New travel agent rules, Science Gallery to close, and Facebook’s name change

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

A woman using her phone under a logo of Facebook. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
A woman using her phone under a logo of Facebook. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Regulators are considering introducing new rules demanding that travel agents put customers' cash in separate accounts as a safeguard against insolvency. Barry O'Halloran has the details.

Trinity College has decided to close the popular Science Gallery on Pearse Street side of its Dublin campus. Staff were informed of the move yesterday and the plan has sparked a negative reaction from major figures in the science and technology sectors. Ciarán Hancock reports.

Facebook has changed its its corporate name to Meta as the company targets a new future built around an immersive digital world known as the metaverse. Ciara O'Brien explains this 'next frontier' for the social media platform.

A sign with the logo and the name Meta is displayed in front of Facebook headquarters. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A sign with the logo and the name Meta is displayed in front of Facebook headquarters. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Dublin-based Solas OLED has won the latest round in its ongoing intellectual property battle with Samsung after a Texas court failed to overturn a federal jury verdict awarding the patents company a payout of about $77.7 million (€66.5 million). Laura Slattery has the details.

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As the deadline for valuing your home for the Local Property Tax nears, Revenue says just 30 per cent of homeowners have submitted their returns. Mark Paul reports.

Irish engineering group Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions, which specialises in flood defence systems and wind-energy installations, has been acquired by a newly formed UK company for an undisclosed sum, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy.

Supply chain woes cost Apple $6 billion (€5.1 billion) in sales during the company's fourth quarter, which missed Wall Street expectations. Chief executive Tim Cook said the impact will be even worse during the current holiday sales quarter.

Amazon.com reported a slump in profit that it expects will continue through the holiday quarter, as heavy spending to maintain delivery operations diminishes the company's windfall from online shopping.

In Caveat, Mark Paul looks at the looming conflict between climate and aviation policy - a key strategic issue for Ireland.

Our Agenda feature this week sees Cliff Taylor looks at who the winners and losers might be as we move to being carbon neutral by 2050.

In Wild Geese, Irish business and engineering professional Eoin Keane says moving to Berlin was 'one of the best decisions' he ever made.

Our columnist John FitzGerald says the State must plan now for the substantial costs of climate action. There is no time to lose.

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Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times