ISME celebrates and ‘Irish Times’ Innovation Awards

Your business this week: HP results, ECB meeting and Irish wholesale prices

Monday

Results: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Guess, Urban Outfitters.

Indicators: Euro zone construction output (Oct).

Meetings: Asia Matters Business Awards (Intercontinental Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin); Inaugural Lean Construction Ireland Conference (Croke Park, Dublin 3); Techstars' Startup Week Dublin (various venues 19th to 23rd).

Tuesday

Results: EasyJet, Analog Devices, Barnes & Noble, Campbell Soup, Target, Citizens, Foot Locker, Gap.

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Indicators: UK industrial trends orders (Nov); German PPI (Oct); US building permits (Oct), housing starts (Oct).

Meetings: The Irish Times Innovation Awards (Concert Hall, RDS, Dublin 4); Data Centres Ireland conference and exhibition (RDS, Dublin 4).

Innovation awards

Be it a "fitbit for the brain" or the world's first accurate breast-feeding monitor, chances are the 2018 The Irish Times Innovation Awards at the RDS, Dublin on Tuesday will give a good insight into the world of future invention.

In total, 15 such innovations have been shortlisted to compete for the grand prize.

Michael McAleer, innovation editor at The Irish Times, said: "The calibre of the entries has been of the highest order and this has made the task of selecting the 15 finalists extremely challenging.

“Each of our innovators has a really interesting story to tell and we are looking forward to meeting them and hearing more about their business plans.”

There are five different industry categories. Now in their ninth year, the aim of the awards is to showcase and reward excellence in innovation across a range of products and services.

The shortlist features entries from both established companies and start-ups. As well as Dublin, the finalists come from counties Kildare, Galway, Antrim, Limerick, Westmeath and Wicklow.

Wednesday

Indicators: UK public sector net borrowing (Oct); US existing home sales (Oct).

Meetings: ECB non-monetary policy meeting; ISME annual conference (Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co Dublin); Health and Safety Authority free conference on managing workplace health risks (Radisson Blu, Golden Lane, Dublin 8).

I

SME anniversary

When the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise (Isme) association emerged in 1993, taoiseach Albert Reynolds and prime minister John Major issued their joint Downing Street Declaration in a bid to help shape the future of Northern Ireland.

On its 25th anniversary this year, Anglo-Irish relations are again very much to the fore, although this time through Brexit negotiations and their inevitable impact on cross-border trade.

‘Think 25 – Looking ahead for Irish business’ is the theme of Wednesday’s annual conference which will focus on a number of areas including “business after Brexit”, a staple of any current discussion in the commerce world.

“We’re going to cast a nostalgic eye back to the Ireland of 1993 at our annual conference. But the main theme on the day will be looking ahead at the next quarter century,” said the group’s chief executive, Neil McDonnell.

"Our relations with Northern Ireland, Britain, the EU, the US, Asia and Africa will be profoundly changed. Brexit, an EU where we will be the only common-law member, a disengaging US, and a more muscular China and India will change the way Ireland interacts with the world."

The conference will be opened by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys while the the keynote speech bill be delivered by Alison Cowzer, director of East Coast Bakehouse.

Alan Smeaton, professor of computing at DCU and co-founder of the Research Centre for Data Analytics, will address technology, data and what it means for business over the next quarter century.

Thursday

Indicators: Irish wholesale prices (Oct); Euro zone consumer confidence flash (Nov).

Meetings: Docklands Business Forum Awards (Gibson Hotel, Point Village, Dublin 1); Ireland France Business Awards 2018 (Intercontinental Hotel, Dublin); Deloitte and Enterprise Ireland CEO Forum (Dublin Castle, Dublin 2).

Friday

Meetings: Origin Enterprises AGM (Merrion Hotel, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2); Insurance Ireland Fraud Conference (Convention Centre Dublin); Ibec Technology Ireland Industry Awards (Mansion House, Dublin 2).

Indicators: Euro zone manufacturing, services and composite PMI flash (Nov); German GDP (Q3), manufacturing, services and composite PMI flash (Nov); US manufacturing, services and composite PMI flash (Nov).