Builders face double-figure raw material price hikes as the industry gears up for full re-opening next week, reports Barry O'Halloran. Builders suppliers are warning customers of price increases ranging from 5 per cent to as much as 20 per cent for timber, insulation, plastic piping, electrical goods and other key construction materials in recent weeks.
Non-bank lender Finance Ireland will look at floating on the stock market in the second half of next year at the earliest, according to chief executive Billy Kane. Joe Brennan writes that the company was forced to abandon plans for a €100 million-plus IPO in May 2020 as the rapid spread of Covid-19 globally threw equity markets into turmoil.
The Data Protection Commission has failed to resolve 98 per cent of cases important enough to be of concern across the EU and needs to be urgently reformed, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties is to tell an Oireachtas committee today . Dr Johnny Ryan, a senior fellow at the ICCL, will state the commission is the "bottleneck" of GDPR investigations of tech giants across the EU. Charlie Taylor has the details.
Charlie also reports on Invert Robotics which is relocating its headquarters to Dublin after recently raising €3.5 million from backers that include State-backed Finistere Ventures. The New Zealand-based start-up which develops inspection robots, has selected Dublin as its new home as its gears up for further growth in Europe and North America.
TikTok is to open a European Transparency and Accountability Centre in Ireland, providing experts with a way to learn about the company's moderation systems, processes, and policies, reports Ciara O'Brien. The move follows the opening of a Trust and Accountability centre in the US in July last year.
Colin Gleeson reports that State-backed incentives for domestic tourism could unlock up to €6 billion for the domestic economy and aid the recovery of service-based small and medium enterprises. That's according to a new report from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland .
Joe Brennan writes that a group of about 40 Credit Unions struggling with excess funds have taken advantage of a relaxation of investment restrictions in 2018 to invest more than €150 million in a corporate bond fund put together by asset management giant Amundi and Goodbody Stockbrokers.
Meanwhile, profits at Coillte, the commercial forestry semi-state, halved last year as the company was forced to borrow tens of millions of euro amid a crisis caused by licencing backlogs in the forestry sector. Jack Horgan-Jones has the details.
In her media column this week, Laura Slattery reflects on Sunday night's films awards and says there's nothing like a bizarre Oscars to trigger the desire for the magic of cinema.
Financial advisors say cashing in on your pension at an early stage should be a measure of last resort, but essential funds are sometimes needed. Fiona Reddan explains the rules and exceptions around dipping in to your retirement fund earlier than planned.
Pensions also crop up in the first of Dominic Coyle's personal finance column today where he advises a reader querying if there if there is any chance of finding out what happened to his father's pension after he moved to a new company many years ago.
Dominic also advises a parent wondering about Revenue's view of young adults living rent-free in their parents' accommodation.
This week's Me and My Money features Sarah Gillespie, founder of Rinka children's fitness who says she's not afraid of splashing out on a treat.
You can read Proinsias O'Mahony's Stocktake columns here, and all of today's Cantillons, here.
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