Breakfast Business

A look at today's business papers and websites with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam and Mike O'Sullivan from UNIO.

If you earn well, you have the luxury of placing your money with funds or wealth managers. You can also stipulate where you wish your money to be invested. But how do you square the circle of making money and doing the right thing - especially in a world of greenwashing and high returns from fossil fuel investments? Paul Price is the chief executive of Haven Green Investment Managers and Chair of the Irish Association of Investment Managers.

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

Yesterday the government set out its AI strategy and one of the key parts of it is to train up the AI experts of the future. Are our universities match fit and producing the right types of Graduates? Gina Quin the President of the National College of Ireland spoke to Joe this morning.

9 months ago, there were very real fears that Ireland would be plunged into a recession amid soaring interest rates and energy costs. Both remain high but the Irish consumer appears to be a lot more resilient than we thought. According to MasterCard, people have spent more on experiences such as travel & entertainment than on apparel, jewellery, furniture, or electronics where sales have been contracting. Natalia Lechmanova a senior economist at Mastercard explained their consumer spending findings.

Unless you’re literally off the grid, you’ll have noticed soaring energy costs. Many of us will be considering cutting our dependence on the electricity grid by getting some solar panels or a heat pump. But according to research from Chadwicks, many of us are in the dark when it comes to how much we could get in grants or support from the Government through the SEAI system. Speaking to Joe this morning Patrick Atkinson is the Chief Executive of Chadwicks Group which has set up a website to promote retrofitting of your property.

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

As we know, global lockdowns had a huge impact on the economy. The shutdown meant that containers didn't move around and when they did they quadrupled in price due to a speedy reopening in trade. That also led to something called ‘nearshoring’ whereby importers wanted to have reliable producers closer to their main hub - even if that meant paying way more. And that in turn has kickstarted inflation issues with which we are only now emerging. So supply chains matter. Amy Shortman is the Vice President of Product Marketing at the supply chain company Overhaul

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

For a small and very open island economy, airports are vital to the functioning of this place. Dublin airport is the most important access point in the country and is facing an order to curb flights after 10pm and before 7 am. Ryanair believes this could lead to major routes being cancelled and the DAA is appealing the decision by Fingal County Council to the courts. But what does this tell us about the economics of running an airport? One person who knows more than most of us is Dr. Cathal Guiomard from Dublin City University Business School has co-authored a new book -called Airport Economics.

We’re taking out 25% more unsecured loans with banks than last year and we’ve spent a lot of that on buying new cars and home improvements. That’s despite soaring interest rates and stubbornly high inflation. It’s all good news for the banks of course and comes in the week that they posted astronomical profits. Brian Hayes the Chief Executive of the Banking & Payments Federation joined Joe this morning on the show.

33 years ago the healthcare company ICON was formed in Dublin with a staff of 5. It’s still headquartered in Dublin but now has offices all over the world and employs almost 40,000. Last week it posted profits of over $800m. And yet for an Irish company worth $20bn, how much do we know about ICON? Joining Joe this morning wasSteve Cutler is the Chief Executive of ICON.

A look at today's business papers and markets with Michael O'Sullivan from UNIO Capital.

890 jobs are going at the consultants Accenture in Ireland. That’s on top of the 300 jobs announced only a few months ago. It’s all tied to a slowdown in employment in the technology sector especially the likes of Meta which use so many advisers. So is this a one-off job cull or is there something more worrying going on in the services sector which is the lion's share of the Irish economy? Speaking to Joe this morning Donal O’Donoghue who is the President of the Employment and Recruitment Federation.

We’re living longer and earning more on average than any previous generation. But when and how do you start planning for your retirement? According to the training company the Retirement Planning Council, many people get extreme wanderlust and want to travel to far-flung places once they leave full-time employment. But will they have enough left over for their dotage once the trip to the Andes is done? Paul Kenny from the Retirement planning council joined Joe this morning to discuss further.

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

In Jan this year, the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation came into force. The idea is that financial services companies who sell so-called Green products which claim to invest in businesses that are low carbon, aren't in fact doing what they say on the tin. Now the Compliance Institute says that fewer than one in three Irish companies meet these new rules. It all raises the idea of compliance and its rapidly growing importance for companies and the extra burden it places on them. Michael Kavanagh the boss of the Compliance Institute joined Joe this morning on the show.

One of the biggest obstacles to building more homes is the lack of ready infrastructure i.e. the cabling, the sewers, as well as roads and bus stops. There’s a new company that advises on the provision of key infrastructure called HISCo and it was formed by a joint venture between the Irish Strategic Investment Fund alongside Cork County Council. Only this week a new project was launched by the Tánaiste Micheál Martin in Ballyvolane in Cork city. Speaking to Joe this morning Niall Morrissey is the chief executive HISCo.

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

Every company these days has ambitious plans to slash their emissions and use of carbon. For some in heavy industry, it’s a really tough task. But for others, they’ll need the help of other firms to buy their reduced carbon quotient. This is where the Irish firm Silicate comes in. To remove much of the carbon in concrete, they crush it up to tiny powder and give it to farmers to use in soil. That allows Silicate to create carbon creates which they then sell to other companies to meet their own targets. Maurice Bryson is the founder of Silicate