EVERY WEEKEND, TheJournal.ie gives its readers the chance to put their feet up and take a look back at all the goings-on from the world of business.
Once again it’s time to delve deep inside The Briefcase for the important – and sometimes less-important – financial news that has come out this working week:
Clerys workers took to the streets. Hundreds turned out for protests against the shock closure of the iconic department store, with some staff complaining they didn’t have a chance to even collect their belongings after decades of service. Meanwhile, the building’s new owners, the hastily-formed Natrium consortium, finally broke their silence a week after the takeover
The EU has started naming and shaming tax havens. The so-called ‘blacklist’ of 30 “non-cooperative jurisdictions” outside the EU includes principalities like Monaco and Liechtenstein, as well as the islands of Bermuda and the Bahamas. It came as European authorities announced their latest “action plan” to cut down on multinationals’ tax avoidance
The world’s best airline was crowned. And it was Qatar Airways, according to the latest Skytrax passenger survey. The Middle Eastern carrier topped a list that was heavy with Asian airlines. Meanwhile Ryanair, which didn’t even make the top 10 for low-cost carriers, was getting into bed with some of its biggest competitors to lobby for changes to European regulations
Rents kept on climbing across the country. The increase are now higher outside Dublin than in the capital, based on the latest figures from the Private Rental Tenancy Board. That sparked fresh calls for the government to deliver on its promises for “rent certainty”
WhatsApp has failed almost every data-protection criteria. The Electronic Frontier Foundation delivered the verdict, putting the messaging app stone motherless last in an analysis of tech firms’ privacy regimes. Apple, Wikimedia and Yahoo were among the companies that scored full marks in all categories
The new Lotto operator has been on a losing ticket. Recent accounts for Premier Lotteries Ireland, which paid €405 million last year for its license to run the National Lottery, showed the company lost €17.4 million in its first 19 months of existence – although that figure included only one month of actual trade
Europe should get ready for a ‘state of emergency’ in Greece. The dire warning came from Germany’s EU commissioner as D-day loomed for the embattled country and its next tranche of debt repayments. ECB officials have reportedly said there was a danger that Greek banks wouldn’t be able to open on Monday as the financial crisis further deepened
Airbnb is about to be worth more than most of the world’s hotel chains. The accommodation-sharing service, which was launched seven years ago, is reportedly raising another $1 billion in funding, putting a total value of $24 billion (€21 billion) on the company. That would make it the third most-valuable startup in the world, behind only Xiaomi and Uber
If you’ve got a spare chunk of change and don’t mind a hand-me-down, you could do worse than this.
Billionaire Denis O’Brien’s two-year-old private jet, a Gulfstream G650, is on the market for a reported €60 million.
With space to sleep six in full-length beds and a “state-of-the-art” entertainment system, it’s the perfect thing for those long-haul transatlantic flights – or a shorter hop to Malta, perhaps.
First published 20 June
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