepares for the peak summer months, there is genuine concern that there won't be enough hotel beds as the state has prebooked many of them to accommodate refugees from Ukraine and other countries. On top of that those that remain could be charged out at exorbitant prices - earning Ireland the kind of pricey reputation which could have long term implications. To discuss all this further Joe was joined on the show by Paul Kelly the Chief executive of Failte Ireland.

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

Only 9% of the 30,000 people employed in the security sector are women. But security is a lot more about brain power and threat assessment as well as crowd control than just turfing drunks out on the street and there’s a big drive to get more women into it. Sharon O’Neill the Events Manager with Integrity Security is one of the 9% in the security industry and Sharon joined Joe on the show this morning.

The government has introduced a new tax incentive to lure designers and developers in the digital gaming sector to Ireland. It’s called Section 481A and it allows companies to get 32% of their annual expenses back from taxpayers. The target is to generate income of €240m within a few years in the gaming space but there are major reasons why the take-up has been so slow and they include making company directors personally liable if something goes wrong. Speaking to Joe on this new incentive was Paul Mee a tax partner with Mazars.

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

Last week the engineering and technology company Expleo announced that it was setting up an innovation hub in Galway and would soon be bringing to one thousand - people employed on the island of Ireland. To tell us more about his business and why they are ramping up here, is Phil Codd, the Managing Director at Expleo Ireland.

Last month Ikea posted profits from its Dublin store of €216m for the year to the end of August 2022. Dublin is its number one store in the world for sales of cooking and eating accessories and was also the store that had sold the most Lodrät pint glasses In fact IKEA is making so much money in Ireland that they are opening up a new ‘plan and order’ store in Drogheda. Marsha Smith - Country Deputy Retail Manager UK & IRE spoke to joe about their expansion plans.

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

Irish company Viatel has announced a fresh recruitment program in a bid to expand their operations here. CTO of Viatel Technology Group, Eilish O’Connor, joined Joe this morning to discuss

Over the past few months we have seen something of a tech winter as tens of thousands of jobs are shed worldwide by the giant companies. But are those redundancies only scratching the surface? Joe was joined by Donal O’Donoghue, President of Employment Recruitment Federation to discuss

Aidan Donnelly of Davy joined Joe to look at what's making the headlines.