Business

  Scrooge McDuck Becomes Mr. Burns Boss The pivotal question with the news of the massive $52.4 billion in stock buyout of 21st Century Fox by Disney is “Why would Disney do this?” The answer is simple. The entertainment industry continues to evolve and Disney had its eye on the market share Fox was able to control with their original brand of entertainment. One of the main components of the deal is Sky , a pan-European satellite broadcasting company. Sky is an on-demand internet streaming media, broadband and telephone services company that is headquartered in London. In 2015, they reported over 30,000 employees and a subscriber base of more than 21…

How Did “Small Business Saturday” Fare in Small Towns? Amercian Express sponsored this year’s “ Small Business Saturday .” The event has received the largest “awareness campaign” this year. The results? They are just coming in this morning. According to JJ Ramberg, contributing editor for MSNBC, over 108 million people shopped in their local communities on Saturday. However, sales figures have not been disclosed yet. The push has been to support small business in the wake of the changing economy. This shift has put a lot of local companies out of business over the past decade. For example, Barnes and Noble put the small bookstore out of business and then Amazon put Barnes and Noble…

There was one word that best described Oct. 19, 1987: “Panic.” It was real money. It was a real fear. It was real panic. What shocked financial analysts is how it happened. On that autumn morning, stocks were up 15% for the year, and the forecast looked bright. In just one day, the DOW dropped more than 500 points, nearly 23% and global markets followed the crash sending the world into a financial tailspin. There was pushing, shoving, screaming, profane words, rage, and how there wasn’t an all-out brawl is shocking, to say the least. Orders were coming through faster than they could be handled. Phones were ringing off the hook, and…

A significant issue exists in corporations’ ability to do business after a severe security breach. Equifax positioned itself to give “free credit monitoring” to those affected by their data breach but for only one year. The questioning between Senator Elizabeth Warren and Equifax CEO Richard Smith in 2017 was one of the highlights of the congressional hearings following the Equifax data breach, which affected 143 million Americans. Here is a summary of key moments and points during their exchange: Breach Disclosure Timing: Senator Warren questioned the delay between when Equifax discovered the breach (in late July 2017) and when it was publicly disclosed (in September 2017). She also brought up…

Supermac’s founders Pat and Una McDonagh have announced plans to develop three motorway service stations over the next two years, creating 220 jobs. They made the announcement as construction begins on their €8m motorway service station on the M6 with the laying of the first block by Minister of State for Transport, Tourism and Sport Michael Ring this afternoon. The Junction 16 Kiltullagh Plaza will open in early 2016 and will provide 100 jobs. According to its developers Pat and Una McDonagh of Supermac’s, it will be the country’s largest motorway service station. Its food offerings will include Mac’s Place Deli, Bakery & Fresh Carvery, Supermac’s, Papa John’s Pizza, SuperSubs…

The Irish Infrastructure Fund (IIF) has secured the concession contract to operate and maintain the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) in a deal which also includes a licence to build and operate a 330-bed hotel on a site nearby. Managed by Irish Life Investment Managers and AMP Capital, the IIF was launched in 2012 with a €250m commitment from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. Since being announced as the preferred bidder for the CCD last February, the fund has increased investor commitments to over €400m with 14 institutional investors participating in the funding round to complete this transaction – which also includes a long-term lease of the car park underneath the…

Discount supermarket brand Aldi has opened its seventh store in Co Kerry, in Kenmare, which will create 20 new jobs. To mark the opening Aldi provided breakfast samples and family entertainment and Radio Kerry broadcasted live from the site. Five shoppers won €100 Aldi vouchers each. This brings the total number of Aldi stores in Ireland to 116, with the first having opened in 1999. Since 2008 Aldi has almost doubled the number of Irish suppliers it works with and more than 50pc of Aldi’s supplier spend is now with Irish suppliers, producers and manufacturers. Sorcha Corcoran

Bad debt judgments awarded by courts in first half of 2015 up 32pc to €220m Increase in Value of Judgments for Bad Debts The total value of judgments awarded by the courts in the first half of 2015 for bad debts amounted to just over €220m, up 32pc on the same period last year, according to figures released today by Vision-net.ie. The average value of judgments during the period was €95,333, up 27pc on the same period in 2014 (€74,818). Rise in Consumer Judgments Some 1,692 judgments were awarded against consumers in the first half of the year, up 6pc on the same period in 2014. Consumer judgments during the…

Shared services centres (SSCs) are on a clear expansion path in Ireland and are set to create more jobs, according to a survey that was carried out jointly by PwC and the ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). However, there is room for improvement in how they operate and also in their use of technology. The findings highlighted that SSCs are becoming more popular in Ireland as multiple delivery centres, particularly for multinational companies looking to centralise not only cross-border functions such as accounting and HR, but also areas such as treasury, payroll, supply chain management, procurement and tax. “With a highly talented workforce and competitive tax regime, the…