The US Trade Representative’s office told Congress on Tuesday it intends to open trade talks with the European Union, the United Kingdom and Japan. Under fast-track rules, the United States cannot start talks with the EU, Japan and the UK until 90 days after notifying Congress. “We will continue to expand US trade and investment […]

STEEL-nerved investors who bet that Ireland would not default in the worst days of the eurozone crisis got to collect their reward yesterday. Holders of the last bonds issued by the Irish government before the 2010 EU/IMF bailout were repaid yesterday, in full and on time. That was in doubt through much of the crisis […]

THE Government’s new Finance Bill has confirmed a €50,000 increase in maximum value of share options that can be granted under its Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP), to €300,000 in any period. It had previously been subject to a limit applied in a consecutive three-year period. The scheme, introduced a year ago, was intended to […]

An expected 3.3pc annual growth rate at Dublin Port established just six months ago by the facility to determine its infrastructure requirements for the next two decades is already being exceeded. The chief executive of Dublin Port Company, Eamonn O’Reilly, said the current pace of growth means the semi-state firm now needs to speed up […]

More than half of companies led by women have no external funding at all, compared with 30pc of male-led businesses – and three times as many female business leaders regard access to capital as their biggest challenge. The results are from EY’s Global Growth Barometer, based on a survey of 2,766 senior business leaders. In […]

Wind farm prices may have peaked, one of Ireland’s most experienced corporate financiers has warned, despite strong overseas demand for a range of Irish assets. IBI chief executive Tom Godfrey said wind farm assets were probably “as expensive as they’re going to be” now that the low interest rate environment had begun to change. Rising […]

Budget 2019 didn’t put much money back into our pockets. Much of the focus of Finance Minister Pascal Donohue last Tuesday was on housing and health – with little left in the pot for anyone else. Many of us will only be better off to the tune of about €5 or €6 a week next […]

Irish food-to-go supplier Greencore has reached an agreement to sell its entire US business to Hearthside Food Solutions for £817m (€927m). Greencore said it will hand a large part of the proceeds to shareholders via a special dividend of £509m, or 72 pence per ordinary share. The group said that the deal will also “support […]