Nama incurred a €6 million loss two years ago on the sale of loans on a portfolio of residential units and land after agreeing to sell the debt to a relative of the borrowers for a 97.5 per cent discount after an alleged campaign of intimidation. Joe Brennan has more on this unusual case, which was highlighted in a Comptroller and Auditor General report published on Wednesday.
As pre-Budget demands come thick and fast, Ibec is today warning that the State is losing out on new business and investment because of problems with housing. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports that the employers’ group is also warning that delays to State investment to prevent economic overheating could damage competitiveness.
As business in the north of the Border slows for the “Twelfth Fortnight”, Government ministers in Dublin will play host today to to the North’s “largest ever trade mission to Dublin” aimed at capitalising on the North’s unique post-Brexit trading position. Eoin has details of the visit from an alliance of the North’s largest trade bodies.
People living in disadvantaged areas were more likely to become unemployed during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report by the ESRI in collaboration with Pobal. The research shows that more deprived areas had higher rates of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment benefit during lockdowns, writes Ellen O’Donoghue.
Lotus Investment Group, the Dublin-based private equity firm, has launched a €250 million fund for Irish housebuilders less than two months after its Israeli backer acquired full ownership of the investment management firm. Ian Curran reports that the alternative lender is targeting builders looking to finance projects of up to 500 homes.
Ian also brings details of a new report from DoneDeal showing the price of used cars in the Republic has risen more than 79 per cent since the pandemic ushered an era of “unprecedented” vehicle price inflation.
Plans by John Feeney to construct a family home on the lawn of his Sorrento Road property in Dalkey, Co Dublin must be scaled back on the instruction of the local council. Gordon Deegan has more on the council’s move, which comes amid local opposition to the building project.
Almost nobody in the modern world can escape online subscriptions for services delivered over the web, but how can we stopped being overwhelmed by them? Ciara O’Brien (no stranger to a subscription or 50) is here to help, offering some useful tips on managing your monthly outlay, such as tracking bills by using the same card to pay for every service, or cancelling free trials immediately after signing up to them.
Karlin Lillington has formed an opinion on Meta’s Threads app, seen by many as a viable alternative to Twitter, and it’s a strong one. She tries to imagine how Mark Zuckerberg moved from promising us the metaverse, “the glorious, bleeding edge of our virtual reality future”, to giving us a carbon copy of an existing platform. She also asks though if Threads could possibly represent the start of a broader social media metamorphosis.
In his Innovation column, Chris Horn takes a step back from all the talk about AI and wonders if the EU’s proposed new regulations for the sector will help or hinder its development in Europe. And also in our Innovation section, Olive Keogh brings us the story of Linda O’Flynn and Ivo Duarte, who managed to get their wild fermentation business Terra Ignis up and running with less than €5,000.
Cantillon today has some good news about gas prices (just don’t get too excited for this winter) and less good news for work phone calls, which are apparently going the way of the fax machine.
Ciara O’Brien has spent some quality time with the Sky Live camera, which offers access to interactive games, fitness programmes and Zoom calls from your living room. Read more about how she ended up flinging herself around the house in pursuit of a decent product review.
And if that all sounds like a bit much, you can take solace in Pac-Man, now available in all its old-school glory via a console small enough to fit on your keyring.
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