Worldwide Offices
It's all gone a bit quiet. We're holding our breath. That sound mentioned two weeks ago of positive indicators drip feeding into the news has been masked by quiet nervous chatter of a possible ECB/IMF 'bailout'. Where the ECB gets its money for bailouts is a mystery in itself. This video is essential light viewing on the viability of EU bailouts.
Beware another EU directive, which not only increases the tangle of red tape surrounding employment law, but may restrict vital flexibility in hiring staff in these lean times. The forthcoming EU Agency Workers Directive (AWD) states that temporary staff must have equal treatment and rights to regular/permanent workers from their first day of work in respect to pay, working time and annual leave. While the British government has confirmed that the qualifying period for a temp will be 12 weeks before AWD applies, the Irish government has yet to confirm its stance. Though it was proposed in 2002, the Irish, British, German and Danish governments blocked it until 2008. The AWD is to be implemented here
Read More Post a comment
Vistage Ireland has invited Malcolm Smith to deliver this half-day interactive master class on expert negotiation, to take place in Newman House on St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 on 29 October next. It will outline how negotiation fits into your business operations as part of a structured process, and cover the tricks, tactics and moral dilemmas of a successful negotiator. This practical and interactive session will look at all aspects of the process including preparation, the negotiation itself, tactics and tricks, along with your assertiveness and demeanour. Malcolm always presents an informative and amusing session that will inspire attendees. This session includes:
- The management skill box
- Moral dilemmas
- The decision to negotiate
- Preparation
-
Read More
Post a comment
With so much business commentary saturating the media at the moment it can be difficult to maintain a clear sense of perspective. It's a complex issue and there are plenty of examples of media prophecies becoming self-fulfilling. According to NCB Stockbrokers, a series of negative news articles from influential publications across the world together with "idiosyncratic" factors are driving Irish Government bond spreads higher. It noted that Ireland has received a lot of attention in the media over the last couple of weeks with stories about the country's deficit, debt and banking issues being analysed on Bloomberg, CNBC, the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist etc. They have built an economic model to control for these "idiosyncratic" factors. But for the rest of us we have the Cent
Read More Post a comment
The sight and sound of AIB begging for an extension to the state banking guarantee probably did not engender a great deal of sympathy from SMEs. It certainly did not from this correspondent.
RTE business editor David Murphy says the fact AIB is “calling for it, shows things would be very difficult if the bank guarantee was not there”.
As long as AIB, and other banks in the scheme, are protected under the bank guarantee they are able to borrow money at a decent rate on the wholesale market – and keep lending to customers.
Across the corporate and household sector, the impact of a great storm cloud of indebtedness is now being felt. The figures are quite startling. Last year, the consultancy Amarach Research produced a report entitled: 'The Debt of the Nation : How we Fell in and out of Love with Debt." This study estimated that in Ireland, the ratio of household debt to disposable income had risen from just 48% in 1995 to 176% last year, making us one of the indebted countries in the world, even when public debt is excluded from the equation. Since the downturn, the number of insolvencies has soared, along with the number of 'problem' debts across the banking system. More than 1,400 companies were declared insolvent in 2009 alone, almost five hundred of these being construction firms. The scale of the crisis i
Read More Post a comment
Top US Business Author Presents a Free Workshop to Business Leaders
edoyle, Jun 04, 2010
Featured CategoryVistage Ireland chair Etain Doyle will be hosting a member guest day at the Fitzwilliam Dublin Hotel on the 23 June. The international speaker Gary Markle will present his session 'Catalytic Coaching - A performance management system that works.' In this highly interactive workshop tailored specifically to meet the needs of Vistage participants, Gary makes his case for the abolishment of conventional methods of performance evaluation and teaches participants how to replace them with a more effective and efficient system that he calls “Catalytic Coaching”. The workshop will give participants a complete overview of an employee development system designed to accomplish five key business objectives: • Change behaviour • Motivate employees
Read More Post a comment
They never said it would be easy. Just when it looks that Ireland's battered economy is turning the corner, a storm builds to crisis proportions on the Euro zone's South Eastern periphery. The crisis has unfolded in distinct phases. The first consisted of German Government foot dragging over the go ahead for a €45bn rescue package that helped to spark panic in the bond markets, with resulting contagion effects for Portugal, Spain, and to a degree, Ireland. It is fortunate that the National Treasury Management Agency has prefunded much of this year's financial requirement, but the impact of the crisis on confidence, and on the cost of funds to the Irish banking sector, and by extension on borrowers, is real. The cost of the bailout swelled as the Germans prevaricated during
Read More Post a comment
Few doubt that small firms, the backbone of local communities, have been hit hard by the credit crunch. Many firms which would be viable when viewed from a long term perspective, have been forced prematurely to the wall, having been cut off at the knees by newly risk averse, cash strapped banks. Crunching Hard and Deep The accountancy group Mazars, has carried out a series of studies on credit availability. The latest review, published in mid April, indicates that while we have entered a period of stabilisation, the crisis remains very real. According to a statement issued by Ian Talbot, CEO of Chambers Ireland: "We note with concern that 35% of all loans granted to SMEs are now behind on payment. This figure is likely to act as deadweight on future loan applications and approvals, p
Read More Post a comment
The Finance Act has received a broad welcome from business. Those who are set to benefit, in particular: - foreign executives assigned to work in the country. - firms involved in leasing and fund management - owners of intellectual property assets. - providers of Islamic finance products. - pensions providors - people selling land under compulsory purchase orders However, there are - as one might expect - no shortages of 'stings in the budgetary tail.' Tax exiles with an Irish domicile will have to pay a 'domicile levy' where their worldwide income exceeds €1m and there income tax liability here is less than €200,000 Of greater practical, as opposed to symbolic, significance is the decision to abolish th
Read More Post a comment
