Breakfast Business

Thursday's business news review along with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.

If you're a small or medium-sized retailer and don't fancy installing expensive wired infrastructure to sell stuff such as coffee, furniture or burgers, then you may be familiar with the small white boxes on which your customers can tap their cards. Often those boxes are fittingly made by the technology company Square which is staying with a geometric theme and is owned by Block, which is run by Jack Dorsey.  Now Block is beefing up its presence in Europe with a headquarters here in Ireland and John O'Beirne, is the CEO of Square International, part of Block and joined Joe Lynom on the show.

If you're a business and you had some of your key staff at arm’s length via a contract in order to avoid PRSI and pension payments, you are rapidly running out of time to get your relationships in order with the tax man. That's because Friday at 5pm is the deadline for you to have declared staffers who weren’t on PAYE, paid any outstanding taxes and or sorted out some sort of payment stream with Revenue. It all stems from a key Supreme Court ruling 2 years ago and joining us to explain it all is. Sandra Brennan, EY Ireland Tax controversy Partner joined Joe Lynam on the show. 

Joe Lynam brings us Wednesday's business news headlines.

The European Motor show starts this weekend in Dublin.  There’ll be plenty of glossy new vehicles on show but also a lot more hands-on experiences rather than red ropes for would-be motorists.  Close Brothers provided finance for 12,000 car purchases in Ireland last year whether through Hire purchases or PCP deals. Although buying a new car has soared in this decade, the demand for financing the deal has increased with it. Donal Murphy the Chief Executive of Close Brothers Motor Finance joined Joe on the show this morning.

Ireland hosts the EU presidency from July and many sectors are hoping that they can magically improve their lot within the European Union in that six month period. Among those are the bankers who want to see a lot more simplification and perhaps even dilution of some of the strict regulations put in place following the financial crisis, caused mostly by the banks. Speaking to Joe to discuss this further was Chief Executive of the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. 

Joe Lynam brings us Tuesday's business new headlines.

Crypto-currencies haven't had a great 12 months.  Bitcoin alone is down 25%.  Despite that, the number of people trading the digital money has continued to blossom.   People may be aware of trading platforms where retail investors can buy crypto such as Coinbase or Binance and now CoinJar is investing €5m to make Dublin its European HQ. Joining Joe this morning was Niall Carson the Chief Executive of CoinJar Europe. 

Ryanair shares may have jumped 3% on Thursday alone and there was a mini spike in ticket sales after the online spat between Michael O’Leary and Elon Musk. But investors will be far more interested in what the airline is earning per passenger these days and what’s happening with a €256 million fine from the Italian Competition Regulator. And now we know that the average fare in the 3rd quarter was up 1 cent per passenger to €44.   But post tax profits were down 22% at €115m A lot to chat about with Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary.

Monday's business news review along with Joe Lynam and Russ Mould.

With little sign of the housing crisis abating in 2026, Fianna Fáil Councillor Deirdre Heney has suggested the re-introduce a programme similar to the defunct Rural Resettlement Scheme. We ask is decentralisation the answer to our housing crisis? Ciara and Shane debated this morning.

Imagine being able to solve some of the most complex issues in hours rather than decades. Imagine being able to do the kind of calculations that can speed up the delivery of brand-new treatments and medication. Imagine being able to do all the calculations to send a man to the moon in seconds. They are just some of the opportunities that Quantum Computing offers and Equal1 wants to keep some of the innovation in this exciting new space in Ireland. They’ve just raised $60 million to create a piece of hardware called Bell-1/ Patrick McNally, is the Chief Commercial Officer with Equal1 joined Joe this morning.

Friday business news review with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam and Economist Austin Hughes.

We’ve had a trade war between the two biggest economies in the world. We’ve had major wars and the possible break up of the ‘West’ as we know and yet, the markets kept inching upwards. Breaking new records along the way.  Is there any logic to this or is there an illogical reason why many investors simply shrug no matter what happens? All to discuss with Bernard Walsh, the Head of Investments & Pensions at Fairstone Asset management and lecturer with the LIA.  

When you as a consumer buy a product or a service, do you know what happens to your personal details? Where are highly sensitive data such as your address, credit card details and perhaps even your medical history kept and how can you be sure it won't be leaked somewhere?  Joe discussed all with Susan Brady the Managing Director of Eir Business.

Thursday's business news review with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

Donald Trump will doubtless dominate the media coverage when he speaks at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland later today.  His very presence is a distraction from all the other speakers in Davos including Michael Lohan the Chief Executive of the IDA who is there to bang the drum for foreign investment into Ireland.

Having a newborn is a joyous time but also an expensive one and one which is not great for the environment. We spend €100m on disposable nappies in Ireland every year and they often end up in landfill alongside wet wipes. Kate Doyle has created reusable nappies as well as a marketplace for other environmentally friendly products including period products.  Only this week she won the ‘Sustainability Champion Award’ at the Business of Craft fair. Kate Doyle the founder of EcoKinly explained all about her business to Joe this morning.

Wednesday business news review with Joe Lynam.

The backbone of Trump’s upending of the global trading system have of course been his tariffs. They have been arbitrarily applied to America’s allies and sometimes based on the personal whims of the President. But they could be deemed illegal as early as today by the US Supreme Court. If Trump can get around that ruling it will mean 3 more years of economic and political chaos. It’s one of the main topics at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week where Trump himself will doubtless lecture the free world on his idea of Trumpenomics.  Aidan Meagher is the co-head of the geopolitical strategy unit with EY and joined Joe Lynam on the show this morning to discuss.