Subscriber OnlyBusiness Today Newsletter

Ben Dunne’s demise; ECB rate cuts; and 50 years in business

The best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

Ben Dunne in typical jovial mood: the businessman was a larger than life character regardless of the business he was running at the time. Photograph: Gareth Chaney Collins

Dominic Coyle's face
Dominic Coyle
Mon Nov 20 2023 - 07:04

The death of businessman Ben Dunne dominated the headlines over the weekend. Conor Pope has a very personal recollection of a man he once worked with and spoke to often about the business of retail long after he had been ousted from Dunnes Stores.

Colm Keena looks at the back story of one of Ireland’s most flamboyant and engaging businessmen. And Cliff Taylor asks whether we would ever have uncovered many of the less savoury aspects of Irish business and political life without Dunne’s cocaine-fuelled incident on a Florida hotel balcony and the disclosures that followed it.

The ousting of Open AI cofounder and chief executive Sam Altman, the most recognisable member of the AI community, also confounded observers over the weekend. In an unexpected development overnight, OpenAI’s board has selected Emmett Shear, co-founder of video streaming service Twitch, as its interim chief executive, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Elsewhere, Bank of America says we can expect no cuts in interest rates until midway through 2024, and even then the ECB will be cautious to ensure inflation cannot surge once again. However, Eoin Burke-Kennedy writes, they are optimistic that the euro zone is not heading for a deep recession.

READ MORE

That might not be enough to persuade people to open their wallets liberally this Christmas, according to a new consumer sentiment report from the Irish League of Credit Unions and economist Austin Hughes. He expects “cautious management” of festive finances even though sentiment is stronger than this time last year, writes Colin Gleeson.

Eoin also looks at the strange mix of policies on migration, climate change and housing that look set to send Britain’s Conservatives crashing to election disaster as they fail to appeal either to the Brexit Red Wall vote that delivered their strong majority last time out or younger people in more traditional party heartlands.

Drumshanbo’s Shed Distillery has bucked a trend of falling demand for Irish gin and whiskey to report increased profits in the year to September alongside a €10 million investment for cash reserves to expand the business. Ciarán Hancock has the details.

Ellen O’Regan talks to Brendan Fagan who celebrates 50 years in business with his Stock Design store in South King Street this year, having worked next door to his sister’s Jacadi children’s clothing store for the last 30. A decision to buy the building in his 20s was crucial to that success.

Pilita Clark wonders what it says about modern workplaces when toxic bosses appear to survive for as long as evidence suggests they do.

And in our Opinion slot, Ian Brown, the chief executive for the UK and Irish business of Paddy Power parent, Flutter, warns against a series of unintended consequences as a result of gambling legislation currently passing through the Oireachtas.

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.