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Bob Geldof: Why was our regional TV bid not given a hearing?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Does this sound like a stitch-up to you? Yesterday the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of MPs met in Westminster to discuss the future of the news you watch on TV - who gets to make it and choose the stories, the journalists who edit it.

Sean O'Grady: We'll be paying for these bailouts for decades to come

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:52:25 GMT

Forget, if you're not already inclined to do so, the dizzying merry-go-round of billions of pounds circulating between the government and the banks they own. It is bad news – the equivalent of the schools budget being ploughed into keeping the financial system afloat (again).

Company Snapshot: Northstone Ltd

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:18:17 GMT

Northstone, formerly known as Farrans, is one of Northern Ireland’s largest building and civil engineering contractors. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of CRH (Cement Roadstone Holdings), registered in Dublin.

Euro’s strength can’t heal rifts between rich and poor

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:11:44 GMT

There has been plenty of speculation about the dollar and poor old sterling recently — but how has the euro fared in its first big test?

We have to find a way to protect banks from themselves

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

A puppy, they say, is for life. Before you rescue that poor, helpless creature, remember that this is a responsibility which will continue for years after the novelty has worn off. Just like the banks.

More than a popularity contest

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

I am happy to announce that I am the most popular and most influential Twitter user in Holywood. That I appear to be the only Twitter user in Holywood makes me slightly sceptical of this result from www.wefollow.com .

Argento found that every cloud has a silver lining

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Pete Boyle set up Argento 12 years ago. The company now has more than 200 employees. He says that delivering the right product at the right price is the key to surviving the recession.

Invest NI's answers fail to address serious questions

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

The chairman of Invest Northern Ireland, Stephen Kingon, has criticised the report by the Independent Review Economic Group. He argues "that the achievements of Invest NI staff have not been fully recognised in the report," and referred to "the achievements set out in our annual performance reports."

During this recession, online hits don't have to hit your profits too

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Google is the world's most popular website, and looking at recent statistics on Northern Ireland users, it is viewed by 73% of the population.

Company Snapshot: United Dairy Farmers

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

United Dairy Farmers operates effectively as a co-operative organisation buying, processing and selling milk from just under 2,000 registered suppliers across Northern Ireland.

Company profiles: United Dairy Farmers

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

United Dairy Farmers operates effectively as a co-operative organisation buying, processing and selling milk from just under 2,000 registered suppliers across Northern Ireland.

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

David Dobbin with Mervyn King

Company Snapshot: United dairy farmers Ltd

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

United Dairy Farmers operates effectively as a co-operative organisation buying, processing and selling milk from just under 2,000 registered suppliers across Northern Ireland.

Trade is slow ... but not for the fast food sector

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

An overwhelming belief in producing a quality product, staff training and exacting hygiene standards has driven the development of local takeaway franchise business, The Frying Squad. Michael Neil, managing director, reveals how, despite a squeeze on consumer spending, Northern Ireland's love affair with the chippie continues unabated...

To fix current tax issues we must go back... to the future

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

There comes a point in life when one becomes convinced that they did things better in the old days.

Art and business can be more mutually beneficial

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Culture and creativity should not be seen as 'nice to have'; they deliver real change in business in a sustainable, effective, efficient, inspirational and cost-effective way. They are assets to business - a resource and a tool for developing knowledge and other intangible assets, which differentiate a business and provide a unique edge to the operation.

Sense of foreboding grows as the recession lingers on

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Half-a-dozen quarters on, the UK is still in recession. The 0.4% drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of this year left economists dumbfounded. Where were the green shoots? Why was recovery yet to materialise? Why had the efforts of policymakers - interest rate cuts, quantitative easing, big budget deficits, a drop in sterling - not paid off?

Tweeters, tweeters everywhere, but they lack direction

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

The problem with Twitter in Ireland is that there are too many tweets and tweeters. What's needed is a Twitter directory. Northern Ireland already has one... www.TweetNI.com. It's a simple, clear and effective site built by Lee Munroe (@leemunroe), which allows people to register, and be found.

Has Windows of opportunity shut for Microsoft?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

There has long been a degree of distrust on Microsoft's virtual monopoly of the operating space and critics are now predicting a backlash against Windows, driven by a number of factors. Both Apple and Linux are becoming far more popular than before, suddenly presenting Microsoft with credible competition in the space. However, the real threat right now is on how people are beginning to use their computers, moving from desktop based software to the use of 'Cloud' computing where software runs on remote servers.

Employee and employer both face same dispute confusion

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Neither employers nor employee representatives believe that laws on employees rights and offering dispute resolution mechanisms work as well as they should.

Company Snapshot: Patton Group Ltd

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

The Patton Group has been one of the fastest growing building companies based in Northern Ireland. In addition to local contracts, it now also has three subsidiary companies working in England and the Republic. Recently the group won the premier award in 2009 for Building Excellence in the competition organised by the Construction Employers Federation.

Taxes will rise and incomes fall: that is the grim reality

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

In the end, the most significant bit of the new Programme for Government between Fianna Fail and the Green Party could be the bit about helping people who cannot pay off their mortgages or other personal debts.

Martin's magic lands a fitting role in Potter film

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Despite difficult market conditions, Brett Martin, manufacturer of plastic products for the construction industry, is very confident about the future. Laurence Martin, managing director, explains the thinking that drives the Mallusk-based company.

Climate change could alter pensions forever

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Pensions are big news these days, whether it's political announcements that we are to work longer before we become eligible for the state pension or announcements of short falls amongst personal pension investments.

Not quite the same, but the 80s can still teach us a thing or two

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

No pain, no gain. That is the message coming from the Conservatives and, for that matter, from Labour too. The UK's public finances are in a parlous state. Spending is going to be slashed. Taxes are going to rise. And our political leaders, both current and those-in-waiting, are hoping that a dose of tough medicine now will form the foundations of the next recovery.