Breakfast Business

Paddy Cosgrove started The web summit conference in 2009 in Bewleys Hotel with a handful of attendees and grew it into a multi-million euro business with 70,000 attendees. He became a millionaire but also began sharing many of his political views in public. After major sponsors started pulling out one by one, Paddy Cosgrave bit the bullet and quit the company that he founded at the weekend. What can we learn about this? Johnny Fallon has been following the story closely and works as a consultant with Carr Communications and joined Joe this morning.

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

The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has chosen Dublin as its main regulatory and operational hub for the EU.  It comes as the EU is finalising new regulations for digital assets - referred to as Mica. Joe was joined on the show by Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase who is in Ireland this week to seal the deal. 

War in Europe and the Middle East. Soaring interest rates and political unease everywhere.  What should investors do?  Putting your money into cash will earn you nothing and property is flatlining.  One of the biggest investors in the country is Irish Life which manages the pension funds for millions of people and Anthony MacGuinness, Irish Life's Chief Investment Officer joined Joe on the show this morning.

A look at today's business papers and markets with economist Austin Hughes.

More than half of companies have introduced a core set of hours in which workers must be in the office according to a Dublin Chamber survey carried out in association with Savills.  Only 8% of companies surveyed said they insist on 100% attendance in the office and now Thursday has replaced Wednesday as the day on which the office is busiest. Aebhric McGibney, Director of Public and International Affairs at Dublin Chamber joined Joe on the show this morning.

Aquatech is the technology behind aquaculture or the farming of fish and it relates to the breeding, raising, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants.  And Bord Iascaigh Mhara is holding a special conference about encouraging aquatech entrepreneurs to get into the sector. Joining Joe this morning on the show was Richard Donnelly Development and Innovation Services Director BIM.

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

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

Hydrotreated vegetable Oil of HVO could be the green alternative to using diesel for those who can't afford to buy an electric car.  Now Certa has opened up what it describes as the ‘forecourt of the future’ with HVO on tap in Liffey Valley by the m50.  However HVO is usually slightly more expensive to buy per litre than traditional fuels. So will motorists make the switch? Speaking to Joe this morning was Andrew Graham who is the Managing Director of Certa Ireland. 

In Last week’s budget, Finance Minister Michael McGrath announced a public consultation into how Revenue might be able to improve how VAT returns are made digitally.  The review could suggest making VAT returns fully paperless and almost in real time which could make life much easier for SMEs. Patricia Lahert, Principal Officer in Revenue’s Indirect Taxes Policy and Legislation Division joined Joe on the show this morning.

For those tourists who think that Dublin hotel prices are already expensive, they’re set to rise a further 10% next year.  That's according to American Express Global Business Travel which says that demand for hotel nights in key global cities will shift away from leisure travel and more for business purposes To discuss this further Joe was joined on the show by Cameron Spence is the Consulting Manager with AMEX GBT. 

 3D printing is now widely available and is especially used by companies to make their own parts or components.  But consumers can also print up their stuff at home.  But mass adoption hasn't taken off yet.  Does the technology and especially the speeds need to improve? Dave Doyle, 123-3D ,ie commercial manager

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

Dublin hosts one of the larger conferences in Gaming this week.  It’s called NEXUS by Gamerfest and some of the biggest developers will be there in a sector worth way more than some of the traditional industries. Among the delegates will be an Irish company called StoryToys and Emmett O’Neill, CEO of StoryToys. 

  After the horrific events in Israel and Gaza 9 days ago, oil prices shot up over fears that the conflagration might spread to other oil-producing regions.  They retreated back by the end of last week but energy and energy dependence hasn't gone away. Ireland’s best hope is of course renewables but they are not easy to switch on and off.  So let’s chat about how we will power our companies and our homes. Joining Joe this morning was Robert Maxwell from the energy consultants DNV.

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

According to a key poll in the financial crime sector, Ireland and Dublin in particular, is the most likely to become the home of the proposed Anti Money Laundering agency for the EU.  It pipped Madrid which came second and then  Luxembourg and Frankfurt.  But given the high cost of labour and housing here, will we win it? To discuss further Joe spoke to Stephen Rae, from the consultants Kobn.

Ireland has gone from a standing start 30 years ago to one of the biggest consumers of coffee in Europe. We’ve even taken to drinking cold coffee products - on not-so-warm days according to Bewleys.  But is it a fad and what can be done to keep the price of a cuppa Joe from becoming punitively expensive?  Bewley’s Marketing Director is Catherine Casserly joined Joe this morning on the show.

We look at the business papers and markets with Mike O'Sullivan Director of UNIO.