Donal O'Donovan

Created with Sketch. The gender pay gap at Mediahuis Ireland, the publisher of the Irish Independent , has continued to narrow, but women are still paid 19.45pc less on average than men.

Niall McEvoy from Elkstone (centre) with LaNua co-founders Tom Fitzmaurice (left) and Dr Cormac Farrelly. Photo: Naoise Culhane

Kerry man Bernard Looney, who resigned as chief executive of BP last year, has landed a new role as director of the United Arab Emirates’ new energy investment company.

Colin Hunt says he has no firm views on whether the State should keep a stake in AIB, the bank he’s led for the past six years, but he wonders whether taxpayers might have more pressing needs for the money.

Irish exports to the US have surged 30pc in the past year, copper-fastening its status as our single biggest market but also the vulnerability to a potential tariff regime when Donald Trump resumes power next month.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined Facebook owner Meta €251m after concluding an investigation into a 2018 data breach that exposed millions of user accounts.

Corporate bosses believe Donald Trump’s re-election as US president will turbo-charge their businesses even as political leaders around the world fear the impact of his anti-free trade policies.

Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf has responsibility for consumer and investor protection. Photo: Steve Humphreys

WTech Fire Group has made a 10th acquisition in three years, buying Cork-based Safety Tech Fire. The deal is understood to value the business at around €5m.