Breakfast Business

Whether it’s from Vietnam, Venezuela, the Caribbean or Sicily, Street Food provides quality food delivered from a van or something on wheels and it is sweeping the nation. Seany McCleary was in the street food vending business himself until he returned from abroad and discovered there was more money in advising other vendors than doing it himself.  Now StreatSchool does exactly that and has at least 250 trucks and vans on the road in what is rapidly becoming an important part of Ireland’s gastronomic scene.  

Wednesday business headlines and news with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.

22,000 consumers have complained about a product or service they received in the first half of this year according to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. That’s up nearly a fifth on last year.  The most complained about sectors were vehicles and transport and then telecoms and broadband.  Joe discusses these findings with Grainne Griffin from the CCPC. 

Enjoy the Olympics folks?  Enjoy the fact that Ireland has never won as many medals?  Note the fact that without financial support, none of that would have been possible?  We may think athletes don't need money to win stuff but they do.  Our rowers need to be trained to the highest standards and someone has to pay for that?  Property advisers Avison Young have been sponsoring Rowing Ireland for 8 years and take great pride in the Gold medal won last week by Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan. Fergal Burke is the Managing Director of the commercial property advisers Avison Young 

The market gyrations last week led to a few people reassess where their future savings should go.  Interest rates on deposits are still risible. And Some may have said that shares were too risky.  Others may start looking at alternative investments such commodities and even Cryptocurrencies.Some may decide to leave much of the decision-making to others through family offices.  All topics for Karl Rogers Chief Investment Officer with Elkstone.

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

Having our first coffee of the day is a ritual all over the world and for some it's essential to wake up and kickstart the day.  Ireland was late to the coffee revolution but is now taking to it with gusto.  There are even coffee festivals here like the one in Birdhill in Tipperary. Alan Andrews runs that festival but also sells something called Boutique coffee in his coffee shop called GUJI in Limerick and Cork. 

Amid the recent riots caused in part by the lies being actively shared on the internet, arrests have been made and some have been sent to jail in the UK.  Not yet in Ireland though. But what about the internet platforms who were slow or even declined to remove what it knew to be racists and inflammatory rhetoric and accusations?  Simon Harris says that directors should be held personally liable. But can they and can authorities simply shut down platforms without a legal process?  We discuss with Michele Neylon the Chief Executive of Blacknight which is a domain registrar and hosting company.

A look at the international business stories this morning with Joe Lynam and Ross Mould from AJ Bell.

Yesterday Elon Musk tweeted a post from a far right leader in the UK which itself was promoting an utterly fake news article in a mock news website about asylum seekers.  Two days earlier the world's richest man and owner of X said civil war had been unavoidable.   That sparked an angry reaction from our own Simon Harris who said the days of self regulation by the big technology platforms were over.  But are they? And can they be switched? Joe discuss this further with Ciara O’Brien is Business and Technology Journalist with the Irish Times. 

At the end of July a well-known expert in foreign affairs and international tax policy posted an image of the Top three countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita.   But he was highlighting how the US pharma sector was using tax avoidance or tax management as the big drugs companies would call it, in Ireland.  So could all the tax revenue enjoyed by Ireland be in jeopardy after the US elections?   Brad Setser is a Senior fellow of the Council of Foreign Relations and is that expert who highlighted the perceived injustice of the global tax system and joined Joe on the show this morning.

All the markets and business news with Joe Lynam and Kate English from Deloitte.

If you are an entrepreneur and want to know how to create a range of products widely available on many shelves, Denise Walsh is the person you want to hear from.  She’s the founder of Curly Co which sells dozens of hair care products in all the main pharmacies in Ireland.  In fact she’s in 180 different outlets on the island.Denis joined Joe in studio to chat about her products and business.

America is creating a bipolar world in trade terms. One in which you’re either on its side or China’s side.  The new cold war is not one which Europe actively wants to wage but it may come to ‘picking a side’ especially if America threatens to withdraw its military blanket. Meanwhile the Chinese economy is in its softest patch in many decades with domestic demand weak and even exports slowing.  Finbarr Bermingham is Brussels correspondent with the South China Morning Post and joined Joe this morning on the show.

Joe takes a run through of the main business stories in this morning business papers and websites.

According to Aviva Ireland, the number of people suddenly withdrawing their claims against individuals and companies just before their court hearing has jumped by 20%.  Some of that is down to Guards or insurance companies alerting the police about suspected fraudulent claims. But will this mean premiums should start falling?  Brian O’Connor, Chief Claims Officer, Aviva Insurance Ireland which represents 13% of the entire market. 

This won't come as a shock for anyone out there seeking to buy a home. But data from myHome.ie has confirmed just how tight the sales market is in Ireland by showing that the number of properties available last month was 50% lower than July 2014 despite having built at least 200,000 homes in that time.  The problem is especially acute in Munster where there are now 61% fewer properties to buy than 10 years ago. We get the details from Joanne Geary is Managing Director of MyHome.ie .

Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam takes a look at Wednesday main business headline in this morning's newspapers and websites.

Some associate health and safety with red tape and unnecessary rules and restrictions.  But in most cases safety is merely designed to save lives and protect colleagues and the public.  One company based in Naas,  specialises in safety training for other companies. Whether its training first Aiders or what to do and wear before entering a building site, Shorcontrol even has the safety.ie website. Fiona Spillane, General Manager,  Shorcontrol Safety joined Joe this morning on the show.

Services include everything from accountants to painters and from waiters to coders.  It is the single biggest component of the Irish economy and if it moves up or down, the Irish economy moves up or down with it.  The latest benchmark of the health of the Services sector is out. And the AIB PMIs show a sector is robust health though a smidgeon softer than the previous month.  Joe goes through the findings with David McNamara, Chief Economist with AIB.