Irish banks are still struggling to gain the trust of their customers, according to the Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB). Its latest annual survey shows trust in banks has improved since last year, but only marginally, and it is still deep in negative territory. Joe Brennan has the details.
As a team of engineers close down the Nord Stream pipeline for its 10-day annual servicing today, German politicians fret that Russia may contrive a situation where it does not reopen, adding to the squeeze on energy supplies, writes Derek Scally.
Ireland has a chance to “take a leading role” in the aviation sector’s transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, PwC argues, by providing tax relief for companies working to develop sustainable aviation fuel. Ian Curran writes that the professional services group is also backing a tax-saver scheme for hybrid workers in an effort to promote public transport.
Builders’ merchants Chadwicks has announced that it will partner Technological University Dublin to help deliver a new skills, training and apprenticeship hub for the construction sector. Ian reports that the business is putting €250,000 into the venture.
He also reports on a £3 billion renewable energy project backed by Irish company Solar21, which, if approved by English authorities, will convert waste products to electricity and will include, among other things, a plastic recycling facility and storage for captured carbon — will generate enough electricity to power 221,000 homes.
Tesla boss Elon Musk could have bitten off more than he can chew if Twitter elects to pursue him through the courts over his decision to abandon his high profile $44 billion bid for the company. Legal academics say the social media group will have the edge if things go legal.
Companies and their executives are coming under pressure for increased transparency on salaries and bonuses as the spotlight on gender pay inequality grows ever more intense, writes Pilita Clark. But, she argues, none of this effort should be necessary. Countries worldwide have had laws requiring equal pay for equal work for decades. It’s the will that’s been missing.
Small business owners are being blocked from saving for their retirement with an unreasonably hardline approach on new rules when alternatives to schemes that are no longer compliant have not yet been made available by Government, writes Rachel McGovern of Brokers Ireland.
Finally, Martin Wolf examines the legacy of Boris Johnson and argues that the most important challenge for any successor is to address Britain’s ongoing issues with productivity and real incomes, areas where the country has underperformed over recent years and which only feed the demand for populist policies that are undoing the country’s potential. He’s not optimistic.
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