Worrying house building figures, Brexit concerns and a new Aer Lingus route

Housing completionsare two-thirds below official estimates, according to a new report from Goodbody. It shows that while the number of houses being built is improving, supply still has considerable distance to go to meet current and future demand. Publication of the new monthly indicator comes as the latest MyHomeproperty report shows the market is on track to record double-digit price growth for this year and into 2018.

Business lobby group Ibec has warned that the slow progress of Brexit negotiations underlines the need for the budget to prepare for damaging UK exit. In his column this week, Chris Johns reckons the titanic Brexit task could turn into Tory disaster movie

Aer Lingus is set to add an extra transatlantic route from Dublin as it announces details of its summer schedule this week. Barry O'Halloran identifies the likely location, where the IAG-owned airline is likely to go head-to-head with one of its big US rivals.

The latest media venture from former RTÉ journalist Mark Little aims to create "a personal assistant for news". Co-founded with journalist Áine Kerr it intends to use the latest artificial intelligence tech to tackle fake news. Laura Slattery talks to the two entrepreneurs.

Kingspan acquires 51% of Brazilian manufacturer

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Kingspan opens office in Singapore

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Nama has paid €7.5m for 91 redundancies since start of 2016

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UCC plans €350m investment to increase campus space by 20%

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Staying with start-ups, there's good news from two growing food firms. Dublin-based food safety and traceability firmIdentigen securing a € 17m contract with the Swiss meat association. Meanwhile Strong Roots, an Irish food company that specialises in healthy frozen vegetable products, is expecting revenues to jump 500 per cent this year after signing two new deals in the UK.

Finally in her column this week, Pilita Clark explains that while PowerPoint has become a byword for boring people into oblivion, the root of the problem stems with the users, who tend to mistake complexity for expertise.

Have a great week,

Michael McAleer,

Assistant Business Editor