AIB defends big property investors, hotel room shortages, and the cost of the single life

The surge in activity among high-scale investors in the property market has prompted criticism that they are vacuuming up supply that might ordinarily go to would-be owner-occupiers, and that they are contributing to the homeless crisis given the power imbalance between landlords and tenants. However, a new report from AIB argues that rising investor interest among big funds and pension schemes in large Irish apartment schemes is "critical" to solving the State's housing supply crisis and easing rent growth, as they provide much-needed funds to support construction in the sector.

It comes after a report in the Economist newspaper, which says house prices in Dublin are 25 per cent overvalued against income, according to the Economist, which also finds in a new survey that property price growth in the city has outpaced growth in 22 other global cities over the past five years.

A shortfall of at least 1,100 hotel rooms is expected in Dublin by 2020, depriving the exchequer of tens of millions of euro, according to a new report by Fáilte Ireland. It points out a "strong pipeline" of new hotel accommodation, following "almost a decade of inactivity", is expected to improve tourism capacity pressures in Dublin by 2020.

Nearly three years after Volkswagen admitted to a vast emissionscheating scheme, the company has only just begun to take steps necessary to prevent future scandals. That was the main takeaway from a report issued Monday by a prominent US lawyer appointed to monitor the company's behaviour.

1,923 days lost to industrial disputes in second quarter 2018

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Premier League footballers hedge against falling pound

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The ‘Economist’ says Dublin house prices are 25% overvalued

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No-deal Brexit poses a real threat to North’s trade with Republic

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Staying on a motoring theme and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is to pay a Dublin firm ¤100,000 to use drones to help survey the country's multi-billion euro motorway system.

Shares in Tesla fell just under 3 per cent on Monday after chief executive Elon Musk abandoned his plan to take the electric carmaker private, with analysts saying the company needed new blood among senior management to prop up its standing with investors.

The company behind the McMahon's Builders Providers chain recorded an 83 per cent increase in profit last year as trading rebounded in tandem with the growth in the Republic's construction sector.

In the media and marketing column this week, Bernice Harrison assesses the reaction of Netflix users if the video streaming service opts to allow advertising on its service. Angry subscribers are already expressing indignation – the common point being that they pay monthly for the video streaming service and don't want to be interrupted. "It's not what they expect from Netflix."

In Your Money, Fiona Reddan identifies five ways that staying single costs you more. "If you're single and have no children it could end up costing you in ways you haven't thought about".