Local property tax under review, cut price clothing from Dealz, and Moody’s glum about Irish upgrade

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

What is to become of the local property tax? A review has been launched by the Minister for Finance, focused on keeping bills for households roughly in line with current levels in the years ahead.Cliff Taylor argues it's yet another good economic idea run aground by the water charges debate which has destroyed our ability for logical discussion on how to raise essential revenue.

Kit yourself out from head to toe for €15: that's the promise from Dealz, which is introducing its Pep&Co clothing line to Irish stores. With jeans for €6.50 and t-shirts for €3.50, the UK discounter is lining up for a fight with market leader Penneys.

Hopes that the State could regain a top grade rating from Moody's were dashed yesterday by the agency's lead analyst for Ireland. Kathrin Muehlbronnersaid the chance of a triple-A rating within the next five years were "very slim".

US hedge fund York Capital is planning a €250 million initial public offering of an Irish industrial and logistics property investment trust called Core Industrial Plc in Dublin in the coming months, writes Joe Brennan. The fund plans to put about €80 million of industrial units into the quoted company, including property in locations like Rathcoole, Clondalkin, and Finglas in Dublin that it snapped up after the property crash.

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The banking culture which led to the current tracker mortgage scandal will not change until the banks are pursued through the courts, the Oireachtas Finance Committee has been warned. Chairman John McGuinness and Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty called for class-action legislation, which would allow victims of widespread harm to come together in search of collective redress.

In her London Briefing, Fiona Walsh asks why would the UK government award contracts worth almost £2 billion to a company that had already, very publicly, admitted it was in trouble? And it's not just the government that's under scrutiny – almost anyone who's had anything to do with Carillion is coming under fire as contagion from one of Britain's biggest-ever corporate collapses spreads.

Brendan O'Carroll continues to profit from his hugely successful Mrs Brown's Boys show with recently filed accounts showing the comedian and his wife, actress Jennifer Givney shared a near €1 million payout last year.

Michael McAleer

Michael McAleer

Michael McAleer is Motoring Editor, Innovation Editor and an Assistant Business Editor at The Irish Times