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Economy hits headwinds, Citywest cemetery and tech prep for Christmas

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

Shoppers in Dublin. The Irish economy will grow “at a significantly reduced pace” next year as recession in other countries and persistent cost-of-living pressures dampen spending and investment Photograph Nick Bradshaw

Conn Ó Midheach's face
Conn Ó Midheach
Thu Dec 15 2022 - 06:41

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The Irish economy will grow “at a significantly reduced pace” next year as recession in other countries and persistent cost-of-living pressures dampen spending and investment, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has warned. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

The owner of the Citywest hotel complex in west Dublin plans to build a large cemetery on the nearby site of former golf club lands. The 8,047-plot burial ground would be worth at least €20 million, based upon the price of plots in other cemeteries in the area. Mark Paul reports.

Up to €34 billion could be wiped off the value of the Irish economy in the event of a major shock to the tech sector, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has estimated, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy. With high-profile firms such as Twitter, Meta and Stripe announcing cutbacks to their operations here, the institute attempted to calculate the importance of the sector to the local economy.

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Italian luxury watch brand Panerai has opened the doors at its new boutique on Chatham Street in Dublin, the first store of its kind in Ireland or the United Kingdom, writes Ian Curran. The Florence-founded, Swiss-headquartered manufacturer, owned by luxury goods giant Richemount, is one of six international brands that will sell watches from its own unit, its first Irish outlet, at investment group Hines’s Chatham and King development off Grafton Street.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark policy rate by half a percentage point and signalled its intention to keep squeezing the US economy next year, as central banks on both sides of the Atlantic enter a new phase in the battle against inflation.

Resident sage Cantillon clocks Dalata’s growth and welcomes the possibility we will avoid recession next year.

Retailer Smyths Toys Superstores has signed up with fintech Stripe for online payments in Ireland, the UK and Europe. The platform will also provide fraud prevention on online transactions for the toy retailer, through the use of Stripe Radar. The system uses machine learning algorithms to detect and prevent fraud. Ciara O’Brien reports.

An Post chief executive Dave McRedmond joins Ciarán Hancock on the latest episode of the Inside Business podcast to discuss the ongoing row between An Post and the UK’s Post Office over the implementation of post-Brexit customs rules, which is resulting in thousands of online purchases being returned to British retailers. Later on, we hear from two Dublin city centre business owners, Stephen Kennedy of Copper+Straw cafe and Sean Crescenzi of Happy Endings restaurant. They speak about the impact that antisocial behaviour and drug dealing, in and around Aston Quay, is having on their businesses and the immediate and long-term solutions they would like to see implemented.

Retail companies are hit by flattening online sales now as most economies have reopened post-lockdowns, writes Brooke Masters, and they are getting desperate.

The day is fast approaching and all the prep is under way. But what can you do in advance to make sure tech presents work like a dream rather than a nightmare this Christmas? Quite a lot actually, says Ciara O’Brien

If fresh milk collection doesn’t go like clockwork, there will be a few disgruntled stakeholders including farmers, the processors and the cows. But transport solutions designed for moving everyday commodities to and from central distribution points don’t work well for milk which typically involves hundreds of pickups and deliveries to and from farms and factories. In short, the sector was crying out for a system that would make the transportation process more efficient and Mullingar-based OptaHaul has stepped up to provide it, writes Olive Keogh.

Ciara O’Brien reviews the Swytch Kit, which can be fitted to a regular bike quickly and easily, and costs significantly less than buying a new, purpose-made electric bike. Aimed at those who already have a decent bike and don’t want to invest in a rather expensive replacement, the Swytch Kit transforms your manual bike into an electric one with some relatively quick upgrades.