Your guide to business events this week

Monday

Results: DCC; Lonmin.

Indicators: Irish construction PMI (Oct); Irish balance of trade (Sept); Chinese retail sales (Oct); Japanese industrial production (Sept); Euro zone industrial production (Sept).

Other: William Hill trading update; Taylor Wimpey trading update; Kingspan Group interim management statement.

Tuesday

Results: Aramark; easyJet; Premier Foods; Naturex; Vodafone; Wincor Nixdorf.

Indicators: UK inflation rate (Oct); UK retail price index (Oct); Euro zone balance of trade (Sept); US retail sales (Oct); German ZEW economic sentiment index (Nov).

Wednesday

Results: Cisco Systems; Target.

Indicators: UK unemployment rate (Sept); US industrial production (Oct).

Other: Barratt Developments trading update; Datalex interim management statement.

Thursday

Results: Best Buy; Gap; KBC; Manchester United; Royal Mail; Salesforce.com.

Indicators: UK retail sales (Oct); Euro zone inflation rate (Oct); US inflation rate (Oct); US initial jobless claims (Nov 12).

Other: CRH trading update; IFG Group trading update; Premier Oil trading update.

Friday

Results: Abercrombie & Fitch.

Meetings: Knowledge Transfer Ireland conference (Killashee House Hotel, Co Kildare); SFA annual lunch (Mansion House, Dublin 2); Future of insurance summit (Gibson Hotel , Dublin 1); Limerick Chamber regional business award (Limerick Strand Hotel, Limerick); Travel meets big data event (TCD/UCD Innovation Academy, Dublin 2).

Indicators: Euro zone current account (Sept); US Kansas Fed manufacturing activity (Nov).

Start-up bootcamp for Spike Island prison

Investors, start-ups, aspiring entrepreneurs and business advisors will be detained on Spike Island with no escape this weekend.

The deserted prison is playing host to an overnight bootcamp that will challenge the way start-ups think.

Organisers say a night in the cells will give start-ups plenty of time to think about their business models, while networking with fellow inmates could open up some unique business opportunities.

Some 150 start-ups who want to learn the real, hard truths about making it in business will report for duty in Cobh on Friday before making their way across to Spike Island for a rigorous debriefing.

Draper Esprit partner Brian Caulfield, SNP Communications founder Renn Vara, Intel former vice president of Internet of Things Philip Moynagh, and IMERC director Dr Val Cummins are among the mentors that will take part in the start-up bootcamp.

Andrew Parish, start-up facilitator at Start-up Ireland, said Ireland has a vibrant startup community, as evident by the enormous engagement with Startup Gathering 2015, which saw over 400 events held throughout Ireland across one week.

“This year we want to offer something completely different for start-ups; a gritty bootcamp that looks at the harsh realities of making it in business.”

David Merriman, head of enterprise development at Bank of Ireland, said the unique event will challenge participating start-ups to hone their skills in an intense, high pressure weekend.

Cork to host Startup Nations Summit

The Startup Nations Summit will take place in Cork this weekend, marking the first time the event is being held in Europe.

The summit is expected to bring together the leaders of national entrepreneurship initiatives from over 80 countries, and will be the cornerstone of the Global Startup Gathering.

Taking place over three days, the gathering aims to attract hundreds of international and national business people, entrepreneurs and those thinking of starting up across a number of sectors from biotech to food, manufacturing, e-health, nutrition and technology.

It aims to build on the success of Ireland’s Startup Gathering 2015 which engaged more than 18,000 individuals across 22 counties in five days.

The programme of events will include debate and discussions, pitches, workshops, immersion labs, networking opportunities, mentoring all with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship and showcasing Ireland’s startup sector to a global audience. A global investor challenge will be run by Cork BIC for startups and entrepreneurs seeking investment. Judges will seek to find the most investable business from a global audience.

Siobhán Finn, project director of Cork innovates and the Global Startup Gathering, said the winning entrepreneur will receive a prize worth more than €30,000, which will include cash and international services.