When is a final countdown actually final? It is hard to know with Brexit

MONDAY

Results: IFG.

Indicators: German business climate, expectations and current conditions (March).

TUESDAY

Results: Ferguson, AG Barr.

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Indicators: Irish overseas travel (Feb); UK mortgage approvals (Feb); German consumer confidence (April); US house price index (Jan), consumer confidence (March).

Meetings: BSI International Cyber Resilience Exchange conference (Convention Centre Dublin).

Other: ESRI publishes report on Brexit impact.

WEDNESDAY

Results: Bellway.

Indicators: UK distributive trades (March); US exports and imports (Jan).

Meetings: SEAI Energy Show (RDS); Irish International Business Network event on US venture capitalist searching for Irish start-ups (Beauchamps, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2); the Executive Institute's "Brexit 48 Hours Out: The Final Countdown".

Other: ESRI publishes Quarterly Economic Commentary for spring 2019.

Alternative energy

Small and medium sized businesses are under particular focus at this year’s SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) Energy Show (Wednesday and Thursday), promoting what companies can do to improve efficiency and reduce expenditure. In an era of accelerated thinking on green alternatives, a key message for industry is the “win-win” approach – cleaner energy leading to more competitive business models.

Opened by Minister for Climate Action and the Environment Richard Bruton, the two-day event will feature 150 exhibitors of energy saving and renewable energy technologies and services. Last year almost 4,500 people attended, contributing to over €90 million worth of new business, a positive sign of industry's participation in a changing world.

SEAI chief executive Jim Gannon has pitched it as a calendar date where "those involved in the business of sustainable energy learn about the technologies and services for domestic, commercial and industrial sectors that can help improve energy efficiency, and help us move towards a cleaner energy future".

Among the technology on show will be large scale renewable energy solutions, smart energy management systems, building retrofits and the latest electric vehicles.

Brexit Events

When is a final countdown actually final? It is hard to know with Brexit, but one cannot blame the Executive Institute for the title of Wednesday's "Brexit 48 Hours Out: The Final Countdown" event given the apparent impossibility of understanding what might come next.

In this cauldron of uncertainty, just days before the scheduled departure date, John McGrane, director general of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, and John O'Loughlin, PwC partner of global trade and customs, will attempt to "put some structure and facts about what happens next".

That may prove challenging given the twists in the road, but pertinent questions will be addressed – what would potential World Trade Organisation rules actually mean for business?; will the deadline date get extended and if so what would the immediate ramifications be?

Meanwhile, on Thursday morning Minister for Business Heather Humphreys will arrive to a no doubt eager audience at Ibec's Dublin HQ to pore over the same questions. Much may have changed by then, of course, but hers will be one of this week's final Brexit briefings before the highly anticipated deadline comes and goes. Or gets extended.

THURSDAY

Results: Buzzi Unicem, SciSys, Accenture.

Indicators: Irish retail sales index (Feb); euro zone money supply and loan growth (Feb), business and consumer confidence (March), services, economic and industrial sentiment (March), consumer inflation expectations (March); UK housing prices (March); German inflation (March); US corporate profits (Q4), GDP (Q4).

Meetings: Futurescope is exploring emerging technologies and business opportunities (Convention Centre Dublin); Ibec Special Brexit Briefing by Business Minister Heather Humphreys (Ibec, Lower Baggot Street, Dublin); Dublin Chamber's Sustainable Dublin 2050 launch (Croke Park).

FRIDAY

Results: GAN, Independent News & Media.

Indicators: UK consumer confidence (Mar), Bank of England consumer credit (Feb), GDP (Q4), net lending to individuals (Feb), mortgage lending (Feb), business investment (Q4); German import prices (Feb), retail sales (Feb), unemployment (March);

Meetings: Techstars Start-Up Weekend (Republic Of Work, South Mall, Cork).