Referendum ads; Ibec outlook and what business travellers really need in a hotel

Advertising agency BBDO has landed the high profile Referendum Commission contract to encourage high voter turnout on the May 25th poll on whether to repeal the Eighth Amendment. The campaign will begin this week and Laura Slattery has the details

Ibec is bullish on the current state of the Irish economy, expecting consumer spending to top €100 billion this year for the first time. But, behind the good numbers, it is worried about rising threats to competitiveness, writes Charlie Taylor.

Charlie also has details of an unusual property story. The Department of Foreign Affairs was among objectors when the new owners of the former Loreto nuns' university hostel for girls sought permission for a eight-storey luxury hotel on the site. Now, the buildings owners are looking to use the Stephen's Green building to house homeless people.

Barclays is looking to take some of its euro rates trading team out of London but Dublin appears unlikely to get the business, according to Martin Arnold and Dan McCrum at the Financial Times, even though the city is becoming the UK banks main EU hub outside London post-Brexit.

Journalist Conor Brophy joins Teneo PSG from RTÉ

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Career Zoo event in Dublin attracts 3,000 tech jobhunters

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Sharing wealth is the best antidote to populism

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INM scandal and Sammon collapse dominate newspaper headlines

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Two of Ireland's largest studios will be marketed together internationally though the woman leading both says they are not a merged group. Ardmore Studios in Bray was recently acquired by a group led by the chairman of rival Troy Studios in Limerick.

In his column,Chris Johns looks at income inequality and its role in the rise of populism. His answer? Drawing on research by Piketty and others, he suggests forcing everyone to own shares on the basis that they tend to outperform wages over time. And the most practical way of doing so is mandatory pension saving.

And Pilita Clark will resonate with those many businesspeople who spend a disproportionate amount of time on the road. Two very different experiences give her pause for thought on just what makes the best business hotel. And the answer may surprise.