Breakfast Business

Europe, for many, is at a trading crossroads.  Its traditional military ally and trading partner the US is slapping tariffs without provocation and even looking to seize sovereign European more specifically Danish territory.   It means that the law of unintended consequence says that Europe may well consider trading more rather than less with China with the EU commission president hinting as much this week  But with 27 different member states sitting about the table, with 27 different views, how would that work? To discuss further with Joe was Finbarr Bermingham is the Europe Correspondent with the South China Morning Post. 

ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder, affects how young people communicate with others, if they do at all and for some, they can never lead independent lives.  One medical research company in Co Kerry hopes to find a treatment for those with ASD and has started clinical trials of a new drug which could be transformative. But getting from trials to the pharmacy shelves is a complicated and often very expensive process. Joe was joined on the show this morning by Professor Liz Shanahan the Founder and Chief Executive of Kingdom Therapeutics.

As most employers will know pension auto enrolment is supposed to start for all workers in the autumn.  It means that they will be automatically enrolled in the workplace pension scheme unless they expressly opt out.  It aims to bring the less well off into saving for their retirement to reduce the burden on the State.  But are employers ready since they will be carrying a substantial financial burden?  With more on this, Joe spoke to Keith Dundon, the Head of Financial Services with SYS Financial. 

Donald Trump has confirmed that he will be slapping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum coming to the US.  That will almost certainly face retaliation from Europe and China and underline the fact that we are in a trade war.  It comes as government imposed costs at home for companies are rising rapidly and Ireland looks set to miss out on the AI revolution. Speaking to Joe this morning was the Managing Partner of EY - Frank O’Keefe.

Tuesday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.

Sweden has the highest number of Unicorns in the world outside of Silicon Valley. Jim Dowling is the founder of Hopsworks.ai and he hopes to join the club of billion dollar companies and that’s why he’s based there.  He’s an Irishman whose company makes the picks and shovels for machine learning in the AI age. He also wants to keep the AI talent and technology in Europe but is but is worried that the continent lacks its own technology or infrastructural independence in AI. Joe spoke to Jim this morning on the show.

Monday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam and Russ Mould from AJ Bell.

Do you order lots of clothes online and then return them if they don't fit or you simply don't like them?  Well you may be one of the reasons why the fashion industry accounts for up to 4% of global emissions. 100 billion garments are made every year and 70% of them are plastic-based textiles such as polyester or Nylon. Almost 90% of these shirts and coats and trousers will end up in landfills.  Terran Fielder is with the NGO EarthDay.org and believes it doesn't have to be that way. 

Friday's business news and markets along with Aidan Donnelly from Davy's.

Organisations should think beyond compliance and embrace sustainability as a driver of long-term value for Ireland’s economy and society. That’s the call from Nessa Whelan, Executive Director of UN Global Compact Network Ireland, the newly introduced Irish network of the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Nessa joined Emmet this morning on the show.

Despite record housing construction commencements last year in Ireland, completions still fell short. That’s according to findings from the Construction Information Services latest report.    Speaking to Emmet this morning was Scott Delaney, CIS Research Manager.

Thursday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.

Throughout the 90s and the 2000s, the world became a smaller place in trading terms and globalisation was dominant. But now in the age of Donald Trump, tariffs and trade sanctions are very much on the menu. But do tariffs actually work or do they in fact encourage the tariffed nation to innovate more and potentially become an even bigger arrival as is the case with China? All to discuss with Macro-Economist with Global Geopolitical Research Christian Takushi.

We live in an age where appearances matter and forming a good first impression is important. None more so than your smile. Hamish Khayat developed his first dental hygiene products when he was at school and has now built up an empire including electric toothbrushes, floss and teeth whitening strips for sale all over the US and UK.  Now he’s arrived in Ireland selling his Burst oral care in McCauleys pharmacies.  Hamish Khayat Co-Founder and CEO of BURST Oralcare spoke to Joe on the show this morning.

Europe has continuously lagged the US in terms of startups and capital investment in new companies. Much of that is down to the perception of red tape that exists when operating across the 27 member states. There is a new proposal which aims to get over this by creating an EU wide recognised legal entity called an EU Inc. Joe was joined on the show by Stor Andreas Klinger who led this proposal and began by asking him whether it was indeed messy to start a business in the EU these days.

Wednesday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.

€900 not bad for a few minutes work.  That’s the average refund for people who file their tax return online.  The Revenue wants more people to use the MyAccount facility online and join the 440,000 people who were entitled to a refund that's 80% of all those who filed returns last year. For advice on how to file your tax return Joe spoke to Aisling Ní Mhaoileoin, Manager of Revenue's National PAYE Services. 

The total value of pension savings in Ireland stands at €142bn and rising.  Most of that money will be invested in bonds and equities but most of those shares will be large American companies who aren't shy of a bob or two. Speaking to Joe this morning was Alan Merriman the Chief Executive of Elkstone and he believes that a certain proportion of our huge savings pot should be required to be placed in Irish companies to support startups here rather than in America. 

Monday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.

25% that’s the new tariff that the US has provisionally placed on its closest and biggest trading partners Canada & Mexico.  Their crime supposedly not adequately combating illegal migration and the opioid crisis.  That's despite Trump renegotiating a trade deal himself with both nations to create the USMCA when he was last in office.  To discuss these tariffs Joe spoke to Brad Setser who was part of the Obama administration and is now a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations.