Warning on PTSB rates, ESB plant permits, and bringing money in from abroad

The State's competition authority should force Permanent TSB to stop applying different interest rates for new and existing mortgage customers and imposing higher costs on top-up loans, before clearing the bank's planned purchase of much of Ulster Bank's loan book, leading consumer advocate Brendan Burgess has said. Joe Brennan examines his submission to the CCPC.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe scored a coup on Monday as the first foreign visitor to meet Germany's new federal finance minister Christian Lindner. Our Berlin correspondent Derek Scally spoke to Minister Donohoe afterwards about the ground they covered, and Germany's likely priorities under its new three-party coalition government.

Environment regulators say they are working to ensure the ESB has the permits needed for proposed power plants that the State company maintains it shelved over licensing delays. Barry O'Halloran has the details.

Unlike in recent years, the National Treasury Management Agency has been slow out of the blocks with its debt issuance on behalf of the State, preferring to observe how other EU states fare as the cycle on interest rates slowly begins to turn, writes Cantillon.

EPA working to ensure ESB gets permits needed for new power plants

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Paschal Donohoe gets early meeting with German finance minister

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CCPC urged to impose conditions on PTSB purchase of Ulster Bank loan book

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Belfast start-up Responsible raises €5.8m in funding round led by Barclays

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Irish businesses are being put at risk by a "glaring blind spot" over the risks posed by their own suppliers to their cybersecurity, a new report from PwC has found. Ciara O'Brien reports.

Responsible, a Belfast-based start-up that has developed a technology solution that allows upmarket fashion brands to buy back previously worn items from shoppers, has secured $6.6 million (€5.8 million) in funding from backers that include Barclays bank and leading Silicon Valley tech executive Sarah Friar. Charlie Taylor has the story.

Irish life sciences design company Biopharma Engineering has been acquired by US group Unispace for an undisclosed sum, with the expanded company planning a new centre of excellence here. Ciara O'Brien reports.

In Q&A, an Asian reader who has made Ireland their home wonders about the tax implications of bringing money into the country from the sale of an asset abroad and a possible future inheritance from a parent. Dominic Coyle offers some guidance.

If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of Irish pension-savers in a defined contribution scheme, you may be in line for a fright over the coming weeks, as pension funds across the State write to members telling them of a major change on the way. Fiona Reddan explains the changes in regulation that are coming in our personal finance feature.

In her media and marketing column, Laura Slattery reveals how she recently cancelled one of her media subscriptions. It's called churn in the industry and is a major problem for news publishers switching from print to the brave new world of digital.

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