Welcome to the Business Post’s Live News section. We’re here all day to keep you up to date on the latest developments in business, tech and current affairs.
14.05 – Intel unveils latest AI-infused processors
Computing giant Intel today unveiled its latest generation of computer chips, dubbed Lunar Lake, which will quadruple artificial intelligence (AI) performance, while increasing graphics output by 50 per cent.
As reported by The Verge, the company is facing an existential threat as new AI-infused chips are unwrapped from competitors Qualcomm and AMD.
“It’s x86 power like you’ve never seen it before,” claims Intel technical marketer Rob Hallock, referring to the chip architecture that Intel pioneered, but which has fallen by the wayside as Arm takes over the computing landscape.
Lunar Lake is the latest step in Intel’s grand vision to create the most performant chips on the market, labelled 18A, by the end of next year.
13.30 – TikTok approved disinformation ads to run on its platform
Chinese social media giant TikTok approved targeted disinformation ads relating to the EU elections in Ireland which were planted by an international campaign group.
Global Witness, a human rights and environmental NGO, created 16 fake ads targeting Irish audiences, which they then submitted to TikTok, YouTube and X.
X blocked all of the ads, while YouTube blocked all but two. However, TikTok allowed all the fake ads, in spite of the platform’s ban on both political ads and on election disinformation in organic posts.
A TikTok statement said that its policies were “robust” and that the false ads were approved due to human error.
Eoin O’Hare has the full story.
12.45 – ECB rate-cut expectations start to unravel before first move
Strong economic data and vocal European Central Bank hawks are pushing some analysts and investors to waver in their expectations for interest-rate cuts this year.
While most economists still foresee quarterly reductions following this week’s initial move, some reckon sticky inflation, rapid wage growth and surprisingly robust euro-zone output will constrain monetary loosening.
As reported by Bloomberg, cautious officials fret that lowering borrowing costs at consecutive meetings could prompt markets to take that pace as their baseline.
They may also have less confidence than some of their colleagues that ECB policy can truly diverge from the Federal Reserve, which is likely to stay on hold for a while yet.
12.20 – Irish creamers say updated Vat guidance not good enough
The government’s updated guidance on the reclamation of Vat has offered welcome clarity, but doesn’t go far enough, according to an industry body.
The president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), Denis Drennan, said it was “hugely disappointing” that several critical items remain non Vat-refundable.
“In particular, it is very hard to understand why automatic calf feeders and robotic scrapers are not eligible for a VAT refund,” he said. “Calf feeders and robotic scrapers are two pieces of modern equipment to improve labour efficiency and animal welfare and it is very disappointing that they remain ineligible”.
11.45 – Farmers facing hefty tax bills may get relief soon
Farmers facing six figure bills from Revenue under the government’s plan to introduce a land hoarding tax will be given the opportunity to have their farmland de-zoned, Charlie McConalogue, the minister for agriculture, has said.
The government plans to introduce a new Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) next year in a bid to bring large amounts of idle development land into use. The new RZLT will levy a 3 per cent tax on the market value of around 25,000 acres of zoned residential land around the country, and could yield more than €300 million a year for the exchequer.
Lorcan Allen has the full story.
10.25 – Deloitte edges closer to gender equality target with 13 new partners
Deloitte has appointed 13 new partners across its business – nine of whom are women, brining the proportion of females within its partnership group to 33 per cent.
The new partners are Thomas Fedigan, Rory Brown, and Grace Cartin, (Audit & Assurance); Rebecca Ring, David Walshe, and Tom Hynes (Consulting); Caroline Costello (Financial Advisory); Nicola Flannery (Risk Advisory); Aileen Stephens, Niamh Barry, Karen Clarke, and Joanne Clarke (Tax & Legal); and Sinead Gogan (People & Purpose).
Commenting on the appointments, Harry Goddard, chief executive of Deloitte Ireland, said that the new partners “showcase the full breadth and depth of capabilities across our industry groups, and have a proven track record of driving our clients’ strategic agendas”.
“Improving gender balance at all levels of our organisation is a priority, and while we still have a journey to travel, these appointments support our ambition of achieving 35 per cent female partnership by 2025,” he said.
Deloitte has also announced a number of new appointments to its Ireland executive team, whose skills and experience will support the firm’s continued growth. The executive team consist of 10 people, with 50 per cent women.
Our team of writers has written extensively on female representation at board and senior executive level over recent weeks. You can read some of the most recent reports here and here.
08.49 – India begins counting 640 million votes after six-week election
India has started counting more than 640 million votes in the world’s largest democratic exercise, which was widely expected to return prime minister Narendra Modi for a third term.
The six-week-long election was seen as a referendum on the 73-year-old, who would be the second Indian leader to retain power for a third term after Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister.
Exit polls on Saturday by major television channels projected a comfortable win for Mr Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies over a broad opposition alliance led by the Congress party and its main campaign leader, Rahul Gandhi.
08.30 – Airlines to face higher fines for undocumented passengers
Legislation to increase the fine imposed on airlines for allowing passengers on board without proper documentation will go to cabinet this week, RTÉ reports.
It comes as more than 2,000 operations to check for passports on the steps of airplanes have been carried out so far this year, according to the Department of Justice.
As reported by the Business Post last week, as part of its wider response to the ongoing immigration crisis, the government initiated a review of visa-free travel for all states from which there are significant numbers of international protection applicants.
Currently, there is a penalty fine of €1,500 in place for airlines who are found to have allowed passengers to board without a passport or valid visa. The fine rises to €3,000 if not paid within 28 days.
Airlines with flights arriving into Ireland were fined more than €2.5 million in 2022 and 2023 under the current provisions.
08.10 – Bank of Ireland withholds €15 million payment to Davy investors
Bank of Ireland has formally withheld roughly €15 million from former investors in Davy over the lender’s acquisition of the stockbroker, according to reports.
As detailed in the Irish Times, the bank is understood to have paid more than €75 million to Ailmount Investments, the vehicle used by the former shareholders of the securities firm, which it bought two years ago after the broker was stricken by a scandal involving a bond sale. Payment of about a quarter of the sale price had been deferred until this month.
Bank of Ireland has formally withheld about €15 million from the purchase of Davy Stockbrokers that it had been expected to pay to the former owners of the nation’s biggest securities firm.
The bank is understood to have paid more than €75 million to Ailmount Investments, the vehicle used by the former shareholders of the securities firm, which it bought two years ago after the broker was stricken by a scandal involving a bond sale. Payment of about a quarter of the sale price had been deferred until this month.
Under the terms of the 2022 sale, the bank was due to pay about €107 million to Ailmount in June this year.
Last week it emerged that the lender had taken legal action against Ailmount, and has now confirmed it will withhold a sum of €15 million to cover historical legal claims against Davy.
This is the second set of legal proceedings between the two sides. Ailmount, whose shareholders include former Davy chief executive Brian McKiernan, launched a commercial court action against the bank in July over its alleged failure to make a payment tied to the bank’s €427 million takeover of the broker.
