Markets hail Sunak, soaring second hand car prices, ComReg demand

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

Rishi Sunak arrives at Conservative party HQ in Westminster, London, after it was announced he will become the new leader of the Conservative party.

Business Today

Business Today

Get the latest business news and commentary from our expert business team in your inbox every weekday morning

Markets rejoiced as Rishi Sunak was named as the next UK prime minister, with the nation’s bonds posting some of the biggest one day gains in 30 years. The former chancellor and Goldman Sachs banker is trusted by traders for now, but as Cantillon notes — he faces one of the most difficult inboxes of any new leader.

The construction sector may face what looks like could be a slowdown, but both John Paul Construction and Jones Engineering showed good earnings in 2021. Barry O’Halloran reports.

Pfizer’s planned €1 billion investment at its Grange Castle site is a few years away yet but is likely to deliver hundreds of high quality jobs. Dominic Coyle has the details.

If you’re in the market for a second hand car, a new report has some bad news: prices continue to surge. Barry has read the report.

READ MORE

In her column, Laura Slattery looks at a tax inventive brought in to encourage film making outside the traditional centre of Dublin and Wicklow but, she argues, is being phased out before it’s had a chance to make a difference.

An executive at a Limerick aerospace manufacturer is claiming his employer showed anti-Irish bias after those who he considered peers based in the UK were awarded twice as many shares as he. Stephen Bourke covered the hearing at the Workplace Relations Commission.

ComReg and Eir were in the High Court on Monday, with the regulator seeking a €5.3 million penalty against the telecoms firm for allegedly not complying with requirements to allow rivals to access its infrastructure.

Operating losses at the Denis O’Brien owned Ballynahinch Castle hotel in Co Galway narrowed last year as the pandemic waned. Gordon Deegan has the accounts.

China’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of the year but, as Denis Staunton reports, foreign investors are selling Chinese shares amid concerns about the country’s policy direction.

Food delivery firms were one of those big plays of the pandemic. Despite the slowdown in business since then, JustEat Ireland increased its profit to €14 million in 2021. Colin Gleeson reports.

As well as the state of the British economy, Cantillon reflects on LinkedIn’s decision to pull back on its office plans in Dublin and what it means for the city’s economy, while also assessing the prospect of a shortage of copper — a story that could have huge importance for inflation in the months ahead.

Inflation and the cost of living crisis dominate the economy these days and a new report from PayPal shows how younger people especially are changing their behaviour to compensate. Ciara O’Brien has the details.

Premier Sports, the pay TV channel which counts the likes of Spain’s La Liga and an package of English Premier League matches among its properties, narrowed its losses last year. Gordon has the story.

Gordon also reports on the facilities manager Sodexo, whose Irish arm cut nearly a fifth of its workforce last year.

While we all fear a particularly harsh winter amid soaring energy prices, new data shows consumption fell 11 per cent in September compared to August as the weather remained mild. Colin Gleeson has the story.

Pat Doherty, the former head of ESB, has taken the chairman’s role at a new interconnector company. Barry reports.

In Your Money, Dominic Coyle responds to a question on how to sell shares held in the form of paper certificates while also looking at the very pertinent issue of whether a person must retain a fixed-rate mortgage when the lender is leaving the Irish market.

Fiona Reddan asks if it’s time for more tax reliefs to ease the cost of living crisis.

Finally Aoife McDonnell, the founder of AM Mindset, discusses how she spends her money.

Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest.

News Digests

News Digests

Stay on top of the latest news with our daily newsletters each morning, lunchtime and evening