Breakfast Business

The Chinese economy is set to grow once again by around 5% this year.  Of course economic data from China is not exactly transparent, but if that’s accurate it’s certainly not an economy struggling under a major tariff war with America.  Is this a long term trend of can we expect the EU to react and decide whether to collaborate or to compete with China in the 21st century? All to discuss with Finbarr Bermingham is Senior correspondent for Europe for the South China Morning Post.

We’re still in the summer time and there may be a few more days of BBQ weather before the chill returns. Conor Layden Commercial Director of Arigna fuels makes charcoal from olives more specifically the pips or seeds within the olives.  It’s called Biochar and now his company Arigna which is now in its 5th generation of the family business has signed a new deal to sell this fuel in Aldi supermarkets.  Joe chatted to Conor this morning.

There was a time when there were little major differences between ESG rules on either side of the Atlantic. But that’s not the case now.  It makes for major problems for big US firms operating in Europe who will soon have to comply with 2 very different sets of rules. A survey by the Compliance Institute suggests that a fifth of companies foresee ‘significant’ disruption due to the divergence of ESG rules and only 40% are preparing for this schism in regulation. Joining Joe this morning was Michael Kavanagh is the chief executive of the Compliance Institute.

Wednesday new review along with Joe Lynam.

Despite sitting on a cash pile of €26bn ahead of the budget in 2 months, the government is already speaking about reining in spending in case the world is plunged into further geopolitical and trading uncertainty.  But many people who start their own business are increasingly frustrated that they don't get the handouts that consumers and ordinary households get.  So what do SMEs want in October to make it easier to start and run a business?   All to discuss with Neil Hughes the Chief Executive of Azets Ireland.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland publishes its analysis later today and it is expected to say that the financial model for food businesses is broken and deserving of help due to their importance for small businesses. The economist Tony Foley from DCU is the senior economic contributor to the report and joined Joe on the show this morning.

Tuesday's business news review along with Joe Lynam.

Much to the annoyance of Donald Trump, the flow of US companies choosing Ireland for their global headquarters continues. John Callahan runs the international part of the Cognitive AI company Partsol from Dublin.  It provides a platform for companies especially in the healthcare and financial services sectors and helps them to strip out facts from AI opinion or speculation.  John Callahan, President of Partsol Global, and CTO spoke to Joe this morning on the show.

At the end of this week around 60,000 students will get their Leaving Cert results. Of that number roughly half of them will have received some sort of extra tuition or grinds to improve their grades. Brendan Kavanagh, Chairman and Co-Founder of Grinds360 offers online classes with expert teachers including an interactive service for the students. But do they work? All to discuss with Brendan Kavanagh, Chairman and Co-Founder of Grinds360. 

Russ Mould from AJ Bell along with Joe Lynam runs through the main business news stories.

A look back at the business stories of the week with Economist Austin Hughes. 

Workers in the Irish aircraft leasing business each earned €206,000 on average last year, new figures show.  The Republic is home to the world’s top aviation lessors, but what is behind the success?   All to discuss with Patrick Blaney, Former Chief Executive of Guinness Peat Aviation. 

This year’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic game between Kansas and Iowa State University will take place on August 23rd in the Aviva Stadium.  And while the two teams will battle to see who wins and who loses, Ireland looks to be victorious either way, generating over 130 million euros for the economy from the event.  To tell us more about what we can expect, Emmet was joined by Padraic O’Kane, Co-Founder and Director of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. 

Certa has announced the opening of its 25th hydrotreated vegetable oil site in Ireland, in response to the rising demand for renewable fuel.  But what is the potential of HVO in Ireland for households and businesses?   Emmet spoke to Kevin McPartland, Chief Executive of Fuels for Ireland. 

While the US and EU have struck a deal on tariffs that seems to be holding, a dark cloud remains over the future of pharma in Ireland. Despite assertions from the European Commission that the deal would bring clarity and certainty to pharma exporters, confusion reigns.   All to discuss with Brendan Murphy, Tax Partner at Baker Tilly Ireland.

Thursday's business news headlines with Emmet Oliver.

Joe Lynam takes a look at Wednesday's business headlines.

The billionaire Dermot Desmond said that the Metrolink in Dublin would be obsolete by the time it opens due to the arrival of autonomous vehicles and advanced AI.  While that ignores the fact that it would clog up the roads even further, it did shine a light on whether technology is moving so fast that we won't be driving our own cars in the near future. All to discuss with Stephen Prendiville an Infrastructure Partner with Deloitte.  

A century ago only a quarter of the population had any electricity at all and few had running water.  The newly independent State had little or no money but little it had it bet the house on one project: the building of the then largest hydro electric plant in Europe at Ardnacrusha in Co Clare.  Today is the 100th anniversary exactly of the turning of the first sod to build that plant which provided enough electricity for the entire nation a century ago.  JOw spoke to Brendan Shine  is the Plant Manager for ESB at the world famous Ardnacrusha Generating Station.

The one positive from the Trump tariff war has been the urgent need for Irish exporters to find new markets to sell to and wean itself off its US dependency.  One possible region could be the Middle East which imports 85% of everything they consume. That means that Irish food and pharma could find new customers. Joe discusses this further with Enda Corneille, is the chair of the Arab-Irish Chamber of Commerce which holds a big conference on this subject in Sept