ICS cuts mortgage rates, Three’s €27m retail spend, and back to school laptops

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

Mortgage lender ICS is cutting the interest it charges across all its variable and fixed rate products. The new rates, which come into force from Monday, will in most cases equal or better the most competitive rates available. Dominic Coyle reports.

Irish service sector companies reported the strongest month-on-month growth in business activity in July since August 2000 as lockdown restrictions eased further and the Health Service Executive's vaccination programme accelerated. Laura Slattery goes through the numbers.

Three Ireland is investing €27 million in revamping its stores around the country as the company shifts its retail focus to lifestyle products. Ciara O'Brien has the details.

Cantillon says it will be well into next year before we have a clear picture on the level of Covid-related bad loans at Irish banks.

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It will also be a long haul for Aer Lingus to restore its transatlantic network to pre-pandemic levels, according to Cantillon.

The Irish head of tech company Chargify has stepped down as the company combines with SaaS Optics following April's $150 million investment in the two companies by Battery Ventures. Ciara O'Brien reports.

Our tech columnist Karlin Lillington says Twitter deserves to be ticked off by users for its arbitrary decisions.

In our tech feature, Ciara O'Brien does her homework on laptop options for students heading back to school or college.

Our New Innovators this week are James and Aileen McCauley, whose Wriggler business is designed to prevent babies from rolling off their changing mats, and who recently secured an investment on the BBC's Dragons' Den programme.

Will Dyson clean up with its latest V15 Detect vacuum cleaner? Ciara O'Brien has her say in her weekly tech review.

In Innovation, Covid can be a reset moment for the retail sector, according to a new book reviewed by Frank Dillon.

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Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times