Lady Gaga, Banksy make Time’s Most Influential list
The pop star Lady Gaga and graffiti artist Banksy have made Time magazine’s list of the World’s Most Influential People. The two are included in the Artists section out of the top 100 line-ups of influential people . Other influential artists include Oprah Winfrey, Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, star of the Twilight movies Robert Pattinson, Ashton Kutcher, Prince, entertainment mogul Simon Cowell, Sandra Bullock, and director James Cameron. Lady Gaga (pictured), we are told by Cyndi Lauper, isn’t a pop act but rather a performance artist with an incredible pop sensibility. Meanwhile, Shepard Fairey, the creator of the 2008 Obama Hope poster, lauds Banksy’s particular gift: “An ability to make almost anyone…
Read MoreGoogle ranked most reputable company in Ireland
Google has been ranked as the most reputable company in Ireland, according to a new study. The list of the top five-ranked companies in Ireland’s RepTrak 2010 study is rounded out by Kellogg’s, BMW, Marks & Spencer’s and Nokia. Unsurprisingly, Anglo Irish Bank dwells at the bottom of the list, finishing last out of the 115 organisations included in the survey. John Player & Sons, UPC (Chorus NTL), NTR, and Bank of Ireland were also ranked in the bottom five. The Ireland RepTrak 2010 study measures companies’ reputations based on consumer’s trust, esteem, admiration and good feelings about a company, while also gauging perceptions across seven rational dimensions of reputation.…
Read MoreGeorge Lee to Return to Public Stage in UL Lecture
Former Fine Gael TD George Lee is set to make his return to the public stage tomorrow when he speaks at a seminar in the University of Limerick. The former RTE economics editor was elected to as a TD in Dublin-South after topping the poll in a by-election last summer. However, in a move which prompted a massive media storm he quit politics nine months later, saying that he had had “virtually no influence or input into shaping Fine Gael’s economic policies at this most critical time”. According to the University of Limerick, in his speech Lee will call for a lowering of corporation tax to 10pc to attract inward…
Read MorePaddy Power Chief Earns 1.42m in 2009
The chief executive of Paddy Power Patrick Kennedy was paid a total of 1.42m for 2009, which was up marginally on the 1.39m sum he received in 2008. Details of the bookmakers’ executive remuneration were contained in its annual report published this afternoon. Kennedy’s pay package included a salary of €678,000, pension payments of €203,000 and an annual bonus of €500,000 for 2009. The bookmakers’ managing director of non-retail and development Breon Corcoran earned a total of €827,000 for 2009, which included an annual salary of €460,000 and an annual bonus of €280,000. Meanwhile, Paddy Power’s finance director Jack Massey earned a total of €555,000 in 2009, which included a salary of…
Read MoreLinkedIn To Open Global Headquarters in Dublin
The social-networking service for professionals LinkedIn is to locate a new international headquarters in Dublin, joining Google, eBay, and Facebook among the bevy of internet giants setting up shop in the city. The headquarters, which will open on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in April, will create jobs in sales, marketing, finance and customer service. Details of current openings can be found on the LinkedIn website . LinkedIn’s offices in Mountain View, California will continue to serve as corporate headquarters with Dublin as the center for international growth. The company says it will manage its international expansion from Dublin, working with teams in London and the Netherlands. LinkedIn now has more than 14…
Read MoreeBay Creates 150 New Jobs at Dublin Operations
Internet firm eBay has today announced the creation of 150 additional jobs at its European headquarters in Dublin. The jobs expansion at the company’s European Centre of Excellence in Blanchardstown is supported by the Irish Government with the aid of IDA Ireland. The new permanent positions have been created in customer service, personal account management and process enhancement. People can apply to eBay directly for the positions by doing Google searches for “ebay jobs in ireland” as the website created for this purpose is currently unavailable. eBay, together with its online payment company PayPal, already employs over 1,600 people at its Blanchardstown site. Dublin helping eBay grow The Taoiseach Brian…
Read MoreShell CEO’s pay rises 22pc in 2009; more job cuts
The pay of Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive rose by 22pc during 2009 to US$4.4m, according to the company’s annual report published today. Peter Voser (pictured), who was promoted to the CEO role in July 2009, had previously earned US$3.8m in 2008 in his capacity as the group’s chief financial officer. Shell announced last month that it was freezing pay for its top executives until January 2011. The move came following a shareholder revolt against executive remuneration at Shell’s AGM last May when shareholders voted against the company’s remuneration policy. The energy group said at the time that Voser would be receiving a pay rise to reflect the fact that…
Read MoreOECD hails Portugal’s austerity measures
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has hailed the austerity measures announced by Portugal to bring its budget deficit back in line with European Commission rules, saying they will help to support the country’s growth. The Portuguese Government released a fiscal consolidation plan earlier this week through which it aims to bring the country’s budget deficit to 2.8pc of GDP by 2013 from its current level of 9.3pc of GDP. The measures being adopted include spending cuts, such as social-welfare cuts and a reduction in public-sector job creation, and tax rises, including the introduction of a new rate of 45pc tax rate for those earning over €150,000 annually. The…
Read MoreMacro-messaging service Whispurr takes on Twitter
A new social-networking player has entered the scene to take on micro-messaging player Twitter with a service that enables macro-messages of 300 characters. The Whispurr social-networking service promises to bridge the online world with the offline world. According to Conor Devine, director of Whispurr.com , macro-messaging is a 300-character message which can be sent online by a real-time ‘whisp’ or via Whispurr’s free SMS message to a mobile-phone service. But can the service take on Twitter, which last week achieved its 10-billionth ‘tweet’ and now boasts 60 million users around the world. According to Devine, Whispurr developers work around the clock to churn out new time-saving measures to make communication as easy as possible. As a…
Read MorePortugal joins Greece in austerity measures
Portugal has joined Greece in announcing a series of austerity measures aimed at cutting its level of public debt. Portugal’s finance minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos (pictured) made the announcement today as the country attempts to head off a debt crisis similar to that currently swamping Greece. The austerity measures proposed include social-welfare cuts and a reduction in public-sector job creation. Teixeira dos Santos also intends introducing a new rate of 45pc tax rate for those earning over €150,000 annually. The measures are aimed at reducing Portugal’s budget deficit from 8.3pc of gross domestic product (GDP) to 2.8pc of GDP. Of course, while such a budget deficit is nowhere near…
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