All change at ECB except the rates and breaking down your power bill

Christine Lagarde, not for the first time, stole the headlines with confirmation of the widely-leaked view that she will not see out her full term as head of the European Central Bank even as the ECB stayed true to its approach of avoiding any surprises on interest rates. We look at the challenges facing Europe’s central bank and profile the main contenders for her job.

Up to 3,000 jobs across Ireland could be at risk after the owner of the Dealz discount store chain filed notification in the UK of its intention to appoint an administrator to the company. Emmet Malone reports that staff at the company’s 71-strong chain of stores are likely to be impacted by the move.

Minister for Finance, Simon Harris “unequivocally” controls PTSB and has put the bank’s board “in a straitjacket”, a minority shareholder who is fighting to stop the bank’s acquisition by Austrian lender Bawag has told the High Court. Stephen Conneely was there.

Irish people pay more for their power than most other Europeans. But no matter how you weigh it, the actual electricity accounts for a far smaller share of your electricity bill than you think, writes Barry O’Halloran, who breaks down exactly where the money goes.

From a young age, Seán Donegan wanted to work in music. Now he leads Imro, the Irish Music Rights Organisation, which licenses the use of copyright music in Ireland and collects royalties on behalf of artists when their pieces are played or performed. He spoke to Killian Woods.

A US company has an option to buy a proposed €3 billion data centre being developed by an Irish group if planners approve the project in the face of stiff local opposition, it has emerged. Barry O’Halloran has the details.

Lagan Homes, the Dublin-based builder established in 2017 following the sale of Northern Irish building materials group, Lagan, in a £455 million (€527 million) deal, saw sales in its Irish residential building business rise close to €90 million last year, according to newly filed accounts. Killian Woods reports.

Shares in Google parent Alphabet tumbled 13 per cent on Thursday, wiping a record $500 billion (€443 billion) from its market value, after it confirmed it had burned through cash last quarter and revealed that “AI mode” searches were threatening profits at its core advertising business.

Is UK prime minister Andy Burnham laying a Brexit trap for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch or walking into one himself, asks Eoin Burke-Kennedy? Commentators are divided.

Non-compete clauses can give comfort that people are not just going to walk out the door and join or set up a rival using the intellectual property they have gained at the company, says Amy Bird, a partner in the employment team of law firm Clifford Chance. But their use has broadened significantly in recent years while the time periods they cover have extended to sometimes more than a year.

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