Stocks sink with bond yield and dollar on recession fears
Global equities suffered heavy losses today as Wall Street joined a global stock rout that started in Japan while the dollar tumbled against the yen and US Treasury yields dropped on concerns about a recession in the United States. Oil prices also fell in a volatile session today, hit by recession fears, but declines were […]
Tokyo’s Nikkei index closes up 10.2% after previous day’s record fall
Tokyo’s key Nikkei index closed more than 10% higher today, bouncing back from a record selloff the previous day on worries over the US economy and a stronger yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 10.23%, or 3,217.04 points, to end at 34,675.46, while the broader Topix index added 9.3%, or 207.06 points, to 2,434.21. […]
Oil prices set for fourth weekly fall as demand concerns weigh
Oil prices rose today but were set for a fourth successive weekly decline, as signs of disappointing global fuel demand growth outweighed fears of supply disruptions. Brent crude futures gained 55 cents, or 0.7%, to $80.08 a barrel this morning, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 rose 57 cents, or 0.8%, to $76.89. […]
July new car registrations slow down by 5.9% as EV sales drop
New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show that new car registrations continued to slow down in July on the back of a near 25% fall in new electric cars registered. The SIMI figures show that new car registrations for July were down 5.9% to 25,726 from 27,336 the same time last […]
Activity in manufacturing sector improves slightly
Activity in the manufacturing sector improved slightly in July, according to new data. The latest AIB Manufacturing PMI shows that the marginal improvement in the sector was driven by a renewed rise in output and accelerating jobs growth. Meanwhile, the contraction in new orders eased on the previous month. The headline index increased from 47.4 […]
Activity in manufacturing sector improves slightly
Activity in the manufacturing sector improved slightly in July, according to new data. The latest AIB Manufacturing PMI shows that the marginal improvement in the sector was driven by a renewed rise in output and accelerating jobs growth. Meanwhile, the contraction in new orders eased on the previous month. The headline index increased from 47.4 […]
Parent’s Leave and Parent’s Benefit extended from today
From today, Parent’s Leave and Parent’s Benefit will be extended from seven weeks to nine weeks. The measures were announced as part of Budget 2024. Parents will be able to claim the additional two weeks’ leave if their child is under the age of two, or if an adopted child has been placed with a […]
Fed holds rates steady, nods to possible September cut
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady this evening but opened the door to reducing borrowing costs as soon as its next meeting in September as inflation continues coming into line with its 2% target. “There has been some further progress toward the Committee’s 2% objective,” the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee said in […]
Plan to transform rail on island of Ireland to be published
A plan to transform the rail system on the island of Ireland through electrification, additional track capacity, increased speeds and more frequent services is to be published. The final report from the All-Island Strategic Rail Review sets out a vision up to 2050 and was jointly commissioned by authorities north and south. The cost of […]
Developer loan approvals by State-backed HBFI pass €2bn threshold
Almost €400m in new lending for the construction of new homes was approved by the State’s building finance body in the first half of 2024. That will go towards the construction of just over 2,700 housing units, according to Home Building Finance Ireland. It brings to €2.05 billion the amount approved by the HBFI since […]
Call on Govt to assist parents with back-to-school costs
Children’s charity Barnardos has called on the Government to introduce a suite of measures to assist parents with back-to-school costs. They include a voluntary contribution code of practice, extension of the free book scheme to all secondary school students, affordable uniform options, an increased back-to-school allowance for parents on low income and a digital education […]
Annual rate of inflation steady at 1.5% in July – CSO flash reading
The latest “flash” estimate of inflation from the Central Statistics Office shows that the annual rate came in at 1.5% in the year to July, unchanged from a more than three-year low in June. The rate of 1.5% compares with an annual increase of 2.5% in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for the […]
Increase in job vacancies in second quarter – study
There was a 14.4% increase in professional job openings in the second quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter, according to new data. The latest Quarterly Employment Monitor from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley shows that the surge in vacancies was primarily observed during April and May, with a slight downturn in June. The […]
Increase in number of workers who can’t afford a holiday – study
There has been an increase in the number of workers in Ireland who cannot afford a week’s holiday away from home, either in their own country or abroad, according to new research. Analysis of EU data for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found that in 2022, an estimated 14.8% of Irish workers could […]
79% of FDI decision-makers planning Irish investment
Nearly 80% of foreign direct investment decision-makers are planning to establish or expand operations in Ireland over the next year. That is according to the latest EY Attractiveness Survey, and marks a significant improvement on the result from 2023. In last year’s survey just 53% of FDI decision-makers said they were planning an investment in […]
Economy as measured by GDP grew by 1.2% in second quarter
The economy as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.2% between April and June when compared to the previous three months. That is according to an early estimate from the Central Statistics Office, which shows that this growth was mainly driven by the multinational dominated industry sector. When compared to the same quarter […]
Mortgage drawdowns rise 2.2%, approvals continue to fall
The number of mortgage drawdowns by first time buyers reached the highest level since 2007 between April and June, new data shows. The latest figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show an overall moderation in mortgage activity. A total of 10,110 new mortgages to the value of over €2.85 billion were drawn down by […]
Commercial construction cost inflation flat in first half
Commercial construction inflation was 1.5% in the first half of the year, the same rate as the six months before that. It means that the annual median national rate of commercial construction inflation for the year to June was 3%. That’s more than of the half the rate of 6.2% recorded in the previous 12 […]