Lorcan Allen | Business Post

Lorcan Allen

@lorcan-allen

Lorcan Allen is Business Editor at the Business Post

Against the grain: How Russia’s war in Ukraine is threatening the world’s food supply

Already a humanitarian disaster on the ground, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is now looking increasingly likely to trigger a global food shortage over the coming months, with supply chains broken and potential shipping routes for grain cut off. With no end to the conflict in sight, the implications for numerous countries are potentially devastating

Planned counselling clause for new IVF legislation is ‘discriminatory and unfair’

Head of leading fertility clinic says people should not be forced to see a counsellor in order to access the service

Major new economic summit planned for Mayo

More than 300 global leaders, key decision-makers, thought leaders and heads of industry will be invited to the annual event in Ballina

Consumer giants say global food crisis likely by end of the year

Chief executives warn that with price rises and serious shortages, over a billion people are ‘highly vulnerable’ to food security issues as a result of the war in Ukraine

Shipping and freight costs set to stay high, warns Maersk boss

Vincent Clerc of the Danish shipping giant said he expects international rates to remain at least 25 per cent higher from now on

Climate & Environment

War and inflation will threaten climate targets — Coca Cola chief executive

Challenges facing the world economy will put further pressure on global climate action, according to James Quincey

US drinks giant to buy Lough Gill Distillery for €70m

Sazerac plans to expand production and complete restoration of the 300-year-old Hazelwood House

Revealed: New British protocol law to remove all customs checks

Boris Johnson’s government is expected to publish the new piece of legislation tomorrow, while a spokesman for Simon Coveney, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, says that ‘breaking international law would be a retrograde step for the UK’

OFX seeks fivefold growth as it relocates EU hub to Dublin

Financial services firm secures e-money licence from Central Bank of Ireland after Brexit drives decision to move out of London

Nama says construction inflation ‘a real challenge’ in plan to deliver 1,800 homes by 2025

Agency’s chief executive says 600 homes will be completed this year despite the increase in costs for building materials

Milk production to decline by 1% in 2022

Irish dairy farmers, grappling with increases in the cost of energy, fertiliser and animal feed, are reducing their cattle numbers

Half of listed Irish firms have sustainability officer, nearly double global average – study

Ireland’s appointment rate is ahead of global average with senior executives hired to drive green agenda

Ireland is ‘firefighting’ energy crisis of own making, Statkraft boss says

Statkraft Ireland’s managing director Kevin O’Donovan says the national grid operator must move quickly to prevent high energy prices becoming ‘baked into’ the system

Cargo volumes almost back to record levels of 2019, Dublin Port boss says

Eamonn O’Reilly said that cargo volumes are now just 1.7 per cent behind the landmark 38 million tons which passed through the port three years ago

Northern Ireland

Why some business reality is badly needed on what Brexit means for firms in the North

Companies in Northern Ireland, including those in the €2.4 billion aerospace industry, are determined to make the new trading regime work but they face significant challenges

Nama reports a slight fall in profits for 2021 to €262m

The state agency said it now expects to return almost €5bn in surplus cash and dividend payments to the exchequer over its lifetime

ECB to raise interest rates for the first time in a decade

The European Central Bank has said it will continue to raise interest rates this year, stating that it expects to next do so again in September

OFX to move its European HQ from London to Dublin

Australian money transfer and foreign exchange firm said it will create 15 jobs in the process with more likely to be added in the years ahead

Kingspan to invest €200m in new technology campus in Ukraine

The Cavan-based multinational company has said it will begin construction this year of a new building technology campus in Ukraine that will be completed by 2027

Open Orphan swings to profit for the first time after ‘milestone year’ for the firm

Revenue at the pharmaceutical services company increased almost 80 per cent last year after it secured a number of large contracts