More offices for fewer clients and sitting down with an Irish Brexiteer

In the office market, tenants have the whip hand according to a new BNP Paribas Real Estate report on the Dublin market. It says more office space was completed in the first quarter of 2024 than in the whole of last year but, as Barry O’Halloran reports, this coincided with the weakest quarter for new leases in three years.

London correspondent Mark Paul sits down with Gerard Lyons, the son of Irish immigrants who grew up in Kilburn and later became an adviser to Boris Johnson and a leading economic voice making the case for Brexit. He argues Britain needs to jolt its economy out of stubborn low-growth mode. That involves reshaping a Bank of England he was once in line to lead but now lacks “credibility”, he says.

Dublin Airport may be inching ever closer to its 32 million passenger cap as it fights to persuade planner to lift that figure to 40 million but airlines are still looking for additional slots at the airport for even more flights, writes Barry O’Halloran. The Irish Aviation Authority will this week make some decision on who will get what, or not.

Dale Farm, the Northern Ireland-based co-operative has announced a €82 million investment in its Dunmanbridge cheddar cheese plant in Co Tyrone, one of the biggest agri-food investments to date in the North.

Irish productivity myth debunked

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Can US modular home specialist deliver for Ireland?

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Meme stock mania is unlikely to last

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It’s raining metaphors at Manchester United amid soggy aftermath of underinvestment

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Wind power in April did not quite hit the heights of April 2023 but it still accounted for 32 per cent of electricity generated in the State and helped bring the wholesale price down 30 per cent from a year ago. However, grid capacity issues remain with almost 10 per cent of potential wind power lost.

New EU rules mean better consumer protection for pension fund members but those funds are still doing a poor job of getting their messages across to scheme members, according to senior industry insiders.

Paul Munter, the chief accountant at the US Securities and Exchange Commission has been known to admit that he is fed up hearing from auditors what they do not do as one case of corporate wrongdoing after another is splashed across the headlines. Proposed new rules in the US, Europe and elsewhere could demand more of the industry but it is less than happy with the prospect, writes Stephen Foley.

Bernice Harrison looks at a new advertising industry report that examines why “sustainability” is such a hard sell. It turns out that, for Irish audiences, the word has connotations of compromise and scarcity which makes it less appealing. Why not try promoting the “good life” instead, she asks.

In Personal Finance, Fiona Reddan looks at a raft of new incentives on offer from mortgage lenders and asks whether now is the time to switch. But before you do, make sure you keep one eye on the interest rate they are offering and any lock-in period as we enter a cycle of interest rate cuts.

And, in Q&A, a reader’s timely question on family loans allows us examine some changes the Revenue Commissioners have made in the area and how they might affect you.

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