Welcome to the Business Post’s Live News section. We’re here all day to keep you up to date on developments in business, tech and current affairs.
17.00 – Schillings, the law firm noted for taking high-profile celebrity cases, opens Dublin office
Schillings, the British law firm known for cases involving the privacy and reputation of celebrities, has opened a new office in Dublin to capitalise on the growing number of high-profile clients in the city.
David Imison, chief executive of Schillings, said the Dublin office was a “natural next step” in the strategic expansion of the London-headquartered law firm founded four decades ago.
16.45 – Toronto stocks reach record highs after US jobs growth report
Canada’s main stock index hit a record high in early trading on Friday, led by gains in technology stocks, after unemployment rate fell to 4.1 per cent in the US today and hourly earnings increased 0.4 per cent.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 128.1 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 24,096.6, and set to register weekly gains for the fourth time in a row.
16.30 – Iseq closes in the green after an unsettled week
The Iseq All Share closed in the green this afternoon rising 1.05 per cent (99.93) to 9,607.72.
The main riser on the Irish market was the ever-changing Corre Energy, up 15 per cent at 22c per share. Corre Energy is holding an Emergency General Meeting for shareholders to vote on the new board of directors next Thursday.
The bottom performer on the market was Ovoca Bio which fell 2.5 per cent to €0.0195 per share.
16.15 – Ubisoft shares to reach largest one-day jump on record after takeover report
Shares in Ubisoft, the video game make, have surged over 30 per cent today after Bloomberg reported that major shareholder Tencent and the Guillemot family, its founders, were considering a buyout of the company.
Shares in the maker of “Assassin’s Creed” were last up 28% at 13.56 euros, set for the biggest one-day jump on record.
16.00 – Meta announces new AI model that can generate video with sound
Facebook owner Meta has built a new AI model called Movie Gen that can create video and audio clips in response to user prompts, claiming it can rival tools from the likes of OpenAI and ElevenLabs.
Movie Gen sample creations provided by Meta showed videos of animals swimming and surfing, as well as videos using people’s photos to depict them performing actions like painting on a canvas.
15.45 – David Courell confirmed as FAI chief executive
Picture: FAI
David Courell has been appointed as the chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland.
Courell has served as chief operating officer of the FAI since February 2022 and as interim head of the organisation since April 2024.
The FAI website has full details.
15.30 – Coinbase to delist some stablecoins in Europe
Coinbase will delist certain stablecoins in the European Economic Area (EEA) by the end of this year.
This move comes as the cryptocurrency industry braces for the implementation of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which is expected to come into full effect by December 2024.
15.15 – Bar of Ireland expresses disappointment at ‘incomplete’ restoration of barrister fees
The Bar of Ireland’s Séan Guerin has said that there is there is support across the political spectrum for full fee restoration and a link to public service pay agreements. Picture: Andrew Downes
The Bar of Ireland has expressed its disappointment over the incomplete restoration of crash-era cuts to barrister fees in Budget 2025.
It said it would consult its membership over the “appropriate response” to the matter.
Barristers’ fees were cut by 28.5 per cent in 2010 in response to the financial crisis, and have yet to be restored to the previous amount.
15.00 – Budget 2025 will not reduce overall poverty levels, says ESRI
The Economic and Social and Research Institute (ESRI) has said that the average household will make small gains as a result of the recent budget but it will not reduce poverty levels, as reported by RTÉ.
In its analysis, the organisation has said that untargeted cost-of-living measures, such as the energy credit and the double child benefit payment, could have instead been used to lift 40,000 youngsters out of poverty.
However, it also warned that getting rid of cost-of-living measures could increase the risk of poverty for the elderly and disabled, unless it was accompanied by further welfare increases.
14.45 – US jobs reports sparks market uplift
All three major US indices rose in trading on Friday after an eagerly awaited jobs report showed that job growth topped all estimates last month.
The S&P 500 rose by 0.7 per cent to 5,739.70, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq saw a 1.14 per cent rise to 18,122.19. The Dow Jones Industrial saw a 0.62 per cent climb to 42,272.21.
The latest report is welcome news for investors, as it shows that the US economy is not in contraction following the recent 50 basis points rate cut by the Federal Reserve, with investors increasingly pricing in further rate cuts by the year’s end.
14.25 – ‘Golden EU passports’ from Malta gets court boost
Malta’s controversial golden passport scheme, which allows individuals to obtain a Maltese EU passport for investing upwards of €690,000, has been given the green light by Advocate General Anthony Collins in a special report, reports Euronews.
Although the report isn’t legally binding, its findings are normally followed by the EU court, who is set to rule on the matter later this month.
“Member states have decided that it is for each of them alone to determine who is entitled to be one of their nationals and, as a consequence, who is an EU citizen,” said a statement from the Court of Justice.
“There is no logical basis for the contention that because Member States are obliged to recognise nationality granted by other Member States, their nationality laws must contain any particular rule.”
14.05 – Injury claims made through injuries board rose by 10 per cent last year
The number of personal injury claims made to the Injuries Resolution Board, previously known as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), rose by 10 per cent last year, despite the volume of claims remaining 35 per cent lower than in 2019.
The total number of awards made was worth €170 million over 2023, an increase of €29 million on 2022, but still 38 per cent lower on the €275 million awarded in 2019.
Motor liability claims were the biggest growers, rising by 14 per cent in volume compared to last year, while there was a 14 per cent increase in road traffic claims.
13.45 – Mid-day markets update: Iseq remains in the green
The Iseq has continued its positive streak on Friday during the lunch break, recording a 0.71 per cent rise to 9,575.06.
Corre Energy was the biggest riser on the market, recording a cool 10 per cent climb to €0.22 a share. Glenveagh (+1.51 per cent) and Dalata (+1.38 per cent) were also up.
Amongst the fallers were ferry group Irish Continental Group, who dropped 1.81 per cent to €5.42. Malin also dropped, falling 1.64 per cent to €6 on the dot.
13.30 – FIFA transfer rules broke the law, rules EU court
FIFA transfer rules that prevented a French football player from signing for a new club after his contract with a Russian club was ripped up are illegal, the European Union’s top court has ruled.
Lassana Diarra claimed that a deal with Belgian club Charleroi fell through because of the rules, suing FIFA and the Belgian football association for €6 million ($6.6 million).
FIFA regulations stipulate that Charleroi would have been liable to pay the Moscow-based Lokomotiv compensation for the transfer, with the body ordering Diarra to pay €10 million for breaching his contract.
However, the EU has ruled that these rules were illegal. “Those rules hinder the free movement of players and competition between clubs,” the EU court in Luxembourg said in its decision on Friday.
13.15 – Omniplex to open new cinema in Nutgrove in €3m investment
Cinema group Omniplex is to open a new 5-screen cinema in Nutgrove Shopping Centre, Rathfarnam.
Each auditorium will feature 50 ‘pullman’ style sofas with footrests, which are said to offer 50 per cent more legroom than traditional seats.
The cinema also features a beer and wine lounge for customers to enjoy while watching the movie.
Mark Anderson, director of Omniplex Cinema Group, said: “It is hard to believe that, by the time Omniplex Nutgrove opens, Rathfarnham will have been without a local cinema for 70 years and we couldn’t be more excited to it bring it back.”
13.00 – Company behind Aircoach reports €6.3 million in losses
Last Passive Limited, the company that runs the Aircoach service, eported after-tax losses of €6.3 million for its financial year to the end of March 2024, despite increasing turnover by nearly €4 million.
The latest accounts filed showed cost of sales increased from €22.4 million to €32.5 million as revenue went from €26.1 million to €30 million.
Its cash position increased from €2.6 million to €4 million in the period, with total current assets at €9.2 million.
However, its retained earnings reserve figure stood at -€4.7 million. No dividend payment was recommended.
12.45 – Germany, France and Italy lobby EU for easing of bank regulation
The EU’s three biggest economies have lobbied the bloc to focus more on economic growth than banking regulation, in a sign that country’s are prioritising competitiveness over regulation, reports Bloomberg.
The triumvirate want the bloc to ease some rules that are already in place so that banks will have “a level playing field” with other major jurisdictions.
They also called on the next European Commission to “refrain from launching new large-scale initiatives” in finance over the short to medium term, in a joint letter to the director general for financial services.
Germany, France and Italy want a “stronger emphasis on the competitiveness of the financial sector, particularly banking,” they wrote in the letter.
12.30 – WuXi considering selling Dundalk plant as US restrictions take hold
Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturer WuXi Biologics is weighing up the possibility of selling some of its European operations, including its Dundalk base, as new US regulation hits the firm’s ability to attract new business, as per the FT.
The developments come after the US passed the Biosecure Act, which prohibits any US pharma companies with government contracts from using the services of five listed Chinese pharma companies from 2032, including WuXi.
Although this doesn’t apply to existing customers, WuXi is struggling to attract new US clients after the bill was passed.
Separately, the FT reported that WuXi Biologics was working with advisors to test interest in some of its European production facilities, which management fears it may no longer need amidst flagging European sales.
12.15 – DPC launches inquiry into Ryanair’s customer verification process
Photo: NurPhoto
Photo by
NurPhoto
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has opened an inquiry into Ryanair’s processing of personal data from third party customers.
In a statement, the DPC said it has received a number of complaints regarding Ryanair’s practice of requesting additional ID verification from customers who book travel tickets via third party websites, as opposed to booking directly on Ryanair’s website.
“The verification methods used by Ryanair included the use of facial recognition technology using customers’ biometric data. This inquiry will consider whether Ryanair’s use of its verification methods complies with the GDPR,” Graham Doyle, deputy commissioner with the DPC, said.
Ellie Donnelly has the full scoop here.
12.00 – European heavy industry set to cut gas use with costs set to sort
Europe’s heavy industry is set to curtail its gas use for “years” to weather prolonged period of high costs and reduced profits, reports Bloomberg.
While industrial gas use is up year-on-year, S&P reduced its estimate for 2024 growth to 5.8 per cent and sees a 0.7 per cent decline in 2025. Consumption remains far below what it was before the energy crisis.
The data firm stated that it expects up to 9.5 billion cubic meters of annual demand to be permanently lost due to shuttered output and energy-efficiency measures.
11.45 – Live register falls by 1.2 per cent
The seasonally adjusted live register fell by 1.2 per cent month-to-month in September, dropping by 1,200 to 162,855, according to the CSO.
The figures were represented by a 55.3 per cent share of males, while 71.8 per cent of those on the live register were Irish. The 25-34 age group was the largest demographic on the live register with 38,222 people or 23.5 per cent.
Kildare was the only county that recorded an increase (+0.7 per cent), while there were 104,903 people on the live register for less than a year, a 5.7 per cent drop on September 2023.
11.30 – Stripe-backed TrueLayer loses unicorn status after latest funding round
Tech firm TrueLayer, which is backed by Tiger Global and Stripe, has seen its valuation drop by as much as 30 per cent after its latest funding round, according to Bloomberg.
The move comes just weeks after the firm started reducing its headcount to boost profitability, with chief executive Francesco Simoneschi also recently announcing some restructuring operations, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The open banking company raised $50 million (€45.3m) in a round led by the venture capital fund Northzone, TrueLayer said in a statement. The fundraising values the company at about $700 million, the person familiar with the matter said.
11.15 – Flutter’s US arm sued by former NFL executive over betting habit
FanDuel, the US arm of Irish betting giant Flutter, is being sued by a former NFL executive who was jailed for stealing money from his team to fund this betting habit.
Amit Patel, who was jailed for 78 months in March for stealing more than $22 million (€19.95 million) from the Jacksonville Jaguar, is suing FanDuel for ignoring its own responsible gaming protocols and “actively and intentionally targeted and preyed” on him with incentives to feed his addiction.
The suit in federal court in New York is seeking more than $250 million in damages.
11.00 – Accusation of ‘union-busting’ denied in Meta data centre dispute
Photo by
Francis Mascarenhas
The Connect union has accused Meta of threatening to outsource the jobs of its members at data centre in Clonee, Co Meath if strike action scheduled for Monday goes ahead.
The union, which represents craft workers, says the dispute involves critical facility engineers (CFEs) whose rostering arrangements were, it claims, changed without consultation.
Its members have been left with no option but to embark on the 24 hour stoppage, it said, after Meta changed their roster from a six to four week cycle and as a result they will have to work more night and weekend shifts.
Read the full story on the Irish Times.
10.45 – US port workers and operators reach deal to end east coast strike
US dock workers and port operators have reached a tentative deal that will immediately end a three-day strike that has shut down shipping on the US east coast and Gulf Coast.
The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62 per cent over six years. That would raise average wages to about $63 (€57) an hour from $39 an hour over the life of the contract.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) workers union had been seeking a 77 per cent raise while the employer group, United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), had previously raised its offer to a nearly 50 per cent hike.
The deal ends the biggest work stoppage of its kind in nearly half a century, which blocked unloading of containerships from Maine to Texas and threatened shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts, triggering a backlog of anchored ships outside major ports.
Read the full story on Reuters.
10.30 – Rival browsers allege Microsoft’s practices on Edge should be subject to EU tech rules
Microsoft gives its Edge web browser an unfair advantage and EU antitrust regulators should subject it to tough EU tech rules, three rival browsers and a group of web developers said in a letter to the European Commission.
The move by Vivaldi, Waterfox, Wavebox and the Open Web Advocacy could boost Norwegian browser company Opera which in July took the European Commission to court for exempting Edge from the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Read the full article on Reuters.
10.15 – Car makers dangle £2 billion in EV discounts to customers to boost UK sales
Car makers are on course to offer at least £2 billion (€2.4 billion) in electric-vehicle discounts this year and still fall short of the UK government’s sales mandate, according to the industry’s trade body.
Steep price cuts helped lift battery-electric vehicle registrations to a record in September, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Friday. But even last month, zero-emission cars came up shy of the 22 per cent share target the government has set for this year.
Read the full story on Bloomberg.
10.00 – Carriers face higher charges for using Irish airspace
Photo by
Eduardo Ramos Castaneda
Airlines and other operators face increased charges for aircraft using Irish airspace following a regulators’ review of air navigation body Airnav Ireland’s likely costs.
Safety and consumer overseer, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), proposes allowing the air traffic control body to increase its fees over the next five years.
Next year, the authority expects AirNav Ireland’s “en route” unit charges to increase to €33.52 from €28.78 now and to reach €36.05 by 2029.
The unit charge is imposed for every 100km of Irish airspace covered by an individual flight through the country’s skies. It also applies once an aircraft is 20km from an airport.
Read the full story on the Irish Times.
09.45 – Fast fashion retailer Shein prepares for ‘early, informal’ meetings on London IPO
Photo by
Yuki Iwamura
Shein, the online fashion retailer, is preparing to start early, informal meetings with investors to gauge interest ahead of a potential initial public offering in London, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The preparations come as the Singapore-headquartered company awaits regulatory approvals in China and the UK to proceed with its listing, the person added, declining to be identified as the information is private.
Reuters reported the investor meetings yesterday. A spokesperson for Shein declined to comment.
Kathleen Gallagher has the full story here.
09.30 – Oil prices little changed amidst Middle East conflict
Oil prices were little changed this morning, but remained on track for strong weekly gains, as investors weighed the prospect of a wider Middle East conflict disrupting crude flows against an amply supplied global market.
Brent crude futures ticked down eight cents, or 0.1 per cent to $77.54 a barrel in early trade, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down six cents, or 0.08 per cent, to $73.65 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were headed for weekly gains of about 8 per cent.
Read the full article on Reuters.
09.15 – Around 100 complaints made to CCPC over Oasis ticket sale
Photo by
Simon Ritter
Would-be concertgoers have described feeling “embarrassed and ashamed” and being “gullible victims” after they tried to purchase Oasis tickets earlier this year, according to records from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
A total of 92 complaints were made to the watchdog, after it said it opened an investigation into Ticketmaster’s sale of tickets for the concerts.
Tickets for the gigs were advertised as being priced from €86.50 (subject to service charge) and limited to four per transaction.
However, soon after the tickets went on sale, consumers reported various issues including Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” model which hiked ticket prices, long queues and technical issues with the website.
09.00 – Markets Update
The Iseq All Share opened in the green this morning, rising 0.26 per cent (24.32) in early trading to 9,532.11.
The main riser on the Irish market was Dalata Hotel group which grew 1.25 per cent at market open to €4.06 per share. However, the bottom performer on the market was Greencoat Renewables which fell 0.11 per cent to €0.91 per share.
Emma Hanrahan has the full markets update here.
08.45 – French Industrial production increases beyond expectations
French industrial production rose more than expected in August, in a boost to the new government of prime minister Michel Barnier as it prepares next year’s budget.
The increase was 1.4 per cent compared with the previous month, according to data from statistics agency Insee, well above the 0.3 per cent median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
The performance was driven by the fabrication of industrial products, especially in the pharmaceutical sector.
08.30 – Wetherspoon’s annual profit jumps on resilient demand
Photo by
Fergal Phillips
British pub group JD Wetherspoon revealed its sales growth slowed in its financial year to date, after the company logged a near 74 per cent jump in annual profit on resilient customer demand and pub disposals.
While pub groups saw a boost in sales in June and July by soccer fans gathered to watch the Euro soccer championship, weak consumer confidence, an unseasonably wet summer and disruptions caused by riots in Britain have put a downer on customer spending.
Wetherspoon posted a 4.9 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the nine weeks to September 29, half of the 9.9 per cent growth seen in the same period last year.
Emma Hanrahan has the full report here.
08.15 – Bank of Ireland warn that energy credit news will spark fraud attempts
Photo by
Fergal Phillips
Bank of Ireland is warning customers to be vigilant to a wave of new fraud attempts following the announcement of a range of new energy credits in Budget 2025.
The bank said that fraudsters often use current events that are the subject to media coverage and commentary, such as the new energy credits which were announced in this week’s budget, to defraud people.
Bank of Ireland said it is seeing cases where customers receive an SMS pretending to be from the government (gov.ie) saying they are eligible for a discounted bill under the new energy credit. However, this is just the first step in a scam designed to get the consumer to hand over their personal banking details.
08.00 – Chambers and Donohoe privately raised concerns around the scale of child benefit payments in Budget 2025
Photo by
Fergal Phillips
It is understood that with inflation dropping lower this year, Jack Chambers and Paschal Donohoe cautioned privately about the growth of the €2.2 billion package in the final days, particularly around the child-benefit payments.
According to the Irish Times, there were concerns about the so-called baby boost, a triple payment of child benefit to all parents of newborns, due to its untargeted nature. This payment is a permanent measure rather than a once-off and was agreed only on the final night of budget talks on Monday.
Sources with knowledge of discussions said Donohoe said some of the measures proposed could be seen as reminiscent of boom-era decisions.
Read the full story on the Irish Times.
07.45 – Value of inbound merger and acquisition deals has hit a six-year high
The value of M&A deals with an Irish target rose to a six-year high during the first nine months of 2024, according to data prepared for the Irish Independent.
Intel’s sale of an $11.2 billion (€10 billion) interest in its Irish plant, Grange Newco LLC, to a unit of private equity giant Apollo was by far the biggest deal in 2024 to date.
The transaction was announced as part of a massive investment wave into computer chip-manufacturing facilities away from potentially tricky supply chains to China.
Announced M&A with any Irish involvement reached $36.8 billion (€33.33 billion) during the first nine months of 2024, according to data provided by London Stock Exchange Group.
Read the full article on the Irish Independent.
07.30 – French billionaire moving to take full control of Eir
Photo by
Fergal Phillips
French telecoms billionaire Xavier Neil is set to take full ownership of Eir, as two US hedge funds begin to exit their investment in the former Irish telecoms monopoly.
“We are starting to buy their shares,” Niel told the Irish Times.
Two firms belonging to Niel, Iliad and NJJ, acquired 64.5 per cent of Eir in April 2018 in a deal that gave the company an enterprise value, including debt, of €3.5 billion.
The US funds were part of a group of investors that acquired shares in Eir after it emerged from examinership in 2012, following a debt restructuring in which about 40 per cent of its then €4.1 billion of borrowings were written off and senior lenders seized control.
Read the full article on the Irish Times.
07.15 – Asian Markets Update
In Asia, the tailwinds from China’s stimulus bonanza last week appear to be fading in the face of growing headwinds from oil and risk aversion.
Another notable consequence of escalating geopolitical tensions is the burst of safe-haven demand for the US dollar. The dollar index on Thursday hit a six-week high and is on track for its biggest weekly rise since April.
Put the two together – higher Treasury yields and a stronger dollar – and it’s not a particularly attractive backdrop for Asian markets. Especially on a Friday, a day after the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index hit its highest level since January 2022.
While markets in Mainland China and South Korea are still closed for holidays, the Japanese Nikkei 225 Index closed in the green, up 0.10 per cent to 38,591.36.
07.00 – Good morning
Good morning from the Business Post.
Fionn Thompson here with you for the day to keep you up-to-date with the all the latest news.
To get you started, Dominic McGrath has a profile of EY’s new Ireland and UK head Anna Anthony.
And concerns about Irish infrastructure are being raised once again, this time by the powerful American Chamber of Commerce. Donal MacNamee has the story here.