Tourism Ireland partners with Shannon Airport to grow German tourist numbers

Tourism Ireland has teamed up with Shannon Airport, to promote the new Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt and to grow German tourist numbers this summer.

The campaign, which gets under way this week, is highlighting Shannon Airport as the gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way.

Working closely with airlines and airports to build demand for flights is a key priority says Tourism Ireland.

This campaign will aim to reach almost 300,000 Germans – through over 200 ‘city light’ poster ads, as well as ads on info-screens in tube stations and S-Bahn (railway) stations, around the city of Frankfurt.

The campaign also includes email marketing to a database of 60,000 potential visitors, directly them to a specially created section on Ireland.com. Tourism Ireland is also highlighting the new flight from Frankfurt, and holidays along the Wild Atlantic Way, to its 287,000 Facebook fans.

Germany is the third-largest source of visitors for Ireland and our most important non-English-speaking market according to Tourism Ireland.

Zoë Redmond, Tourism Ireland’s Manager Central Europe, said: “We are delighted to partner with Shannon Airport, to highlight the new Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt and to help grow German tourist numbers this summer.

"This new service will certainly provide a welcome boost for tourism, expanding travel options for German holidaymakers wishing to visit the Wild Atlantic Way and the West of Ireland this summer."

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ITV sees fall in revenues as it grapples with 'uncertain' economic environment

Broadcasting giant ITV endured a fall in revenues at the start of the year and expects the TV advertising market to remain tough as it grapples with an "uncertain" economic environment.

The group, home to shows such as Britain's Got Talent, Broadchurch and The Voice, saw net advertising revenue drop 9% to £393 million in the first quarter, but said predictions for the full-year were unchanged.

Revenues also slipped 3% to £731 million over the period, as it braces itself for a rough ride in the coming months, with advertising income expected to drop by between 15% and 20% in June after last year's performance was boosted by the European Championships.

However, efforts to shift revenue streams away from the turbulent advertising market continue to bear fruit, with its ITV Studios production arm bolstering revenues by 7% to £343 million in the three months to the end of March this year.

The update comes as ITV remains on the hunt for a new top boss to replace outgoing chief executive Adam Crozier, who will leave the company on June 30.

Mr Crozier said: "ITV's overall performance and the shape of the UK advertising market are very much as we anticipated and our guidance for the full year remains unchanged.

"Over the first half we expect ITV Family NAR to be down 8% to 9%. In line with previous guidance April was up 5%, while we expect May to be down 8% and June to be down 15% to 20% against the tough comparator of the Euros last year.

"The first half performance will also be impacted by the weighting of the programme budget to the first six months and the phasing of Studios deliveries, most significantly the non-recurring benefit of The Voice of China in 2016.

"While the economic environment remains uncertain our guidance over the full year remains unchanged."

The chief executive's departure is part of a shake-up at ITV that will see chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette take on the role of executive chairman, while Ian Griffiths will become the combined chief operating officer and group finance director.

ITV said a long-term successor to the chief executive would be disclosed ''in due course''.

Updating on its first quarter performance, the broadcaster said its online, pay and interactive arm jumped 12% thanks to a 22% rise from online advertising.

George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Advertising makes up a sizeable chunk of ITV's top line and the clouds hanging over the economy mean ad budgets are being cut, which is weighing on the shares.

"However, if it were not for outgoing CEO Adam Crozier, one can't help but feel that the near 10% decline in the share price since Brexit would have been much worse.

"He has been instrumental in the transformation of ITV into a much more diverse and resilient business, with the growth of ITV's production houses meaning the group is nowhere near as dependent on volatile advertising budgets as it once was."

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TalkTalk shares plummet after investor payouts slashed

Shares in TalkTalk have plummeted after the broadband provider slashed investor payouts and warned over earnings as it embarks on an investment drive to attract more customers.

The group's stock sunk by as much as 17% after it cut this year's final dividend from 10.58p to 5p and flagged that full-year earnings in 2017-18 would come in lower, as it spends more money on marketing.

The FTSE 250 firm said next year's earnings would hit between £270 million and £300 million, while annual earnings for this year fell short of expectations despite growing by 17% to £304 million.

It came as the company's new bosses saw annual pre-tax profits jump to £70 million, up from £14 million last year, after suffering a hefty financial blow linked to a cyber attack two years ago.

Its customer base also returned to growth, expanding by 22,000 in the fourth quarter, while churn - the number of customers leaving the provider - dropped to 1.4% from 1.64% over the period.

Executive chairman Sir Charles Dunstone said his focus for the company was "growth, cash generation and profit - in that order".

He said: "We will be smart about how we invest, focusing on our fixed network, avoiding other capital intensive distractions.

"In light of these new priorities, we have also decided to reset the dividend as we look to deliver growth and strong sustainable shareholder returns over the long term."

Total revenue slipped 3% to £1.8 billion in the 12 months to the end of March this year, but the group said more than one million customers had signed up to new plans.

The results come as Tristia Harrison replaces Dido Harding as chief executive in a shake-up that has seen Sir Charles step up from chairman to executive chairman.

Ms Harrison said: "The last 12 months have seen the business lay down solid foundations from which to drive sustainable base and revenue growth in both our retail and B2B businesses."

Under Ms Harding's watch, TalkTalk was stung by a cyber attack in 2015, which saw the personal data of nearly 160,000 people accessed by hackers.

The debacle was branded a ''car crash'' by the then information commissioner Christopher Graham, who said it should send a warning shot to the industry.

The attack led to tens of thousands of customers deserting the firm and cost it £60 million.

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April sees rise in professional job vacancies

There has been an increase in professional job vacancies over the past month, according to the latest figures from Morgan McKinley Ireland.

There was a 7% month-to-month increase in professional job vacancies nationally in April, compared to March 2017.

Meanwhile, there was a 15% reduction in the number of professionals seeking new roles between March and April.

This research covers jobs in areas including, banking and financial services, commerce, law, HR, and customer services.

The unemployment rate is currently 6.2%.

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Microsoft to reveal plans for the future of Windows 10

Microsoft will lay out its plans for the future of Windows 10 when it holds its annual Build developer conference on Wednesday.

The technology giant is expected to unveil a new design for the Windows operating system as part of its next update to the PC and tablet software, which is due to be released in September.

It is believed the firm will also discuss its plans to challenge the Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers by creating devices alongside other manufacturers that contain Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana.

The first such speaker - called Invoke - which is being made by audio firm Harman Kardon, was unveiled earlier this week.

The annual conference is traditionally used by Microsoft to give developers an early opportunity to test new products ahead of their release to the public.

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The technology giant has said the event will be the chance to discuss the "latest new technologies and exciting plans on the horizon".

Reports also suggest the new streamlined version of Windows - Windows 10 S - will be discussed in more detail after it was announced last week.

The software is being targeted at the education sector and is due to be released later this year.

The event will feature a keynote speech from chief executive Satya Nadella, who is also likely to discuss Microsoft's plans for augmented and mixed reality, with a demonstration of the firm's HoloLens headset, which projects virtual images on the real world, expected to be part of the presentation.

However, reports ahead of the event suggest Microsoft will not use Build to unveil a new Surface Pro device, instead a separate event in China later this month has been marked as the likely time the firm will discuss it's popular laptop-tablet hybrid.

A new version of the device, with updated Intel processors and better battery life has been heavily rumoured online.

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Snapchat parent company set for big loss

Snapchat's parent company Snap Inc is expected to report a big loss when it reveals its first financial results on Wednesday.

The camera company behind the Snapchat photo messaging app listed on the US stock market for the first time in March and the company's value initially rose beyond €29.6bn when it began trading.

However, shares in the company have since dropped in value, partly due to pressure from rivals including Facebook and Instagram, and some analysts are now predicting the company could report a net loss of up to €1.78bn.

Snapchat has recently been challenged by Facebook and its family of apps - including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp - all of which have introduced features similar to those that have made Snapchat popular.

Investor confidence has also been hit by the news that Instagram Stories - the photo sharing app's own version of Snapchat's Story feature - has surpassed it in terms of daily active users.

Facebook revealed last month that Instagram Stories had 200 million daily users, while Snapchat has around 158 million.

On Tuesday, Snapchat announced it was updating another signature feature - time sensitive photo and video messages - to allow users to view them for as long as they wished, in a move seen by many as the first attempt to fight back against its rivals.

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German software firm SAP announces 150 jobs in Dublin and Galway

Up to 150 new jobs are to be created in Dublin and Galway at German software firm SAP.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of SAP opening in Ireland.

They currently employ almost 1,400 people in Dublin and 500 at their site in Galway.

SAP has offices in both Dublin and Galway, the company is currently undergoing a process of streamlining its programmes and moving more operations to 'the cloud'.

It also announced details of its 'SAP Digital Boardroom' approach today.

It aims to simplify "performance reporting across all areas of business in real time," for its customers, "giving users unprecedented oversight of operations and enabling them to conduct business successfully in today’s digital economy."

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Ireland has chance to be world leader for 'virtual reality' and 'augmented reality' tech

Ireland has a chance to be a world leader in developing a hub for 'virtual reality' and 'augmented reality' technologies.

One of the country's leading authorities says these sectors are about to explode with applications for online gaming as well as practical applications in the workplace.

Britain is currently the main market for the EU, but speaking ahead of an AR/VR convention at the RDS on Thursday, Alex Gibson from the Dublin Institute of Technology says there is a €99bn opportunity for Ireland after Brexit.

"Being an English-speaking country is a huge advantage but I think also the fact that we already have here in Ireland significant presence - like some of the companies that are really going to be driving this sector in the hardware area, for example, companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and Apple - so we have the infrastructure in terms of technology and companies,"

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Ireland is fastest growing economy in Europe once again

Ireland is once again Europe's fastest growing economy.

GDP growth rate is at 5% for 2017.

Consumer spending is to accelerate to 3.4% and house price inflation is up to 10% for this year.

Author of the report Conall MacCoille of Davy Research says Brexit is still putting Ireland at risk.

"That danger of a cliff-edge Brexit where WTO tariffs will be imposed is certainly still there.

"That would hit the economy in 2019 and that could lead to effectively, flat-growth or in a worse case scenario a recession," he said.

In summary key take outs of Davy’s revised forecasts for the Irish economy include:
· Irish GDP forecast - to grow by 5% (up from prior 3.7% forecast) in 2017 and by 3.8% in 2018.
· That would likely make Ireland Europe’s fastest growing economy again this year.
· Davy’s base case on Brexit is that a transitional Brexit deal will be agreed to avoid the worst case scenario of a hard Brexit and WTO tariffs - though clearly that risk remains, with very real consequences for agri, for SMEs and indigenous manufacturers, most likely in 2019.
· They see consumer spending accelerating to 3.4% growth in 2017 (up from prior 3.0% forecast).
· House price inflation for FY 2017 of 10% (up from Davy’s prior 8% view at the start of the year).
· Employment to expand by 2.8% in 2017 and 2.3% in 2018, sufficient to push the unemployment rate to 5.3% on average next year..
· Underlying investment should remain robust, up 8.4% in 2017.
· Government expenditure predicated to rise by 2.6% in real terms in 2017.
· Export growth to pick up from 2.4% in 2016 to 4.5% in 2017 and 4.4% in 2018.

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Facebook adverts aim to help users spot fake news

Facebook has printed adverts containing tips on how to spot fake news.

The adverts appeared in national newspapers and advise Facebook users to “be sceptical of headlines” and check other reports on the same subject before believing a story.

Facebook claims it has already removed “thousands” of fake accounts in the UK following a new drive to identify and shut down such content.

(Facebook/PA)

However, a recent Press Association investigation found fake news stories linked to Lord Sugar and Professor Stephen Hawking still appeared on the site.

Simon Milner, the tech firm’s director of policy in the UK, said: “People want to see accurate information on Facebook and so do we.

“That is why we are doing everything we can to tackle the problem of false news.

“We have developed new ways to identify and remove fake accounts that might be spreading false news so that we get to the root of the problem.”

(Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Last week, the Home Affairs Select Committee called Facebook and other social media sites “completely irresponsible” in their handling of fake news and other extreme content on their platforms.

In response, Milner said Facebook was working with fact-checking organisations to analyse content around the General Election.

“To help people spot false news we are showing tips to everyone on Facebook on how to identify if something they see is false,” he said.

“We can’t solve this problem alone so we are supporting third party fact checkers during the election in their work with news organisations, so they can independently assess facts and stories.”

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP/PA)

The new adverts are an extension of the online notice that first appeared on the news feeds of Facebook users last month.

That came after founder Mark Zuckerberg was forced to defend the site after the US election amid claims fake news stories in support of Donald Trump could have aided his victory.

The site has said it is committed to an approach that disrupts the economic incentives around fake news and builds tools that “help people make more informed decisions”.

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Most want local pharmacy to offer more services - survey

More than 96% of the public would like to see their local pharmacy offer more services according to a new survey.

The findings come from a representative nationwide survey of 1,014 adults conducted by the Behaviour and Attitudes research company from March 13 to April 5 this year. The survey was launched at the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) conference today.

Nearly two thirds of respondents (62%) said they "sometimes rely on a pharmacist’s advice rather than visiting the GP", while 60% are "more likely to talk to a pharmacist first before visiting a GP".

The Irish Pharmacy Union is raising concerns over the level of red tape involved in pharmacists' day-to-day jobs, and says it is becoming more difficult to attract people into the profession.

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British Airways owner plots low-cost expansion as it hits record first quarter profit

the boss of British Airways and Iberia owner IAG Willie Walsh has said he is already plotting the expansion of his company’s low-cost long-haul airline Level just two months after it launched.

The Barcelona-based airline was unveiled in March and will begin with flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic in June, but Mr Walsh said better-than-expected bookings so far meant expansion plans were well under way.

“We have had great interest right across Europe in terms of airports approaching us and wanting us to provide services there,” Mr Walsh said.

“We have taken the decision to increase the fleet, which means we will be flying with four or five aircraft and we are considering which countries to move to.”

At present, the airline has two aircraft operated by Iberia’s crew.

He said the company would announce one new major route in the “very near future”.

Mr Walsh was speaking as International Airlines Group, which also owns Aer Lingus, beat expectations to post record operating profits in its traditionally weak first quarter.

The group made €170m (£144m) in operating profit for the three months to March 31, up from €155m for the same period in 2016.

The results were buoyed by an almost 11pc drop in fuel costs. However, revenue fell nearly 3pc to €4.9bn. IAG said that this was a result of the late timing of Easter this year and the fall in the value of sterling, which has deterred some British travellers from heading overseas.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways owner IAG, has said investments made to attract premium customers have worked

Mr Walsh said growth in what the company calls ‘premium’ passengers - usually business customers or leisure travellers who opt not to travel economy - had played an important part with such traffic rising as much as 20pc on Aer Lingus in the period.

The chief executive said his company had invested significantly in both the Irish carrier’s and Iberia’s trans-Atlantic offering, which make up a significant portion of premium seats.

At the same time, IAG has reduced capacity on its more established low-cost carrier Vueling. Mr Walsh said growth rates would pick up in 2018.

On the subject of the troubled Italian airline Alitalia, which entered administration earlier this week, Mr Walsh he was “not at all interested” in buying the company.

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Pakistan, China sign agreement for combined-cycle power plant

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's state owned National Power Parks Management Company (NPPMCL) signed a 12-year Operations and Maintenance (O&M) agreement with China’s state-owned company SEPCOIII for its 1,230 MW Haveli Bahadur Shah Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Lahore on May 4th, 2017, said a statement.

CEO NPPMCL Rashid Mahmood and Vice President SEPCOIII Mr. Shi Huaiwei signed the agreement having a reference value of US$ 148 million over 12 years.

With this O&M agreement, NPPMCL has managed to save the consumer Rs. 0.20/kWh from the Rs. 0.52/kWh O&M costs allowed by the regulator. This fee structure is estimated to result in direct savings of at least Rs. 23 billion over 12 years.

Under the agreement, SEPCOIII shall have end-to-end responsibility for the operations and maintenance of the Haveli Power Plant for at least 12 years or its second Major Inspection (MI), whichever is later.

"SEPCOIII shall deploy human resource and be responsible for any repair or replacement of functional parts at the plant to maintain plant availability at 92%. The O&M agreement includes robust liquidated damages (LD) contractual safeguards to ensure performance against guaranteed efficiency and availability values," the statement noted.

SEPCOIII was selected through an open and transparent bidding process that attracted bids from eight companies from around the globe, it noted.

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Housing shortage: More approved mortgages than new houses for sale

There are more people approved for mortgages than there will be new houses for them to buy.

Around 20,000 first time buyers have been cleared for a mortgage this year - but only half of this number of new homes are for sale.

€2bn in mortgages got the go ahead in the first three months of the year, almost double the amount for the same time last year.

The average approval amount was €214,400 in March, up 9% on last year.

It is reported that this house shortage could push up prices by as much as 10%.

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Passenger numbers up 6% at Cork Airport

New figures from Cork Airport have revealed that passenger numbers were up 6% last month.

Despite a lower number of flights through Cork Airport in the month, passenger numbers continue to rise on existing routes and overall passenger numbers are up 2% compared to the same period last year.

Managing director at Cork Airport, Niall MacCarthy said: “We are very pleased with our passenger numbers so far this year and I expect Passenger growth to continue and excel once our peak season starts in earnest this month with a very busy summer period ahead for Cork Airport.

“With inaugural flights to several new destinations such as Newquay, Zurich, Reykjavik this month and direct transatlantic services to Boston/Providence starting in July, we can look forward to continued positive growth in both existing markets as well as new traffic from these regions also.”

All regions were in growth during April, with passengers traveling to Continental Europe up 8% and passengers travelling to the UK up 5%.

Of the UK growth, flights to London accounted for 41% of traffic in the month.

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Plunge in new car sales blamed on vehicle tax changes

Registrations fell by 19.8% following bumper sales in the previous month but sales are still ahead of 2016 for the year to date.

New car sales plunged by a fifth in April compared to the same month last year, industry figures show.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said new car registrations slumped by 19.8% to 152,076.

It said the "significant decline" came after motorists brought forward purchases to March - when there had been an "exceptional performance" - to avoid new vehicle excise duty (VED) rates which came into force on 1 April.

The worst fall was among private motorists, where sales volumes dropped by 28.4%, while demand from businesses and large fleets was also down.

However, the SMMT said the overall new car market remained strong for the year-to-date, with new registrations in the first four months of 2017 1.1% ahead of last year at 972,092, the highest level on record.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "With the rush to register new cars and avoid VED tax rises before the end of March, as well as fewer selling days due to the later Easter, April was always going to be much slower."

He said demand was expected to stabilise over the year "as the turbulence created by these tax changes decreases".

The SMMT has already warned that 2017 is expected to see a sales decline as price rises feed through, after a record number of new vehicles left showrooms in 2016.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist, said the figures suggested March sales boom could have been a "last hurrah" for the market - even allowing for the distortion in the figures caused by tax changes.

He said: "The extent of April's drop reinforces belief that the car sector is going to find life ever more challenging in the UK over the coming months.

"Consumers' purchasing power is now being squeezed markedly by higher inflation and muted wage growth and it is likely that the squeeze will become tighter still."

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British economy expected to show recovery as services sector output hits four-month peak

The UK economy is expected to have picked up from a sharp slump at the beginning of the year after output in Britain's powerhouse services sector surged to a four-month high in April.

The closely-watched Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index (PMI) reached 55.8 last month up from 55.0 in March and above economists' forecasts of 54.4.

A reading above 50 indicates growth.

The jump in services activity was underpinned by the fastest growth in new work this year, driven by robust business-to-business demand, new product launches and rising sales abroad.

The result delivers a hat-trick of good news for the UK economy after separate PMI figures earlier this week showed manufacturing output reached a three-year high in April and the construction sector rebounded to record its fastest growth this year.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said the three surveys point to UK gross domestic product (GDP) growing at 0.6% at the beginning of the second quarter after GDP slumped to 0.3% in the first quarter of this year.

"While we expect consumer spending to slacken in coming months, with the April survey highlighting continued weakness in sectors such as hotels, restaurants and other household-facing businesses, there's good reason to believe that at least 0.4% GDP growth can be achieved in the second quarter as a whole.

He added: "The strengthening of growth and the upturn in prices will bolster calls for higher interest rates.

"But weak growth in the consumer sector remains a concern, and is something which could intensify in coming months as consumer prices rise further."

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HSBC pre-tax profit rises 12%

HSBC has said its quarterly pre-tax profits rose 12% as improved trading and rising interest rates helped support the London-based global bank's businesses.

The bank said on Thursday that profit for the first three months of the year, adjusted for one-time items and currency fluctuations, came in at $5.9bn compared with $5.3bn a year ago.

Adjusted revenue edged 2% higher to $12.8bn.

The results came after the bank reported earlier this year that its 2016 net profit tumbled by more than 80%.

HSBC is Europe's biggest bank, but the bulk of its earnings come from Asia.

It is in the middle of a sweeping revamp aimed at improving profitability.

The banking giant is shedding tens of thousands of workers and leaving some markets to focus even more on Asia.

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Facebook to hire 3,000 extra staff to review videos of crime and suicides

Facebook has announced it will hire another 3,000 people to review videos of crime and suicides following murders shown live on the social network.

The company already has 4,500 people working on such reviews.

The announcement came from chief executive Mark Zuckerberg in a blog post on Wednesday.

Facebook has been criticised recently for not doing enough to prevent videos - such as a murder in Cleveland and the killing of a baby in Thailand - from spreading on its service.

Videos and posts that glorify violence are against Facebook's terms of service.

However, in most cases, users have to report them to the company for them to be reviewed and possibly removed.

Mark Zuckerberg____said about this..

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Exchequer Returns shows income tax take for first four months of year is 3% lower than expected

The State's income tax take for the first four months of the year is 3% lower than expected.

The latest Exchequer Returns show tax receipts of €14.1bn for January to April - around a third of a billion euro lower than planned.

Income tax has a shortfall of nearly €200m, while corporation tax has also come in much lower than planned so far.

The shortfall comes despite the CSO reporting earlier that the unemployment rate has fallen yet again, to 6.2%.

In all, the State ran a deficit of €2.5bn between January and April, but the Department of Finance says the underlying position is better than last year.

Peter Vale, tax partner at Grant Thornton, said: "The exchequer figures for April continue the recent trend of slightly disappointing numbers.

"Income tax receipts continue to remain relatively flat compared with the prior year, despite strong economic growth and robust employment figures.

"In contrast with the stagnant income tax numbers, VAT receipts for the year to date are strong, up 14.5% compared with 2016.

"Corporation tax receipts continue to be a cause of some concern, with the figures significantly behind both forecast figures and the 2016 equivalent, with no obvious explanation for the shortfall," he said.

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