Inside Business with Ciaran Hancock

Robert Finnegan, CEO of Three Ireland is in the hotseat on this week's podcast. He talks to Ciarán about his company's place in the Irish mobile market, the success of "All You Can Eat" data, the advent of 5G, rural broadband, and Three's sponsorship of the Irish football team. But first Peter Hamilton has a roundup of the week's business news, including rocketing property prices and rents, soaring consumer confidence, and another confounding week in the crazy world of crypto-currencies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wild trading in the US, sparked by fears that rising inflation could force central banks worldwide to hike interest rates, saw volatility return to global stock markets in recent days.Irish Times columnist Chris Johns joins Ibec’s chief economist Fergal O’Brien, Cliff Taylor and Ciarán Hancock to discuss whether this is merely a temporary correction, or a hint of something more worrying to come.Also on the podcast, the EU Commission’s latest estimate showing that Ireland’s economy grew three times faster than the wider euro area last year, the Federal Reserve’s new chairman, Brexit and the merits of the government’s National Development Plan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The news that VW tested diesel engine emissions by exposing monkeys to the fumes is a PR disaster for the company - another one. But will it matter to its bottom line? Or will the negative findings of the tests harm the diesel market? From Germany, Berlin Correspondent Derek Scally, and from his desk, Motoring Editor Michael McAleer are here to tell us. After that, in our monthly focus on the business of sport, Ciaran and Michael O'Keeffee of Teneo PSG talk to IRFU CEO Philip Browne about the Rugby World Cup bid, doing a deal with TV3, the price of Six Nations tickets and more. Finally, Michael fills Ciarán in on all the big sports business stories of the moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How has the Trump economy so totally confounded the negative expectations of a year ago? What did we learn about the tracker mortgage scandal from AIB CEO Bernard Byrne's appearance at the Oireachtas finance committee ? And what is stopping us from making real competitors to Dublin out of places like Cork and Limerick, before the entire country becomes a commuter belt and the M50 finally grinds to a permanent halt? In part one of today's Inside Business podcast, Business Editor Ciarán Hancock probes Cliff Taylor and Eoghan Burke-Kennedy for answers to those questions. In part two, Markets Correspondent Joe Brennan reports on the goings-on at the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A study of executive salaries at Irish companies by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) released this week, shows the gap between the pay packets of chief executives and the average worker is widening, while bonuses are on the up.Laura Slattery is joined by Ictu's Dr Peter Rigney, Global FDI director at Morgan McKinley Trayc Keevan and Irish Times business affairs correspondent Mark Paul to discuss the findings.Also on the show: the CSO has introduced its Labour Force Survey to replace the Quarterly National Household Survey as the most accurate barometer of conditions in the Irish labour market. Eoin Burke Kennedy explains what it says about the state of Irish employment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Demand for residential property in Dublin is sky-high, particularly around Grand Canal Dock. That's where development company Cairn Homes is building 122 new apartments. But the hefty price tag means they are not for everyone. Cairn CEO Michael Stanley showed Ciarán around the building and talked about the high cost of construction, why we need to add more floors to our city centre buildings and what needs to be done to ameliorate the acute shortage of housing. But first Joe Brennan pops in to tell us about the history of Cairn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2017 was another busy year for the Irish hotel industry with many new openings, customer growth and increased room rates. Tim Fenn, CEO of the Irish Hotels Federation, talks to Ciarán about the industry: the health of the market, whether value for money is being eroded, the impact of Brexit and the fight to retain the 9% VAT rate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What challenges and opportunities face the Irish economy and business in 2018? Bank of Ireland chief executive Francesca McDonagh, Ibec CEO Danny McCoy and Irish Times columnist and technology entrepreneur Chris Horn, join Ciaran Hancock to look ahead to the next 12 months. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cliff Taylor joins Ciarán Hancock to discuss what led to Ireland having Europe's fastest growing economy in 2017. Also casting a glance back at the year that was, Laura Slattery chronicles the ups and downs at RTÉ, Mark Paul reviews the extraordinary goings on at Independent News and Media, while Dominic Coyle and Joe Brennan have the latest on the ongoing tracker mortgage scandal and what might happen next.In the second part of the show, Sport Ireland CEO John Treacy is this month’s guest on the Business of Sport, co-hosted by Mick O’Keeffe of Teneo PSG. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish Times columnist Chris Johns joins Laura Slattery and Cliff Taylor to discuss the Great Brexit Fudge and an apparent comeback by Prime Minister Theresa May. Also on today's podcast, Proinsias O'Mahony on the Bitcoin bubble and Barry O'Halloran on Ryanair's industrial relations woes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.