Top Stories

The ‘deeply nerdy’ founders behind Nvidia’s $13 billion bet on hugging face

The startup began as an emoji-named app for teens before becoming a crusader for open-source AI, write Sam Schechner and Robbie Whelan, The Wall Street Journal.

How Anna Wintour’s quest to salvage John Galliano’s legacy was thwarted

An exhibit honoring the controversial designer was set to take place at the Met until politicians and donors expressed dissent, write Chavie Lieber, Anna Silman and Kelly Crow, The Wall Street Journal.

Spirit Airlines collapsed over a year ago. AerCap is still looking for its spare parts back

The Irish lessor is butting heads with Honeywell over who owns an expensive piece of aircraft kit and says a raft of other parts have yet to be returned by the bankrupt airline.

Dialog case against Powerscourt Hotel to be heard before Commercial Court

Justice Eileen Roberts said the case between the five-star Co Wicklow hotel and the group founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel could proceed to the court during a hearing on Wednesday.

The island paradise that is a secret hub for Russian sanctions evasion

The Maldives has become a pipeline for hundreds of millions of dollars in Western goods heading to Moscow, write Noemie Bisserbe and Thomas Grove, The Wall Street Journal.

“Continuous strain”: Courts Service at resource and staffing breaking point

Striking solicitors are not the only ones complaining about funding for the courts. Released files shows the agency's CEO recently warned the incoming secretary general in justice of staff shortages and budget gaps stalling judicial and technological reforms.

The €2bn Belfast family business keeping its Irish tax and profit figures under wraps

W&R Barnett is one of the largest privately held agribusinesses in the UK and Ireland – and the first to avail of an exemption from new EU financial transparency obligations.

Inside Trump’s plan to give the Pentagon a stake in Venezuela’s oil riches

The deal caps months of secretive negotiations to give the U.S. rights to the some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, write Vera Bergengruen, Drew FitzGerald, Collin Eaton, and Juan Forero, The Wall Street Journal.

Top Voices

Peter Kinsella: Talk thirty to me – part deux

The trend towards higher long-end bond yields is confirmed. There are few winners in this game – apart from banks.

Stockholm meets London: Ireland’s investment account could have the best of both worlds – if the final figures are right

The Department of Finance appears to have been influenced by both Sweden's ISK and the UK’s ISA in developing Ireland's new tax-incentivised accounts. But all of the critical information required to determine their worthiness remains under wraps – for now.

Paul McArdle: The Irish start-up betting that AI can reinvent the CRM

Ahoy founders Kevin Bluett and Monique Eisenach left HubSpot to build software that does more than record what businesses do — it helps them get things done.

The budget Kabuki must end: Rewinding the week that was

The real budget problem is not what happens on budget day – it is the lack of discipline that follows it.

How Irish farming transformed the Saudi desert into a dairy empire

It is 50 years since Masstock starting building a vast dairy operation in Saudi Arabia. Co-founder Alastair McGuckian, who celebrated his 90th birthday this week, reflects on a lifetime bringing Irish farming expertise to the world.

Stewardship or subsidies? Why the State should means-test corporate green grants

The State is using public money to de-risk major climate and energy projects of big business. But is it subsidising those with the capital to act alone at the expense of homeowners and SMEs navigating the green transition?

John Looby: Ignore the noise – there is little new in finance

New technology, new personalities and new financial instruments can create the illusion of change. But beneath the surface, finance remains driven by the same old forces — and the same old mistakes.

Stuart Fitzgerald: Lessons from Brexit Britain show in economic data from both sides of the Irish Sea

Ireland may not have any intergalactic space warriors, but it still has growth.