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:
Property prices are ready to rise again. After sale prices fell back slightly in the first few months of the year, the latest report on asking prices showed a 4.6% increase nationwide. But there are still some bargains to be had if you’re looking for a family home, as long as you’re willing to live outside Dublin
Greece made its latest loan repayment. While there was talk during the week the country wouldn’t have enough cash for the €459 million bill, the money was paid on time Thursday. Meanwhile, its leaders were busy cosying up to Russia and demanding Germany pay billions stemming from claimed Nazi-era war debts
Striking Dunnes Stores staff were allegedly targeted in reprisals. Staff were dismissed within 24 hours of last week’s major industrial action, while others had their hours cut or roles changed after the protests, according to trade union Mandate
Rolling Stone made an embarrassing retraction. The magazine was forced into a back-down over a widely-discredited article from last year about a gang rape at a US college frathouse. Police found no evidence to back up the allegations and earlier this week the publication admitted to major failings in putting together the story
The UK struck oil near Gatwick Airport. An exploration firm said it found the equivalent of 100 billion barrels of the commodity near the airport, although only about 15% of the vein is ever likely to be recovered – assuming it is opened up to commercial extraction at all
Being unhealthy can be a good money-spinner. Irish Life has been pushing a pension product specifically targeted at those with unhealthy lifestyles or histories of illness, offering higher payouts on the slightly-morbid expectation those clients would die sooner
Working for Apple is like working for a cult. That was the verdict from Sydney-based former Apple manager Ben Farrell, who detailed his many gripes with the company in a confidentially-clause-shredding blog post. Among his complaints were claims the tech giant made insane demands on his time and gave no thought to illnesses, family emergencies or weddings
Aer Lingus bosses will get tidy payouts if the airline is sold. Together, current and former directors could share in a €6.3 million windfall from a sale of the carrier to British Airways parent IAG if the government and other major stakeholders agree to hand over their parts
French air traffic controllers sent flights into chaos. Hundreds of scheduled services in and out of the country were cancelled as the controllers went on strike over plans to lift their retirement age from 57 to 59
The hunt for ‘unicorns’ is fuelling another tech bubble. The mythologically-minded term was coined for tech startups worth over $1 billion and over 80 firms now qualify under that tag. But some investors have been sounding the alarm that all the money being pumped into early-stage firms in a quest to find the next Facebook will create some big problems when the tide turns
Everyday misunderstandings can be a fact of life for those with a healthy Irish brogue when dealing with people unfamiliar with that lilting brand of English.
But it’s hardly just an Irish problem. The poor Kiwis have apparently been blighted with an Australian-tuned version of Apple’s Siri voice-activation interface – until now.
The latest iOS upgrade finally delivered a New Zealand-friendly update, which means users can feel a bit more comfortable pronouncing potential minefields like “six” and “deck”.
Although, as this video using the iPhone 4s shows, Siri didn’t do *too bad* a job with the old system:
First published 11 April
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