Why it's essential for us to close our digital skills gap 

When the CBI released the results of a survey this month which showed two thirds of leading companies across the UK are struggling to fill digital roles, unfortunately it did not surprise me.

Co-working boom will attract more businesses to city 

Despite reports of Northern Ireland's sluggish economic growth (not to mention concerns about the potential impact of Brexit), there are still a number of encouraging developments taking place within Belfast.

Economy Watch: Focusing on quality of jobs might help inactivity problem 

In recent times the Northern Ireland labour market has been performing strongly. This is evidenced by continued and sustained increases in the rate of employment and decreases in the rate of both unemployment and economic inactivity in the decade since the economic crisis.

View from Dublin: Still in the eye of a storm of a no-deal Brexit 

Trouble is brewing with Brexit - real trouble. The Revenue Commissioners know it. That is why they have gone ahead and appointed 500 new staff for new customs duties, despite the March Brexit deadline being missed.

John Simpson: Republic's economic risks can also impact on us in Northern Ireland 

Each year the Republic's government publishes a well-researched Draft National Risk Assessment, bringing together a wide-ranging assessment of the threats to the Irish economy. There is little surprise that top of the geopolitical risks the Irish government lists are the consequences of the departure of the UK from the EU. This is followed by a section highlighting the risks of (economic) instability in Northern Ireland.

Company Report: Bemis Healthcare 

Bemis Healthcare Packaging has been operating in Campsie since about 1984. It is a subsidiary of Bemis Co Inc in Neenah, US. The Northern Ireland company also consolidates the performance of a wholly-owned subsidiary in Malaysia -Bemis Asia Pacific.

View from Dublin: we mustn't throw away foreign investment 

Foreign direct investment into Ireland is roaring ahead. The headline figures from the latest EY European Attractiveness Survey show just what a great run Ireland is on.

John Simpson: Why the Glider needs even more investment to work 

Each weekday, a typical urban area commuter spends an average of nearly an hour moving from home to workplace or school and back again. Northern Ireland is not the worst place to live when taking account of travel times and frustration but we are far from the best. The local travel scene in the larger urban centres is becoming slower and/or more congested.

John Simpson: No easy answers when it comes to tackling poverty 

The Stormont Executive supplements local social security spending to mitigate the impact of tight UK limits on spending to alleviate poverty and low living standards. The need for local adaptations has been supported by Northern Ireland ministers. This raises questions about the scale of need and also whether it is a UK problem or should appropriately be tackled as a devolved question.

View from Dublin: takeover could usher in a new era for INM 

The speed with which Belgian newspaper publisher Mediahuis moved to nail down its proposed takeover of Independent News & Media (publisher of this newspaper) took some by surprise. It was all over before breakfast.

The importance of connectivity can't be overstressed 

Belfast is just one of six UK cities to rank on the prestigious Mercer global Quality of Living City list, having recently moved up four places to 64th, ahead of Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Dubai.

Esmond Birnie: Bombardier move means turbulent times lie ahead but it's not all doom for Belfast workforce 

Many people may feel the recent Bombardier experience in Northern Ireland has been death by a thousand cuts. First, redundancies, then the sale of control of the C Series to Airbus, and now Bombardier's announcement that it wants to sell its operations.

Glyn Roberts: It's time the economy was right to the fore in local government 

Tomorrow, voters in Northern Ireland will head for the polls to elect the next generation of local councillors. Given that NI's Assembly remains in a state of deep-freeze, these elections deserve a great deal more attention and scrutiny than they have done in the past.

Both Northern Ireland universities would quibble over funding levels 

Northern Ireland is home to two large ambitious universities - Queen's and Ulster. They are a major asset making an important contribution to the quality of our society.

View from Dublin: is fear of inflation holding back real growth? 

The world's central banks have spent much of the past 30 years telling us that inflation was bad and that they would not sacrifice their credibility by allowing the beast they had slain to come back to life.

Economy Watch: There’s many things Northern Ireland can do to improve our happiness levels 

For some years now, Northern Ireland has come out on top of the UK's happiness league table, with people here reporting higher degrees of happiness than people in England, Scotland and Wales.

Naomi Gaston: How finance is embracing green values 

Australian online lender UBank recently announced the launch of a direct customer 'green term deposit'. This product is focused on more environmentally aware younger customers and is marketed as allowing depositors the chance to make a positive impact on the environment.

John Simpson: No gain in farmers crying after milk has been spilt 

Farmers are now realising that Brexit will mean the Irish border will become an important new awkward dimension in planning farming businesses. Farmers and their business markets already know how to cope with currency differences which were part of the EU market arrangements.

Northern Ireland economy still hasn't recovered to pre-crash levels 

By any measure, we are a decade into the recovery that followed the great financial crash. Every month there is a release of statistics pertaining to economic output, the labour market or exports. Every month we tend to look at these numbers over the last 10 years and ask ourselves the question - are we there yet?

View from Dublin: What Jonathan Swift would say about Brexit 

Were he still around, Jonathan Swift would surely be furious that he has been left so much out of the Brexit debate. As well as being easily offended, he was a mighty warrior when it came to matters of trade.

Economy Watch: Belfast in constant challenge to retain its competitiveness 

As a society we seem to have an insatiable appetite to know where things rank, be it with school league tables, hospital performance tables, best place to live tables, business performance rankings or football leagues.

John Simpson: Expect negative results if no deal reached on Brexit 

In the next three to five years, Brexit is expected (if there is no agreed postponement) to have unwelcome effects on the Northern Ireland economy. That conclusion is neither a surprise nor unexpected. The many strands of professional assessments point to immediate challenges.

Brendan Keenan: Republic's relationship with Northern Ireland and vice versa will require attention 

Journalism, according to a well-known saying, is the first draft of history. My own experience leads me to think that the second draft, in the equally well-known words of Henry Ford, is usually bunk. It took a centenary to get what looked like a polished draft of the events of 1916.

Company Report: N.I.I.B Group Ltd 

The NIIB group is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ireland which is registered in Northern Ireland. The business provides instalment credit as hire purchase or loans, leasing finance and term loans for consumer and commercial customers.

View from Dublin: Brexit brings concerns about workers to fore 

The focus of much of the Brexit chatter in business circles unfortunately continues to centre on uncertainty. One leading business figure told me last week that the various outcomes of Brexit could have wildly differing implications for his business, swinging from demand that his business would be unable to cope with, to logistical problems which could choke key parts of his company's operations.

Case of teacher gives guidance on suspending staff 

The question whether an employer should suspend an employee can unfortunately arise in any workplace, whether it is a small business, charity or public sector organisation. In a recent case heard in England - The Mayor & Burgesses of The London Borough of Lambeth and Simone Agoreyo - much needed guidance was provided to aid employers with this occasionally difficult issue.

Neil Gibson: Disconnect between public and politics is a worry during this time 

Given the publication date of this article, it seems unthinkable that this column should not be about Brexit, and yet it is hard to add much economic insight to the debate - most of what economists can contribute has already been published and discussed.

View from Dublin: Why Brexit is far from the only worry we have 

Your columnist spends a lot of time at speaking at conferences and presenting to smaller groups on economics, policy and political matters. Often the most interesting events take place in corporate suites. Interacting with executives at the business coal face is always informative.

John Simpson: Puzzle of predicting Brexit impact remains unsolved 

The headlines have been carrying a worrying message: Northern Ireland will be the region hit hardest by Brexit. That conclusion merits a careful look at precisely what has been said. Is there evidence on which the conclusion can reasonably be based? Has the statement been based on clear assumptions about the circumstances affecting the conclusions?

Company Report: Heatons (NI) 

Heatons (N.I.) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Irish registered Heatons Unlimited Company. In turn, this is a subsidiary of Warrnambool Unlimited Company. Since 2015, the smallest and largest group into which the results are consolidated is headed by Sports Direct International plc in England.

Dan O'Brien: Risk of a no-deal Brexit not going away but we shouldn't dismiss tariff proposal 

Plans by the British Government for trade in the event of a no-deal exit involved a commitment not to change anything on the northern side of the border on this island for one year, and the announcement of new taxes (or 'tariffs' in the jargon on international trade) on some goods entering the island of Britain from Ireland and the rest of the EU.

View from Dublin: Brexit has put the brakes on Irish economy 

The past week saw a slew of data published on the Irish economy. The figures, when taken in the round, show an economy that is still growing.

Margaret Canning: Now we know how much worse things could really get 

The call from businesses in Northern Ireland since the vote to leave the EU referendum has been for an end to uncertainty.

John Simpson: Whatever the mechanisms, it's clear the border is back 

The case for a deferment of Article 50 of the EU withdrawal process is now unavoidable. Never in the lifetime of today's population has the UK Government been so rudderless. What is the majority opinion of Parliament and why is Brexit proving so difficult?

What next for corporation tax reduction debate in Northern Ireland? 

What has happened to the popular proposals for Northern Ireland to introduce a regionally differentiated and lower rate of corporation tax? The issue seems to have disappeared from the political agenda and, possibly, the planning of Invest NI and senior civil servants.

Don't fear AI as it's here to stay right now 

The chances are you are already using Artificial Intelligence in your daily life, whether you know it or not. Of course, you might not categorise lifestyle services like Amazon, Netflix and Spotify as AI, but it is powerful AI that enables them to track your film preferences, past purchases and musical tastes and offers you remarkably accurate recommendations of other things you might like.

A culture of diversity is right for business 

With a quarter of all jobs (direct and supported) created through manufacturing, a GVA representing nearly a third of the economy, the importance of the sector to our regional economy is difficult to overstate.

With no-deal Brexit we'd be moving house with no place to go 

There has been a steady stream of negative news of late about consumer spending and consumer confidence. The latest car sales figures for Northern Ireland reveal that last month was the quietest for car showrooms in eight years.

Company Report: Devenish 

Devenish (NI) is a Northern Ireland registered company with a range of subsidiary companies involving several important international activities. The group is heavily committed to research and development activities (R&D) that are adding to the commercial value of its nutrition animal feed products.

Northern Ireland budget brings modest or even negligible increases 

Secretary of State Karen Bradley has tabled a large part of the budget for the public services in Northern Ireland for the year 2019-20.

High-value commercial and private equity deals continue at Belfast law firm Tughans 

Law firm Tughans is set for another busy year, judging by the high-profile and high-value deals the Belfast commercial law firm has been behind in the last 12 months.

View from Dublin: highs for Aer Lingus and tycoon John Teeling 

It seems that no matter what you do, Brexit gets in the way of everything. Take Aer Lingus parent IAG, whose shares started the week of its full-year 2018 results at 650p. News then emerged its new share structure to deal with EU ownership rules after Brexit will see it drop out of some global stock indices. This dragged the shares all the way down to 595p by last Wednesday.

Jordan Buchanan: Northern Ireland jobs market in a state of flux but it's not all Brexit doom and gloom 

The labour market continues to defy expectations, at least judging by the upbeat official data with the employment rate at an all-time high. However, there appears to be a growing disconnect between encouraging official data and concerning gloomy job announcements.

John Simpson: Why UK going ahead with a cliff edge Brexit is reckless 

Is Brexit postponement inevitable and necessary? The end of preparation for Brexit is just days away. Unless there is an unexpected extension of the Article 50 timetable, on March 30 life will change. The detail of the changes is, even now, not generally understood. Will I still be allowed to drive my car to Donegal or Dublin? Will I need the international 'green' card? Will the Irish border be frictionless or a point of fiscal friction?

Yes, automation can destroy jobs... but it can also create them 

In recent years, we have become accustomed to seeing doomsday headlines predicting the rise of the robots and the end of work as we know it.

View from Dublin: testing times lie ahead for Irish dairy industry 

With the UK's scheduled exit date from the EU looming, the real difficulties a hard Brexit would deliver for the Irish food industry have begun to emerge. And it's not a pretty picture.

John Simpson: Kicking can down the road puts power supply at risk 

Electricity generating at Kilroot has won a contract to continue in business for a further year, into 2020. For the American owners, AES, there has been considerable uncertainty.

View from Dublin: Brexit's paralysing effect now becoming clear 

Uncertainty has been a word Irish businesses have become all too familiar with since June 2016, when the UK voted to leave the EU. Pinning down any hard figures on the potential impact of Brexit on Irish companies has been close to impossible, aside from those companies already hit by currency fluctuations.

Aodhan Connolly: Time to rethink outdated retail rates in Northern Ireland 

This week the Belfast Telegraph revealed every one of Northern Ireland’s councils was raising its business rates, from the smallest rise in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, at 0.99%, to the inflation-busting hike of 3.46% from Derry & Strabane District Council.

John Simpson: Better remedies needed to help knowledge economy 

The following quote is from the 2018 Knowledge Economy report, published last week. "If we don't increase our efforts … there is no question that our economy will continue to fall behind. And we all have a role to play."