O’Leary’s fortune; taxing times; and the likely takeout price for Smurfit Kappa

Ryanair's Michael O'Leary has become the ninth Irish member of the Forbes Billionaires List, writes Peter Hamilton, with shares in his low cost airline delivering a rich return for the maverick executive.

On a more serious note, lower VAT payments saw February's Exchequer returns come in below target but still ahead of last year, reports Eoin Burke-Kennedy. The surplus is down sharply on 2017 but this is due more to increased spending by the Government.

Smurfit Kappa could cost up to ¤11 billion if International Paper is determined to acquire it, analysts tell Joe Brennan after the US group announced details of its initial, rejected, €8.6 billion offer. Still, that's ahead of the group's current valuation even after an 18 per cent jump in the stock yesterday, so shares are likely to rise again today.

PCPs are an increasingly popular way to buy cars but an investigation by the competition and consumer protection watchdog says the products are complex, often poorly understood, and prone to sudden falls in the value of secondhand vehicles, writes Fiona Reddan.

Consumers driven to complain by complex car finance plans

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Irish-Europe ports link could be funded in ‘super-hard Brexit’

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Bad weather is snow joke for struggling retailers

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Trump’s tariffs plan batters industrial stocks

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Jack Fagan reports on an era of change on Dublin's Dawson Street with the buildings housing New Ireland and Trailfinders both coming on to the market.