Has a ‘Biden bounce’ already been priced into high-flying CRH?

On Tuesday last, CRH – Ireland’s most valuable company – released its third-quarter trading update.

Dan White Opinion It’s bad in the new homes market but worse in second-hand market

House prices rose by 12.4pc in the year to September and are now back to within a hair’s breadth of pre-crash levels. New house building has stopped rising while the second-hand market has seized up.

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Dan White Opinion We are all still living with the toxic legacy of Seánie’s Law

Seán FitzPatrick’s Anglo Irish Bank left a toxic legacy that will endure long after his death. He, more than any other , was responsible for the collapse of the Irish banking system that cost the taxpayer €64bn and blighted the hopes of a generation.

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Dan White Opinion Elon Musk powers ahead but speed traps are lying in the road for Tesla

Electric car manufacturer Tesla’s market value crashed through the $1trn barrier this week. With Elon Musk’s company now worth more than the rest of the global auto industry combined, are investors in danger of getting carried away?

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Dan White Opinion Hands off approach to vaccinations makes mockery of Budget forecasts

A full re-opening of the economy is being delayed by the stalled vaccination programme with 440,000 people of working age still being entirely unvaccinated.

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Dan White Opinion Interest rate hikes are bad news for borrowers but not for the banks

The Fed is preparing the ground for higher interest rates. Where the Fed goes the ECB will quickly follow. Bad news for borrowers but not for banks or pension funds.

Dan White Opinion Evergrande’s debt deal calms concerns for now but realistic fears of broad contagion still remain

Last week, the fate of debt-laden Chinese property conglomerate Evergrande, which owes its creditors more than $300bn, was poised on the proverbial knife edge.

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Dan White Opinion Award-winning Smurfit Kappa shows the way as the world resets its green targets

Paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa announced last Monday that it was raising €1bn through an issue of “green bonds”. It also announced that it was repaying €500m of existing bonds. This means the new bonds will represent about a third of its total borrowings going forward.

Dan White Opinion Counting cost of being one of priciest nations in Europe

The sharp jump in the August inflation rate points to a rapid erosion of our international economic competitiveness as our rapidly rising prices make Ireland one of the most expensive countries in Europe.

Dan White Opinion Dalata did the housework during lockdown, and now awaits a post-pandemic bounce

Covid-19 was the perfect storm for Dalata. As both the Irish and UK governments locked down their economies in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, occupancy at the 42 hotels operated by the group more than halved to just 34pc. And revenues fell by 60pc to just €80m in the first half of 2020.

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Dan White Opinion Construction sector roars back with strong PLC performances but inflation lurks in the long grass

The construction sector has come roaring back after last year’s lockdown, with most of the major quoted companies delivering very strong first-half results.

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Squaring the circle of hitting CO2 targets while growing food exports

Government plans to increase the value of Irish food and drink exports by 50pc to €21bn by 2030 stand in apparent conflict with its aim of developing an environmentally-sustainable agri-food sector.

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Dan White Opinion Flutter’s success underlines problems of the gambling industry

Live sport is back and the bookies are smiling – but there are concerns at the ever increasing reach of the gambling industry.

Driving a hard bargain: used-car prices up 40pc in a single year

After a year to forget in 2020, the motor trade has come roaring back in 2021. However, Brexit and other supply shocks have sent used-car values soaring while the inexorable rise of electric vehicles will force the sector to completely change the way it does business.

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Dan White Opinion Wheel turns full circle as AerCap takes on $50bn aviation gamble

After 28 years the wheel has turned full circle with the EU’s approval of Irish-based aircraft-leasing company AerCap’s $30bn takeover of GE’s aircraft-leasing business.

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Stocks and shares pumping air on State steroids may be about to hit the floor

Last week’s tumble in share prices shows that, with the economic outlook remaining uncertain and the pandemic far from over, financial markets face a stormy future.

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Dan White Opinion Donohoe may be looking to kill digital levy as price for Irish tax obedience

Paschal Donohoe’s stance of splendid isolation from most of the rest of the world on higher corporate tax rates isn’t sustainable. With pressure mounting he will have to agree to a minimum 15pc company tax rate sooner rather than later.

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Dan White Opinion Our second-hand housing market is at a standstill as prices surge 

The second-hand housing market has seized up with the number of existing houses being offered for sale at a record low while prices soar into the stratosphere.

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How to conquer the globe: Kerry Group targets ingredients for success

In one bound, our hero was free. Well, two bounds actually. Kerry Group’s sale of most of its consumer foods division, allied with its purchase of food preservation company Niacet, largely completes the group’s transformation from Irish dairy processor to global taste and nutrition leader.

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How to conquer the globe: Kerry Group targets ingredients for success

In one bound, our hero was free. Well, two bounds actually. Kerry Group’s sale of most of its consumer foods division, allied with its purchase of food preservation company Niacet, largely completes the group’s transformation from Irish dairy processor to global taste and nutrition leader.

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At play in the fields of gold: climate change brings opportunity and challenges for Origin Enterprises

Origin Enterprises has in recent years consistently promised more than it has delivered. And this year looks like being no exception, with chilly spring forcing the company to lower its earnings guidance to analysts.

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At play in the fields of gold: climate change brings opportunity and challenges for Origin Enterprises

Origin Enterprises has in recent years consistently promised more than it has delivered. And this year looks like being no exception, with chilly spring forcing the company to lower its earnings guidance to analysts.

Dan White Opinion The economy is finely balanced between optimism and despair 

As the Government seeks to reopen the economy, the key to its success lies in persuading Irish households and companies to spend some of the €40bn in extra savings they have accumulated during lockdown.

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Dan White Opinion Air travel faces the pandemic wrath as Covid-19 clips Ryanair’s wings

Tomorrow, Ryanair will report terrible full-year results as the impact of the pandemic clips the wings of what had been a soaring success story.

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Dan White Opinion Last man standing — the rebirth of Permanent TSB 

What a difference a couple of months makes. At the end of last year Permanent TSB was the problem child of the Irish banking sector with its share price having fallen by almost two-thirds over the previous three years as investors became increasingly sceptical of the prospects for a relatively small, stand-alone, specialist mortgage lender in the Irish market.

Galen Weston: Man at top of Dublin retail

Ireland has been a happy retail hunting ground for the Weston family. While Garfield (Garry) Weston’s ABF developed the Quinnsworth and Penneys chains, his brother Galen, who died earlier this month was the owner of Brown Thomas and Arnotts.

Focus Penneys pounded by the pandemic

Covid-19 and bereavement have made it a year to forget for the Westons, Ireland’s first family of retail. With all of the Westons’ Irish stores still closed, the pandemic has cost them hundreds of millions of euro in lost sales and profits.

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Dan White Opinion Retail of two cities as some firms thrive in harsh climate of lockdown

The value of Irish retail sales fell by almost 6pc in February 2021 compared to February 2020, the last ‘normal’ pre-pandemic month for Ireland’s retailers, according to figures last week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The underlying situation is even worse. When ultra-volatile motor sales are excluded, the value of retail sales was down by a massive 8.4pc in February.

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Dan White Opinion Davy still doesn’t ‘get it’, despite record €4m fine

This weekend Davy, Ireland’s largest stockbroker, faces the most serious crisis of its 95-year history after being fined a record €4.13m by the Central Bank for serious breaches of personal account dealing regulations.

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Delay in ditching Kerry Group dairy arm could risk taste division’s rapidly rising star

The recent short-seller attack on Kerry Group ratchets up the pressure on boss Edmond Scanlon to finally complete the sale of its dairy processing business and then unlock the value of its taste and nutrition arm.