Breakfast Business

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

There has been a lot of talk about how disruptive or even dangerous AI - or artificial intelligence might be. One thing is for sure it will change how many of us work - even if we don't know how yet. Eurofound is the EU based here in Ireland which carries out in-depth research into the workplace and has looked at what kind of jobs we will be doing a lot more or and a lot less in the near future. Speaking to Joe with more on this was Ivailo Kalfin Executive Director of Eurofound - before that, he was Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

This time last year, Europe was in the middle of a full-fledged energy crisis. Putin’s war had pushed up gas and oil prices and dragged up wholesale energy prices with them. Now the European Commission hopes to break the link between wholesale gas and electricity prices and push for far more energy independence for the continent. Elisabetta Cornago Senior research fellow, EU energy and climate policy with the think tank: the Centre for European Reform spoke to Joie this morning on the show.

A run-through of some of the business stories this Monday morning.

The Taoiseach as well as key ministers attended the National Economic Dialogue yesterday. Also, there were groups representing the trade union movement, environmental lobby groups as well as academia. The purpose of the NEI is to frame ideas that might be included in the autumn Budget. Representing Business is Danny McCoy the Chief Executive of IBEC who spoke to Joe this morning.

There has been something of a regulatory clampdown on the cryptocurrency platforms of late. Sam Bankman Fried appears in court charged with fraud this week and last week the US watchdog - the SEC - launched a major probe into Binance. But yet the adverts for all types of crypto products keep appearing in social media feeds - and the big platforms appear unable or unwilling to remove adverts that might be for totally bogus investments. Now the consumer advocates in Europe - BEUC - including the CAI here in Ireland have called on the European Commission to do something about it. With more on this Joe was joined on the show by Agustin Reyna Director of Legal and Economic Affairs, from BEUC.

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

Last month we heard that the manufacturing sector continued its decline. While last week we heard that the services sector continued its accent. Today we heard from the constructions sector and thankfully it’s in positive territory. John McCartney is the director of research at BNP Paribas real estate who has just published its latest report into the constructions sector.

It’s an old adage that business simply can't bear uncertainty. It’ll handle good times and bad, but lack of clarity is a big No No. Now a group of 60 major companies including Nestlé, Unilever and IKEA are calling for clarity in legal and regulatory terms when it comes to what they should expect when it comes to new laws to govern how the environment is treated. But amid such economic uncertainty and a possible recession in the US this year, is the environment still so important to companies who have a priority to break even or earn a profit? Lucy Gaffney from Business for Biodiversity Ireland joined Joe Lynam on the show this morning.

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

SIRO is the joint venture between the ESB and Vodafone to roll out full fibre broadband throughout the country. Today marks the landmark installation of its 500,000th premises on that journey to high-speed broadband throughout the country. John Keaney the chief executive of SIRO joined Joe in the studio this morning.

Libor or London Interbank offered rate was a key benchmark in the setting of interest rates for companies and consumers. But it was hardly regulated at all and blew up in a huge scandal at the height of the financial crisis 15 years ago when it emerged that the banks that set this key benchmark weren’t exactly being honest. Joe's former BBC colleague and economics correspondent has written a book about how regulators didn’t want to know, and nor of course did the senior management of the banks. Andy Verity BBC Economics correspondent and author of the book Rigged joined Joe on the show this morning.

A look at Friday's business papers and markets with Dan Moroney from RBC Brewin Dolphin.

In a post-pandemic world, flexible or hybrid working is increasingly popular with services-based companies. My next guest Viatel is offering a new 100:90:100 scheme which expects the same productivity from its staff but every second Friday off. Will it work? Paul Rellis the chief executive of Viatel explained it all to Joe this morning on the show.

Yesterday afternoon the Central Bank of Ireland published its financial stability review in which they said that the Irish economy had been more resilient than expected in the face of soaring inflation and interest rates. But it also warned that inflation was still a major issue and geopolitical risks could damage the global economy. And it talked about the risks of governments trying to undo the impact of higher borrowing costs. Joe Lynam caught up with the Governor of The Central Bank Gabriel Makhlouf and began by asking whether he had been surprised by this resilience of Irish households.

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

Have you heard of TCRP? - It's Google’s Trusted Copyright Removal Program and it’s at the heart of the search engine’s effort to prevent copyright theft and vital to musicians, performers, songwriters, photographers, and dozens of other creative people. One Irish company - only created 2 years ago says it has a 100% success rate of hunting down and removing results containing cloned or ‘borrowed’ content and is working with the adult site Only Fans. Speaking to Joe this morning was Dan Purcell, Chief executive of Ceartas.

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

Many of us will recall how my next guest, Martin Shanahan, kept his cool on TV as the anchor of CNBC displayed his utter ignorance about Ireland and Britain about a decade ago. He’s also known for luring hundreds of major companies to these shores and is responsible for thousands of people being in jobs right now. He’s got a new job as a partner with Grant Thornton and Martin told Joe all about it.

Staying with the theme of exports, the Middle East is still significantly behind Europe, North America and even Asia in terms of importance for Irish exporters. The former head of Emirates in Ireland and now chairman of the Arab-Irish Chamber of Commerce Enda Corneille knows a bit about the Arab world and thinks we should be doing a lot more business there. Enda spoke to Joe this morning on the show.