Ardagh Group’s biggest shareholder, Paul Coulson, its chairman and chief financial officer (CFO) have quit the board of a funding company behind the group’s riskiest $1.79 billion (€1.74 billion) bonds, amid expectations that investors in these face massive losses as part of a debt restructuring.
The move follows a rejig, announced late on Tuesday, of the board of Ardagh Group, the operating company over the glass and metal packaging group Mr Coulson has built over the past 25 years. Joe Brennan has the details.
First-time buyer mortgage approvals hit a record last November, new figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) showed, with the average value approved rising more than 8 per cent.
Around 4,400 mortgages were approved in November with a value of €1.365 billion, the group said. Ciara O’Brien reports.
Ardagh Group’s biggest shareholder, chair and financial chief quit funding company’s board
Higher pay for public service staff to afford homes should be time limited and phased out
Young people are rejecting work. Why?
Could one US dollar soon be worth more than one euro? What does this mean for Ireland?
Validation is a word that pops up naturally in conversation with Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan, co-founders of Shorla Oncology and reigning EY Entrepreneurs of the Year, writes Laura Salttery in our interview slot.
The much-prized award – “we were so shocked,” says Cunningham – delivered a great big dose of validation in November when they were named the emerging entrepreneur category winners and also claimed the overall title. “It’s just a huge honour,” says Ryan.
Could a glut of affordable EVs tempt Irish motorists to make the switch?
To attract staff to key area in the public service, argues columnist John FitzGerald, it may be necessary to selectively increase public pay rates. For example, higher pay rates in the Defence Forces, a Dublin weighting for lower-paid teachers (and in other high-price housing areas), or bonus pay to attract and retain staff in mental health or disability care services may be warranted.
Aviation production bottlenecks that threaten to boost air fares will begin easing this year, a leading aircraft lessor predicts. Airlines have been feeling the pinch of lost aircraft production since 2018, a result of Covid lockdowns and other problems that hit manufacturers, including leading jet makers, Airbus and Boeing. Barry O’Halloran reports.
As an eight-time Grand Slam champion, American tennis legend Andre Agassi learned throughout his career to live in the present in order to thrive in high-pressure situations.
“Tennis teaches you to be very present. You can’t afford not to be. It’s not like you can protect a lead and run down a clock,” he told the Pendulum Summit, a two-day business and leadership event at Convention Centre Dublin.
“You end up realising that the best way to get past that finishing line is to only care about now.” Laura Slattery reports.
Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
