Breakfast Business with Joe Lynam

When you as a consumer buy a product or a service, do you know what happens to your personal details? Where are highly sensitive data such as your address, credit card details and perhaps even your medical history kept and how can you be sure it won't be leaked somewhere?  Joe discussed all with Susan Brady the Managing Director of Eir Business.

We’ve had a trade war between the two biggest economies in the world. We’ve had major wars and the possible break up of the ‘West’ as we know and yet, the markets kept inching upwards. Breaking new records along the way.  Is there any logic to this or is there an illogical reason why many investors simply shrug no matter what happens? All to discuss with Bernard Walsh, the Head of Investments...

Having a newborn is a joyous time but also an expensive one and one which is not great for the environment. We spend €100m on disposable nappies in Ireland every year and they often end up in landfill alongside wet wipes. Kate Doyle has created reusable nappies as well as a marketplace for other environmentally friendly products including period products.  Only this week she won the ‘Sus...

Donald Trump will doubtless dominate the media coverage when he speaks at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland later today.  His very presence is a distraction from all the other speakers in Davos including Michael Lohan the Chief Executive of the IDA who is there to bang the drum for foreign investment into Ireland.

Wednesday business news review with Joe Lynam.

The backbone of Trump’s upending of the global trading system have of course been his tariffs. They have been arbitrarily applied to America’s allies and sometimes based on the personal whims of the President. But they could be deemed illegal as early as today by the US Supreme Court. If Trump can get around that ruling it will mean 3 more years of economic and political chaos....

Investment in Irish commercial property could reach €4 billion this year which would be a 60% jump on what was invested in 2025. Included in that is an estimated €1.5 billion investment in the private rental sector. They are among the views of the real estate company CBRE, which has published its assessment for 2026.  Colin Richardson, director and head of research with CBRE, joined Joe...

Wednesday's business news headlines with Joe Lynam.

St Patrick's Day has come a long way from shivering majorettes and the local accordion bands winding their way through the wet streets of our cities. Now it’s a 4-day festival, very much aimed at an international audience. In fact, more than a quarter of a million visitors come to these shores in mid-March, expressly to experience a St Patrick's Day parade. But w...

So it looks like the highly controversial trade agreement hammered out in July between Trump and Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen may be toast. The European Parliament won't vote to approve it now that Trump has threatened additional tariffs on 8 European nations for not supporting his bid to annex Greenland. Expect the markets in Europe to be all over the shop th...

Monday's business news review with Joe Jynam and Russ Mould from AJ Bell.

This week saw Diageo announce another 20 cent price rise for a pint of Guinness the 5th price rise in 3 years from the drinks giant.  In contrast the Changing Times brewery which is owned by some of the biggest publicans in Ireland including McSorley's and Doheny’s said there was no need for raising prices. Joe was joined on the show to discuss further by Pat Rigney the boss of Drumshanbo gin...

It's Friday's business news review along with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam and Kate English Chief Economist with Deloitte.

Fitting out the modern office is not a cheap business.  Standards and regulations are much higher than even 10 years ago and include sound proofing, thermal dynamics, functionality and of course aesthetics.  But what about sustainability? Robert Trench is the co owner of Future Office  offers the most modern looking office decor but all of it has been reclaimed or repurposed from so...

Over the weekend the Trump administration launched criminal proceedings against the chair of the US Central Bank the Federal Reserve  It was a clear attack on Jerone Powell’s and the Fed’s independence because they have failed to cut interest rates at a pace desired by the President.  The wider central banking community including the ECB and the Bank of International settlements have com...

Companies in the hospitality sector were the main winners in the budget last Oct.  Innovators were also winners but many SMEs weren't happy to have to pay higher minimum wages on top of holiday and sickness pay and now set aside money for workplace pensions.  Now the Small Firms association has launched a strategy which it says will help smaller companies survive, grow and thrive. ...

Business news headlines review along with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.

Wholesale gas prices are coming down in Europe, but energy prices for consumers and companies have yet to start falling appreciably. In fact, high Irish fuel prices are very much at the top of all European charts once you include levies and green taxes. According to DoneDeal, we’re the 3rd most expensive for diesel in the EU and 5th for petrol...

All is not well in the world of taxis these days. Consumers aren't happy at the rapidly rising cost of hiring a cab using apps, and drivers aren't happy about the commissions they are being charged by the 2 biggest apps, Freenow and Uber. My next guest is offering an alternative, which he says will benefit both the consumer and the driver. It’s an...

Wednesday's business news review with Joe Lynam.

Monday's business news review with Joe Lynam and Kathleen Brooks from XTB.

Docusign enables very important documents to be signed digitally and not manually.  In doing so it removes tons of wasted paper, millions in wasted postage and countless hours in wasted time.. The San Francisco-based company is marking a decade in Ireland with a new investment in AI technology here.  Violeta Martin, Vice President, Commercial Sales EMEA with Docusign. 

If you’re wondering where Leo Clancy the former boss of Enterprise Ireland went when he stepped down from the State exporting body last year. He went to Shannon to run the largest indigenous electronics manufacturing company in Ireland, the smoke alarm maker EI.  EI is also one of the biggest employers west of the Shannon and it's a bell weather for the Irish exporting sector.  Joe caugh...

Later today the US Supreme Court will decide whether Trump’s unilateral tariffs are legal or whether they should have been agreed in advance with Congress.  They are Trump’s signature trade policy, and he claims they have earned the US government around $600bn so far.  They may even force Trump to change how he threatens other nations with tariffs in future.  Or he could simply igno...

The Young Scientists exhibition launched this week. For the first time ever the event is sponsored by someone who actually won the main prize a few years ago: Patrick and John Collison i.e. the founders of Stripe.  Needless to say the show is filled with some very bright and able young men and women who will be the inventors and business leaders of the future.   There might even be a fut...