EU excludes major banks from bond sales
The European Union has excluded some of the biggest investment banks with past involvement in breaches of antitrust rules from syndicated debt sales backing its up to €800 billion Covid-19 recovery fund, the EU executive said. “The Commission will be undertaking a careful assessment of whether the primary dealers found guilty of breaching anti-trust rules […]
Numbers claiming PUP down almost 18,000 on last week
The number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has fallen to just over 267,000 – a decrease of almost 18,000 over the last seven days. The drop in claims reflects the continued reopening of the economy, with 24,000 people closing their PUP accounts last week to return to work. Including this week’s payments of […]
Traffic volumes rise in May as Covid travel curbs ease
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the volume of cars on Irish roads has been rising slowly since the start of the year after the move to Level 5 restrictions in December. Volumes have been rising more rapidly since travel restrictions lifted in May, the CSO said. The easing of travel restrictions […]
Employees want flexibility in where and when they work, survey finds
Over half of employees would consider leaving their job post pandemic if they are not given some form of flexibility in where and when they work, according to a survey carried out by EY. The ‘2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey’ is an international study conducted among more than 16,000 employees across 16 countries and multiple […]
EU’s commitment to Good Friday Agreement ‘unwavering’, says Gentiloni
Paolo Gentiloni, EU Commissioner for Economy, has said the EU’s commitment to the Good Friday Agreement is “unwavering”. Commissioner Gentiloni made his remarks in an online address to the Institute of International and European Affairs this afternoon. He said this was why the Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed “by both sides…both with their eyes wide […]
Is now a good time to lock into a 20-year mortgage?
Appearing before an Oireachtas Committee at the end of 2016, the then chief executive of Bank of Ireland more or less admitted that the bank was deliberately keeping its variable mortgage interest rate elevated. Richie Boucher was making a big push at the time to get people to opt for one of the bank’s fixed […]
Lack of online services saw 1 in 3 closing credit union accounts – survey
Around a third of people surveyed by a company that provides technical expertise to the credit unions sector said they had closed their credit union accounts because of a lack of online services. The research was carried out on behalf Wellington IT – described as the tech partner for the credit union sector. It found […]
Construction activity bounces back, but costs soar
Activity in the construction sector expanded for the first time this year in May, according to Ulster Bank’s latest Purchasing Managers’ Index. The index, which is designed to track changes in overall construction activity on a scale of 1 to 100, passed the 50 no-change mark for the first time since the imposition of restrictions […]
ECB lifts euro zone growth and inflation projections
The European Central Bank has raised its growth and inflation projections for this year and next as the euro zone economy started to roar back to life after over a year of restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic. ECB President Christine Lagarde also said the ECB saw risks to growth as “broadly balanced”, a shift […]
NAMA increases projected lifetime surplus to €4.25 billion from €4 billion
The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) now expects to provide an overall surplus to the Exchequer over its lifetime of €4.25 billion, up from the previous estimate of €4 billion. The body will provide a further payment to the exchequer of €300m this month and it hopes to make an additional contribution of €500m during […]
Ireland to make strong case for tax competition, says Donohoe
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said that Ireland will be vigourously making the case for tax competition and for maintaining a corporate tax rate of 12.5%. In negotiations on the issue, Minister Donohoe said he is confident that Ireland will continue to be a really attractive place to do business. Yesterday, Mr Donohoe said that […]
Supply shortage, rising costs could impact housing affordability – BPFI
A combination of lack of housing supply and rising construction costs could exacerbate property affordability issues in the years ahead, according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. In its latest Housing Market Monitor, the BPFI says while supply is coming back on stream in the aftermath of the pandemic, it will now likely be […]
NTMA raises €1.25 billion in bond auction
The National Treasury Management Agency has raised €1.25 billion this morning in an auction of Irish bonds. Today’s auction brings the total raised by the NTMA so far this year to €13.25 billion. The amounts raised include €600m on the existing 1.1% Treasury Bond 2029 at a negative yield of -0.094%. €325m was raised on […]
Central Bank’s Rowland says onus on firms to set the right standards
The Central Bank’s Director General, Financial Conduct, has said that increasing evidence in the financial services sector shows that ineffective culture is bad for business – both for a firm itself and the consumers or investors it serves. Derville Rowland was speaking at an Institute of Directors webinar today. Ms Rowland said that firms are […]
Euro zone economic dip milder than expected in first quarter
The euro zone economy contracted by much less than expected in the first quarter of the year, revised data from the EU’s statistics office showed, with a buildup of inventories and investment offset by reduced consumer spending. Eurostat said gross domestic product in the 19 countries sharing the euro contracted 0.3% quarter-on-quarter for a 1.3% […]
Pandemic Unemployment Payment claims at six-month low
The number of people claiming temporary Covid-related jobless benefits fell by 8% to 285,000 this week, its lowest level since December last year, new figures from the Department of Social Protection show today. Non-essential retail, hotels and outdoor bars and restaurants have reopened in recent weeks following their closure in late December during a spike […]
Too early to reconsider 2m rule in workplaces – McGrath
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath has said the Government would like to see people return to the workplace as soon as possible, but for now it is about holding on to the gains already made. Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, he said it is too early to say if […]
Household energy bills are rising – get ready to switch
This time last year, energy prices were just starting to recover from the record lows reached in the weeks before. Worldwide lockdowns at the onset of the pandemic saw international trade practically grinding to a halt. Economists and analysts were predicting the most severe downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Oil prices in […]