The Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe will hold a virtual meeting with insurance executives on Friday afternoon amid growing worries that the industry is relying too heavily on small print to avoid paying out for business interruptions linked to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Joe Brennan reports on this developing story, delving deeper into the thorny issues involved, in this week's Business Agenda.
A new survey from PwC finds that Irish CFOs are more worried than their international peers about seeing a productivity drop in their businesses because of remote working, with poor preparations likely to be to blame. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.
Former Independent News and Media (INM) executives Gavin O'Reilly and Karl Brophy have succeeded in adding former INM chairman Leslie Buckley as a defendant in their case against the publisher over an alleged data hack. Mark Paul has the story.
Barry O'Halloran reports that Irish aircraft lessor, Aercap, could be offered shares in Norwegian Air under the troubled airline's plans to swap its debts for equity in the business. Aercap has leased 11 craft to Norwegian.
He also writes that Aer Lingus and Stobart Air have yet to renew a deal seen as critical to the smaller airline's future. Stobart Group, one of the shareholders in Stobart Air's parent, Connect Airways, confirmed on Thursday that it was weighing a rescue bid for the Irish airline, which was considering seeking court protection from creditors.
Deloitte is the only one of the big four accountancy firms operating in Ireland that has committed to retaining its staff throughout the Covid-19 crisis, reports Peter Hamilton. It also emerges that Deloitte's partners have taken pay cuts.
In his Caveat column, Mark Paul asks how ethical is it for taxpayers to bail out sectors that are unviable in the long term due to social distancing? He points out that the State will have to borrow to fund such rescue measures, so they need to be weighed extremely carefully.
John FitzGerald also has the post-coronavirus economy on his mind, particularly how the EU should manage its recovery. He disapproves of the lack of EU solidarity that has been evident in recent weeks, suggesting that one way around it might be to get the European Investment Bank to lend to EU businesses rather than funds coming from national governments.
It's Business Person of the Month time again, and this month's winner is Kate McLaughlin, founder and chief executive of We Got Pop. The award, made in association with KPMG, recognises the recent multi-million acquisition of Ms McGrath's entertainment software company.
This week's Wild Goose is Mullingar native and real estate broker Alan Stenson who was last year involved in $250 million (€231 million) worth of property sales in New York. He tells Eamon Donoghue about the sheer hard work that has brought him to his current position, and that "you eat what you kill" in the property business.
And finally, if you're struggling with the lack of routine or "rituals" in your working life during lockdown, Olive Keogh has some tips on how to better manage. Rituals might generate a sense of control, she writes, thus helping to calm anxiety.
Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our business news alerts and our Business Today daily email news digest.
