Companies facing the potential threat of tariffs and other trade barriers, after Brexit, are stepping up contingency planning, with some retailers creating new sites in continental Europe to avoid snags.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck’s announcement of 330 jobs for Cork and Carlow is evidence that multinationals’ fear of US president Donald Trump’s policies are easing — but there could be a threat to Ireland looming from French president Emmanuel Macron, an economist has warned.

A €55m investment in Merck’s Cork facility will position the site at the centre of the pharma giant’s global operations and ensure its strategic importance to the company.

A judge in London has made rulings on how sections of an international pharmaceuticals giant which began life as an apothecary shop in Germany nearly 350 years ago should coexist in the internet age.