There may be more homes under construction these days, but with new office building more or less at a standstill, the latest construction PMI from BNP Paribas Real Estate shows an industry barely expanding. Perhaps that’s no bad thing though if it allows more resources to be put into homes than offices that don’t appear to be needed at the moment. Ian Curran reports.
Staying with housing, in an opinion piece former UCC professor Nicholas Mansergh asks why builders appear unwilling to build swathes of traditional two up, two down terraced homes which could be more suitable for individuals and small families than apartments. It’s a point well made.
Ireland’s climate progress is too slow and it must front-load its investment in energy transition to avoid escalating climate and economic costs, a study by UCC energy analysts warns. As Kevin O’Sullivan reports, 2050 is too late a target for net-zero emissions in the economy, the study by the Energy Policy and Modelling Group (EPMG) concludes. Deep emissions cuts must occur sooner than currently planned for Ireland to contribute effectively to limiting global warming, the study published in npj Climate Action adds.
There are two big tech events in the next couple of weeks, and there are a slew of Irish companies heading to both the Web Summit in Portugal this week and Slush2024 in Helsinki a week later. Ian has the story.
Any time a CEO spends time doing the job of an ordinary worker at their company it hits the headlines. But as Pilita Clark asks, why aren’t more bosses getting their hands dirty on the shop floor?
In Your Money, as Balmoral Land plots to buy out small investors, not all of whom want to sell, Dominic Coyle looks at what rights shareholders really have.
In recent years there have been a host of stories focused on debtors receiving mega cuts in their debts thanks to court approved personal insolvency plans. But while those stories make the headlines, there has quietly been a slew of debtors agreeing deals that are for relatively small amounts but crucially keep them in their homes with the agreement of creditors. Colm Keena reports on the deals that now make up the bulk of PIPs.
As the dust starts to settle from Donald Trump’s election win, it is clear that some investors regard certain assets as winners. One of which is Bitcoin, which hit a fresh record high on Sunday.
Staying with Trump, the incoming US president has been adamant about his belief in tariffs, but how exposed is Ireland to a trade war? Eoin Burke-Kennedy looks at the matter, and why it’s such a problem for the country.
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