Out of Office: A very British sexting scandal

Welcome to the Business Post’s Out of Office, your round-up of the day’s business, tech, markets, legal and politics news.

Our best performing story of the day came from the UK’s corridors of power, where a honeypot sexting scandal has everyone talking. In his Letter from London, Dominic McGrath explained how the curious case of a flurry of provocative WhatsApp messages kept tongues wagging throughout the traditional Easter political break.

Just a few miles north up the River Thames, a scathing review sent shockwaves through the Bank of England. It found that the regulator’s forecasting models were not fit for purpose and needed to be urgently overhauled. Andrew Bailey, the bank’s governor, insisted the review was not about "blame". You can also read our explainer from Thursday here.

Closer to home, The Land Development Agency and Dublin City Council announced plans to build almost 400 apartments in blocks of up to nine storeys close to the Blackhorse stop on the Luas red line near Ballyfermot.

The finance minister said Ireland does not support proposals for common EU borrowing to fund more defence spending.

In tech, a study from IDA Ireland found that generative artificial intelligence technology will boost worker productivity and enhance Ireland’s competitiveness on the world stage.

And in case you missed it, Eoin O’Hare examined whether a landmark Supreme Court’s injury cost ruling would pave the way for much-needed premium cuts.

Thanks for reading.

News in brief

* Prime Arklow farmland, two houses and 65 acres zoned residential to go under the hammer this month

* Apple plans to overhaul entire Mac line with AI-focused chips

* Airbus could take over Spirit Aerosystems factory in Belfast, chief executive says

* Economic instability to dominate money ministers’ talks with IMF and World Bank

* Events firm Avcom teams up with Croke Park in €7.5m deal

What BusinessPost.ie subscribers are reading

* A long, and costly, battle between Ires Reit and activist Vision Capital has been fruitful in creating shareholder value, according to Jeffrey Olin, the latter’s chief executive.

* Amazon ‘interested’ in operating contentious €1.2bn Clare data centre

* Supreme Court upholds block on plans for 1,600 apartments in Drumcondra

* Strong Roots eyes global expansion as McCain acquires remaining 60 per cent stake

* Provisional liquidator appointed over cash-for-visa funded nursing home firm