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Central Bank highlights commercial property crash as key risk

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

A “disorderly” price correction in Ireland’s €50 billion commercial real estate market has been highlighted by the Central Bank as a key risk for the financial sector.

Conn Ó Midheach's face
Conn Ó Midheach
Thu Feb 29 2024 - 06:42

A “disorderly” price correction in Ireland’s €50 billion commercial real estate market has been highlighted by the Central Bank as a key risk for the financial sector. In a new report, which it plans to publish annually setting out its regulatory priorities for the year ahead, the regulator said the macroeconomic outlook continued to be shaped by the adjustment to higher interest rates. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

Starwood Capital Group, a US investment firm focused on global real estate, is staying mum on its game plan with Ires Reit after building up a 1.52 per cent stake in the apartments owner, which is currently the subject of sale or break-up speculation. Joe Brennan reports.

How do you create a new media company when the background noise is so negative and tech companies absorb the majority of online advertising revenue? The answer is to witness first hand how mistakes are made and how they can be avoided, writes Elaine Moore

Some of the best ideas for new businesses are inspired by personal experience. When Laura Downes found herself trying to keep track of cash and gift cards at a friend’s wedding, she decided there had to be a better way. Downes started off looking for a solution to the money problem, but quickly discovered that wedding planning as a whole was ripe for a shake-up. In 2021 she teamed up with co-founder Orla McDonnell and their idea for the integrated digital wedding planning platform, My Wedding Whizz, was born. Olive Keogh reports.

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Of all the devices that could benefit from Bluetooth, a pressure washer would have been low on my list. But over the course of the past decade or so, “smart” devices have become even more prevalent. Why would you need Bluetooth in a pressure washer? It’s a pressure washer; you turn it on and point it at things, and it blasts off grime. Ciara O’Brien takes the Karcher K5 for a spin.

Whether you are worried, enthused or just baffled, it is hard not to feel as though the AI tide is coming in relentlessly, writes Conor Capliss. The future is already here, and businesses will have to play catch-up.

Why did Bank of Ireland shares plummet despite record profits?

Listen | 46:58

Tributes have been paid to well-known Cork businessman Clayton Love Jr, who has died. Born in 1929, Clayton Love Jr led the development of a number of landmark shopping centres in Cork, including Douglas Village Shopping Centre, which opened in 1971 and was the second shopping centre in Ireland, as well as shopping centres in Blackpool and Wilton.

The world’s biggest technology companies have substantially increased their use of water to cool down data centres, sparking concerns over the environmental impact of the generative artificial intelligence boom, report Cristina Criddle and Kenza Bryan.

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