BBC News
By John Campbell
Published
An independent budget watchdog for Stormont is to begin work shortly.
It will be chaired by Sir Robert Chote who spent 10 years as the chairman of the UK s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
He will be joined by Prof Alan Barrett, the director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin.
The other members are Northern Ireland-based economists Maureen O Reilly and Esmond Birnie.
The body, which to be known as the Independent Fiscal Council, will make an annual assessment of the Northern Ireland Executive s revenue streams and spending proposals.
It will also prepare an annual report on the sustainability of the executive s public finances, including the implications of spending policy and the effectiveness of long-term efficiency measures.
One of the very early pieces of business advice Karen Yates and her then 23-year-old daughter, Ellen, were given in 2014 when they launched their Northern Ireland-based accessories brand, Taylor Yates was: “Just make sure it doesn’t look like some sort of mother/daughter hobby.”
With more than 20 years of experience on the design and marketing side of fashion retail herself, coupled with Ellen’s degree in fashion business management, 55-year-old Yates was surprised and frustrated to be patronised in such a manner. It’s not as if the duo were crocheting tea cosies handbags are a billion-euro business and the pair’s combined skill set meant they were well placed to take a piece of this luxury pie for themselves.
Academics
By Frank Rajkowski
A number of senior global business leadership majors at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University are getting the chance to cooperate with undergraduate peers at Ulster University in Belfast when it comes to helping develop business strategies for companies based in Minnesota or Northern Ireland.
As part of the global business leadership capstone course – Advanced Global Strategy, taught by Margrette Newhouse (CSB ’88), the John and Elizabeth Myers Chair in Management at CSB/SJU, 20 seniors are collaborating with 21 students in a course at Ulster taught by Dr. Andrea Reid.
“With the COVID pivot (at CSB/SJU) to having courses designed in a compressed, four-week block model, while also knowing that for many seniors their spring 2020 semester abroad had come to an abrupt halt, creativity has been key for faculty to provide for opportunities for experiential learning in a global context,” Newhouse said.
Ministry of Defence
Belfast firm secures £98-million air defence missile contract
A £98.4 million contract, supporting 119 jobs, has been extended to maintain Short-Range Air Defence (SHORAD) for the British Army and Royal Marines.
SHORAD is made up of High Velocity and Lightweight Multi-role Missile systems that can intercept air threats including fast jets, attack helicopters and unmanned air systems in a matter of seconds.
Thales UK won the initial contract in 2018, helping to modernise and develop the missile systems as part of the Future Air Defence Availability Project (F-ADAPT). This latest announcement confirms a five-year extension to the contract, sustaining over one hundred jobs at Thales UK’s Belfast site and within the wider Northern Ireland supply chain.