House prices surge, Valeo’s €1bn food sales, and uncertainty ahead for Big Tech

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

House prices surged by 6 per cent last year in spite of the Covid-19 lockdowns, according to data from MyHome.ie and Davy. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

House prices surged by 6 per cent last year, the fastest pace of growth recorded in almost three years, according to a report by property website MyHome.ie, which warned that "too much cash is chasing too few homes". Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

Valeo, the Irish food company that owns Jacobs biscuits and Batchelors beans is firmly on course to break the ¤1 billion sales barrier in 2021 after it posted revenues of more than €942 million last year. Mark Paul reports.

Big Tech is stepping into a year where the only certainty is that there will be much unwelcome uncertainty. And with so many of the major technology platforms using this country as their European base, that could have implications for Ireland Inc, according to Karlin Lillington.

The Government's decision to reopen indoor dining in December was reasonable at the time, but it has backfired, writes Mark Paul.

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In our personal finance feature, Fiona Reddan suggest four areas to pay careful attention to in the year ahead - taxes, shopping, savings and property.

In Q&A, a reader recently sold an investment property and wonders what they should do with the nest egg. Dominic Coyle has some suggestions.

What does 2021 hold in store for the media industry? Laura Slattery offers some insights into the year ahead for the industry.

Exchequer returns for 2020 will be published today and they are likely to be better than expected, given the devastating impact of Covid-19 on many sectors of the Irish economy, writes Cantillon.

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Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times