Breakfast Business

Cork-based Velo Coffee Roasters is the first coffee roastery in Ireland to obtain the prestigious B Corp Certification, marking a significant milestone in the company's commitment to social and environmental responsibility.   Joining Emmet this morning was Suzanne Casey the General Manager of Velo Coffee Roasters.

Interest in alternative assets is booming as macro-events continue to shock investors.  A recent report found the average US family office plans to allocate 52% of their portfolio towards alternatives, an increase of 10%.  Karl Rogers, Chief Investment Officer at Elkstone says the Irish market is following suit and Karl explained why to Emmet.

A look at today's business stories with Emmet Oliver.

Audi, which is part of the Volkswagen Audi Group, describes itself as the number one premium brand in Ireland.  Its distinctive 4 rings have been on Irish roads since 1968 and it’s the 8th most popular car-maker in Ireland.  Like all of them, it’s making a transition away from fossil fuels and towards electric vehicles. And that is a bumpy process especially in the face of the invasion of cheaper Chinese brands such BYD? Damien O’Sullivan the Brand Director for Audi Ireland spoke to Joe this morning on the show.

We hear a lot about the pillar banks in this country - possibly because we taxpayers had to bail them out 14 years ago.  But what about all the major international banks who operate here but don't sell to ordinary consumers. Among them is BNP Paribas which was been here for half a century and still sells to big corporate customers   Joining Joe this morning in studio was Derek Kehoe the Chief Executive of BNP Paribas Ireland.  

A look at today's business stories with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.

The government is desperate to spread the wealth of the technology boom evenly around the country and dilute the concentration of investment in Dublin.  To that end the technology hub Platform 94 - which used to be known as the Galway Technology Centre - opened its brand you extension in Galway at the weekend and aims to attract cutting edge start ups to the West. Dave Hickey, Chair of Platform94 joined Joe this morning on the show.

If you are among the thousands of people who have ordered food via Just eat or Deliveroo, you’ll know there are stiff delivery fees.  What you won't know about are the fees that are charged by these 2 apps to the restaurant which makes the food. There’s an indigenous rival called Munch’d which claims to charge the restaurant far less to process the food order and arrange a driver. Speaking to Joe was David Kieran is the boss of ZOMA which has delivered the Munch'd delivery app. 

A look at the international business stories this morning with Russ Mould from AJ Bell.

It’s been another busy week for the big technology companies.  X appeared in private before TDs and Senators in Ireland.  The EU commission opened an investigation into TikTok and the Digital Services Act came fully into force. The DSA was designed to reign in the big platforms which have become ubiquitous and all powerful in our lives.  But is it all sizzle and no steak in terms of quickly responding to the spread of disinformation and hate speech online.  Speaking to Joe this morning was Dr Johnny Ryan is a Director at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. 

A look at the main business stories this Friday morning with Austin Hughes.

 It’s 14 years since the start of the eurozone debt crisis which all but destroyed the economies of Greece, Portugal, Spain, and of course Ireland.  The IIF which represents the global banking fraternity was at the centre of that especially when it came to Greek debt forgiveness.  Nowadays people are more worried about Chinese debt levels and geopolitical tensions brought about by Russia.     Joe spoke to Robin Brooks the former Chief Economist with the IIF and began by asking him about whether the western economies were disconnecting with China? 

So Today’s the big day when we find out which European city will host the prestigious new Anti Money Laundering Agency.  Whoever gets it will doubtless attract a whole ecosystem of financial, legal and lobbying experts buzzing around the new Honeypot.  Dublin is one of the favourites but is up against major bids from Madrid, Paris, Rome and Frankfurt.  Ireland set out its stall before MEPs in brussels last month and sitting alongside the finance minister was junior Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill responsible for financial services Minister McNeil joined Joe this morning. 

On Saturday it’ll be 2 years since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. In response the EU and many western nations imposed s sanctions to cripple the Russian economy.  Yet the IMF reckons that Russia will grow by 2.6%.  So what’s going on?  David O’Sullivan is the EU envoy monitoring sanctions against Russia spoke to Joe this morning to discuss these findings.

A look at today's business stories with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

Recently show we discussed the circumvention of sanctions on Russia with Commissioner Mairead McGuinness.  We mentioned a few countries that have seen their exports to Russia soar including Georgia which is officially a candidate country to join the EU.  Giorgi Peikrishvili is the Chairman of the Irish Georgian Chamber of Commerce and joined Joe this morning to discuss these two issues.

Joe Lynam takes a look at the main business stories feature in the business pages and online.

Over the past quarter, credit unions were issuing loans at a rate of 8000 per week that works out at €631million worth of loans over 3 months.  There’s no doubt that the credit unions are slowly but surely starting to become a fourth force when it comes to home loans.  But they still have a long way to go to match the lending levels of the big 3 banks. Speaking to Joe this morning was David Malone the Chief Executive of the Irish League of Credit Unions. 

On Saturday it will have been 2 awful years since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.  One of the few bright spots to emerge was the speed and depth of cooperation by EU member states in imposing crippling sanctions on Russia.But the circumvention of those sanctions has also been huge with EU exports to neighbouring countries such as the Caucuses soaring by up to 10 times the usual amount and then ending up in Russia. Speaking to Joe this morning was Commissioner Mairead McGuinness responsible for financial services and financial literacy but also the implementation of sanctions. 

A look at today's business stories with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.