Over 80% of consumers targeted by scammers last year
Over 80% of Irish consumers were targeted by scammers last year, new data shows. The research carried out by international money app Wise, reveals that almost half of consumers were targeted in the last three months of 2024 alone. This comes as the Irish Government has proposed new legislation, recommending measures such as the publication […]
First-time buyer mortgage drawdowns hit highest level since 2007
Mortgage drawdowns by first-time buyers (FTB) hit the highest level since 2007 last year, new figures show. The data from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland reveals that over 26,000 mortgages were drawn down by this group in 2024, worth €7.8 billion. In total, 40,030 mortgages were drawn down last year, valued at almost €12.6 billion. […]
European Central Bank expected to cut interest rates by 0.25%
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates by 0.25% when its governing council meets today. This will bring the main refinancing rate, which is used to price mortgages, from 3.15% to 2.9%. The bank has been steadily cutting rates as inflation has declined from its peak of 10.6% in 2022. If the […]
US tech stocks, dollar rebound after DeepSeek-triggered selloff
Technology stocks regained some ground today with chipmaker Nvidia up about 2.5% in early trading, a day after it suffered the biggest one-day market capitalisation loss in history, and traders moved back out of safe-haven currencies into the dollar. On Wall Street, the mood was calmer than it was on Monday, with the S&P 500 […]
Spain’s economy outperforms euro zone in 2024 with 3.2% growth
Spain’s economy expanded a stronger-than-expected 3.2% in 2024, by far outperforming its euro zone peers’ sputtering economies, preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute showed today. Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said on Monday the government would raise its forecast for this year above the 2.4% following the release of the annual data, which was buoyed […]
GDP falls by 1.3% in fourth quarter, CSO preliminary estimate shows
A preliminary estimate from the Central Statistics Office today shows that gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 1.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 from the previous three months, but was 6.3% higher than the same quarter the previous year. The Government has long cautioned against using GDP to accurately measure economic growth as it […]
Remote working job ads hit record high
The share of Irish job postings on hiring platform Indeed offering remote or hybrid work rose to a record high at the end of December 2024. Indeed’s Jobs & Hiring Trends Report found that 17.5% of posting mentioned remote or hybrid, a level that is more than four times that recorded prior to the Covid […]
Euro zone banks tighten companies’ access to credit, ECB survey shows
Euro zone banks tightened firms’ access to credit last quarter and expect further tightening in the first three months of 2025, a European Central Bank survey showed today, reinforcing the case for more interest rate cuts as the economy slows. Lending growth has been broadly stagnant for most of 2024 as the long-awaited economic recovery […]
Revenue says to work with businesses hit by storm Éowyn
Revenue’s Collector General says Revenue will work with businesses negatively impacted by storm Éowyn. Joe Howley said Revenue understands that many of those impacted are not in a position to file returns because they do not have power, or may be facing longer term problems if their businesses have been damaged. “We will be pragmatic […]
Widespread adoption of artificial intelligence in Irish businesses low – survey
Widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Irish business remains low at just 6%, according to new research. PwC’s GenerativeAI (GenAI) Irish Business Leaders’ survey shows that 67% of respondents confirmed that they are either at the testing or partial implementation stages of AI adoption, up from 47% in June 2024. 86% of Irish business […]
Tech sector calls for Minister for Digital Delivery
Technology Ireland, the Ibec group representing the tech sector, has called for the appointment of a Minister of State for Digital Delivery. Based in the Department of an Taoiseach, the new role would have interdepartmental responsibility and would be tasked with overseeing digital policies and programmes. It is contained in Technology Ireland’s Policy Priorities Roadmap […]
Fraudulent payments rise by 26% in 2023 – Central Bank
New research from the Central Bank shows that the total value of fraudulent payments rose by 26% in 2023, increasing to €126m from €100m in 2022. But today’s research also reveals that the rate of fraud in Ireland as a share of all transactions is low – by value and by volume the rates are […]
UK Business Secretary leaves door open to joining European trade area
The UK Business Secretary has left the door open to joining a tariff-free trading scheme with Europe following a meeting with the EU trade commissioner in Davos. Jonathan Reynolds’ meeting with Maros Sefcovic came after the trade commissioner suggested Britain could join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM), which allows for tariff-free trade of goods across Europe, […]
Irish investment market to top €3bn in 2025, CBRE predicts
The Irish property investment market is set to record over €3bn of transactions in 2025, according to commercial property specialists CBRE. Its latest report ‘Outlook 2025’ makes a number of predictions for each sector of the Irish property market in the year ahead. Last year, the market recorded over €2.4 billion of transactions, and CBRE […]
Number of homes built decreased 6.7% last year – CSO
A total of 30,330 homes were built in 2024, a decrease of 6.7% on 2023, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office. The latest figures from the CSO show the number of apartments completed in 2024 was 8,763 – a drop of 24% on the previous year. The number of single dwellings built was […]
Economy to expand in 2025, employment to grow 2.4% – Ibec forecasts
Employers group Ibec has forecast that the economy will continue to expand in 2025 with employment growing by 2.4%. It said domestic demand would grow by 3% this year and by 2% in 2026. The organisation projected that consumer spending will grow by 3.1% while investment will expand by 4.2% this year. Ibec’s forecast comes […]
Annual house price growth slows slightly to 9.4% in November – CSO
Property prices rose by 9.4% in the 12-month period to last November, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. The figures indicate a slight moderation in the pace of acceleration, but prices are still increasing and are 16% above their peak during reached during property boom in 2007. The rate of increase […]
Wholesale electricity prices up almost 54% in year to December – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that wholesale electricity prices fell by 6.2% in the month to December but were 53.9% higher compared to December 2023. The CSO said that wholesale electricity prices remain 64.7% lower than the peak that occurred in August 2022. The annual average price of wholesale electricity in 2024 […]