Breakfast Business

House building is rarely out of the news these days especially since the government fell so woefully short of its own completion targets last year. Evara is the largest privately owned home builder in Ireland and aims to build 1500 houses a year starting next year.  It’s also given itself a full rebrand to stress its deep roots and longevity. Joining Joe this morning was Michael Hynes is the chief executive of Evara formerly known as Quintain. 

The rate at which Irish consumers increased their spending has jumped by 6.1% between January and December. There was a marked surge in spending on gym memberships as overindulgent consumers tried to reinvent themselves.  That’s the view of the latest Consumer spending trends from Bank of Ireland and to discuss the findings further was Conall Mac Coille the Chief Economist with Bank of Ireland. 

Financial services technology or Fintech has been with us for awhile and has transformed her many of us interact with Banks and new entities. We had never heard of it 15 years ago. But with the arrival of AI, is Fintech going to adapt and change things even quicker and even more substantially than before and what does it mean to the three pillar banks in Ireland? John O’Beirne is the new chair of the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland and the CEO of Square. 

1914, 1939, 1989, 2001 all years that have proven to be pivotal in how the world works.  Is 2025 set to join that list?  Is the western alliance and trading system about to break up?  If so, does Europe look to trade more with China and India and less with its natural ally the US?  Also what will Europe do if America abandons Ukraine and imposes tariffs on its erstwhile allies.  To discuss this and more with Joe was Mike O’Sullivan is the author of the Levelling which predicted the consequences of deglobalisation.  He’s also a Director of Unio wealth managers.

Monday's big business stories along with Joe Lynam and Russ Mould from AJ Bell.

Friday's business news and markets updates along with Joe Lynam and Kate English from Deloitte. 

There has definitely been a mood change among the big US technology companies since Donald Trump won the election last November.  Where they might have been accused of being ‘woke’ beforehand they certainly aren't now. . All of them appear to be dumping its diversity and inclusion policies.    All to discussion with Newstalk Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly.

Romance knows no boundaries they say but it can cost you your job in some countries just ask the former bosses of BP and McDonalds.  We’re not as strict in Ireland about office relationships but company bosses need to set some clear rule especially when one part of the new romance reports to the other. Joe discusses further with Mary Cullen is the Managing Director of Insight HR. 

Thursday's business news along with Joe Lynam.

The very act of getting legal advice means you are either in or about to enter some sort of dispute with someone or something.  Larry Fenelon is launching a new legal practice which he says will be ‘conflict free’ in terms of commercial disputes.  Fenecas Law also enters a pretty full marketplace which is consolidating with bigger international players swallowing up smaller Irish outfits. Larry joined Joe in studio this morning.

It’s been 6 months since the packaging giant Smurfit Westrock formally delisted from the Dublin Stock exchange.  In that time, shares in the newly merged entity have soared 40% vindicating the decision to quit in many ways. The company, which is still headquartered in Dublin, posted a 4th quarter net income of $146m though it expects to earn an EBITDA of over $1.1bn.Though it’s set to be an interesting time for Smurfit in the US as that nation rows back on its recycling and DEI positions. Joe discusses all with   Ken Bowles the Chief Financial officer with Smurfit Westrock.

Joe Lynam takes a look at the main business stories of the day.

Europe, for many, is at a trading crossroads.  Its traditional military ally and trading partner the US is slapping tariffs without provocation and even looking to seize sovereign European more specifically Danish territory.   It means that the law of unintended consequence says that Europe may well consider trading more rather than less with China with the EU commission president hinting as much this week  But with 27 different member states sitting about the table, with 27 different views, how would that work? To discuss further with Joe was Finbarr Bermingham is the Europe Correspondent with the South China Morning Post. 

ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder, affects how young people communicate with others, if they do at all and for some, they can never lead independent lives.  One medical research company in Co Kerry hopes to find a treatment for those with ASD and has started clinical trials of a new drug which could be transformative. But getting from trials to the pharmacy shelves is a complicated and often very expensive process. Joe was joined on the show this morning by Professor Liz Shanahan the Founder and Chief Executive of Kingdom Therapeutics.

As most employers will know pension auto enrolment is supposed to start for all workers in the autumn.  It means that they will be automatically enrolled in the workplace pension scheme unless they expressly opt out.  It aims to bring the less well off into saving for their retirement to reduce the burden on the State.  But are employers ready since they will be carrying a substantial financial burden?  With more on this, Joe spoke to Keith Dundon, the Head of Financial Services with SYS Financial. 

Donald Trump has confirmed that he will be slapping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum coming to the US.  That will almost certainly face retaliation from Europe and China and underline the fact that we are in a trade war.  It comes as government imposed costs at home for companies are rising rapidly and Ireland looks set to miss out on the AI revolution. Speaking to Joe this morning was the Managing Partner of EY - Frank O’Keefe.

Tuesday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.

Sweden has the highest number of Unicorns in the world outside of Silicon Valley. Jim Dowling is the founder of Hopsworks.ai and he hopes to join the club of billion dollar companies and that’s why he’s based there.  He’s an Irishman whose company makes the picks and shovels for machine learning in the AI age. He also wants to keep the AI talent and technology in Europe but is but is worried that the continent lacks its own technology or infrastructural independence in AI. Joe spoke to Jim this morning on the show.

Monday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam and Russ Mould from AJ Bell.

Do you order lots of clothes online and then return them if they don't fit or you simply don't like them?  Well you may be one of the reasons why the fashion industry accounts for up to 4% of global emissions. 100 billion garments are made every year and 70% of them are plastic-based textiles such as polyester or Nylon. Almost 90% of these shirts and coats and trousers will end up in landfills.  Terran Fielder is with the NGO EarthDay.org and believes it doesn't have to be that way.