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Businessman Denis O’Brien’s Digicel has asked investors in $925 million of bonds due to be repaid next week for an initial 30-day grace period before an event of default would be triggered, as it continues discussions on a debt restructuring, according to sources. Joe Brennan has the details.
Restaurant and food retailer Fallon & Byrne incurred losses of nearly €4 million on the back of its failed food hall and restaurant venture in the Swan Centre in Rathmines, according to recently filed accounts for the business. The company pulled the plug on its loss-making Rathmines unit in early 2020 after it failed to generate the expected level of sales. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports.
White collar workers in Ireland received pay increases averaging 4 per cent in recent months but will still be worse off by around €1,300 between now and the end of the year if the high rates of inflation persist, new research suggests. Conor Pope reports.
Local authorities are paying private builder contractors considerably more for social housing than they were two years ago, in some cases 50 per cent more, according to data obtained from the Department of Housing, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy. The figures also indicate that construction costs for similar-sized two and three-bed units varied considerably, over and above what might be explained by location, development type or regional market variation.
A likely buyer is poised to take over troubled drug maker 4D Pharma, whose Irish operation entered receivership on Wednesday. A deal to swap the Leeds, England-based 4D Pharma’s €13 million secured debt for shares in the business failed last week, leaving the group under the control of administrators appointed by creditors in June 2022. Barry O’Halloran reports.
The EU’s Digital Services Act is a big new act and plenty of experts (read, specialist lawyers) are also struggling to grasp its parameters, so some deadline leeway is likely to be granted. But small and medium sized companies, non profits, and organisations and individuals running anything that could be constituted an online community or service would be wise to thoroughly investigate whether they fall under the DSA’s oversight mechanisms, warns Karlin Lillington in her weekly column.
Cantillon says that the Shelbourne Hotel’s strong results makes you wonder why special 9 per cent VAT rate was extended and also tackles the question du jour, namely why aren’t firms passing on the fall in energy costs?
The government’s latest package of cost of living measures includes extra cash payments to social welfare recipients and parents - but no further contributions to our energy bill payments. Does the package go far enough? And by extending - again - a more favourable VAT rate for the hospitality sector, the Government is foregoing tax revenues of €300 million. Why does the return of the rate keep getting pushed back? Ciarán Hancock talks to political reporter Jack Horgan-Jones and columnist Cliff Taylor on our Inside Business podcast. Plus: We’re by now sadly familiar with finance scams using texts, emails and bogus websites to defraud people. The latest method takes advantage of the growing use of digital banking services like Revolut.
How close is a reliable prediction system for earthquakes, asks Chris Horn, as Turkey and Syria deal with their recent shocks.
Digital workflow company ServiceNow has largely flown under the radar in Ireland. The company has been quietly growing its presence here since it opened its office in 2018, taking advantage of the shift to a more digital workplace to grow its business. Ciara O’Brien talks to Nick Tzitzon, chief strategy and corporate affairs officer.
Anne Holohan is associate professor in the department of sociology at Trinity College Dublin and the co-founder, with Conor McNally, of TiLT, a training start-up focused on making organisations more inclusive through its suite of role-playing games, writes Olive Keogh.
There was a moment when I was hanging off the side of a mountain, writes Ciara O’Brein, that I realised how good the graphics in the new PlayStation VR2 are. Staring down to the valley floor kicked my fear of heights into gear: the stomach lurch, the slight head spin, the overwhelming urge to sit down and not move for a few minutes.
