Social Finance Foundation reaches €260 million lending milestone
A non-profit body that provides loan finance for community organisations has reached a lending milestone of more than €260 million. Since it was established in 2007, the Social Finance Foundation (SFF) has provided loans to 2,200 projects across the country. The average loan value to each of the organisations was €119,000. The funding is provided […]
Internet services cut for hours by Amazon cloud outage
Popular internet services, from streaming platforms to messaging services to banking, were offline for hours toda due to an outage in Amazon’s crucial cloud network, spotlighting how dependent internet life has become on the tech titan. A huge spike in disruption logged at Downdetector early Monday was followed by an even bigger jump some nine […]
New mortgage product launched by credit unions
A new standard mortgage product has been launched by credit unions aimed at new home buyers and switchers. Mortgages have been available through some credit unions around the country, but until today, each credit union set its own interest rate at a local level. The ‘Credit Union Mortgage’ offers a single variable interest rate of […]
The digital euro: Benefits and pitfalls of tapping ECB cash
Could the digital euro be a reality within four years? There is certainly momentum building, even if consumers remain sceptical. The motivation reflects the growing digitalisation of payments, but also a deeper concern about European dependence on US giants Visa and Mastercard given the unpredictability – not to say economic hostility – of the Trump […]
Bank of Ireland raises motor finance scandal provision to €400m
Bank of Ireland has more than doubled to £350m (€400m) the amount it had set aside to compensate customers for a motor finance mis-selling scandal in the UK. This follows the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s consultation paper published on October 7 on the industry-wide commission arrangement between car dealers and lenders – which led to […]
China’s Q3 GDP growth slows to one-year low in test of long-term policy plans
China’s economic growth slowed to the weakest pace in a year in the third quarter as fragile domestic demand left it heavily reliant on manufacturing production and exports, stoking concerns about deepening structural imbalances. The economy’s overreliance on exports at a time of mounting trade tensions with Washington is also raising questions over whether Beijing […]
40% rise in fraudulent payments in Ireland
There was a 40% rise in the volume of fraudulent payments last year compared to 2023, according to the Central Bank’s Payment Fraud Statistics for 2024. The figures show the total value of fraudulent payments in Ireland increased to €160 million in 2024 – up nearly 25% from the previous year. The growth is predominantly […]
Minister for Finance publishes Finance Bill
The Minister for Finance has published the Finance Bill which implements the tax changes announced on Budget Day, as well as introducing some administrative and technical changes to the tax code. The 142 page document provides for amendments relating to the rate of VAT applying to the hospitality and hairdressing sectors, the Automatic Enrolment Retirement […]
Fed rate-cut bets drive gold to new record highs
Gold hit a record high for the fourth straight session today, as investors flocked to the safe-haven metal on brewing US-China trade tensions and the US government shutdown, with bets on interest rate cuts fuelling the momentum. Spot gold was up 1.4% at $4,264.63 per ounce as of 1506 GMT after bullion touched a record […]
EU to pay over €0.5 billion to 110,499 farmers under BISS and CRISS schemes
Over half a billion euro is to be paid to Irish farmers in advance payments as part of two EU-funded income-support schemes in the coming days, the Minister for Agriculture has confirmed. Minister Martin Heydon said from tomorrow €510.9m in payments will be made to 110,499 farmers under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) […]
Ifac: Corporation tax more reliant on manufacturing and ICT than previously thought
Official data may be understating the amount of corporation tax paid by the manufacturing and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors, according to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Figures from the Revenue Commissioners show that around 70% of Ireland’s corporation tax revenues have come from just three broad sectors – manufacturing, ICT and financial and […]
More than a third of Irish workers failed to use all their annual leave last year – survey
Over a third of Irish people failed to make full use of their holiday entitlements last year, according to new research. It represents an overall improvement on the same study last year which found 42% of workers had failed to use all their annual leave. The findings are based on a survey of almost 2,000 […]
ICS Mortgages cut interest rate and fees for housing bridging loans
ICS Mortgages is to reduce the interest rates and fees across its Housing Bridging Loan products. From October 16, ICS said the rate on its housing bridging loans will reduce to 10% from 12% a year. Its arrangement fee will fall to 1% from 2%, while its exit fee will be reduced to 0% from […]
AI videos could turn people off social media – expert
The increased volume of AI-generated videos online could eventually turn people away from social media platforms, an expert has said. Social media platforms are embracing AI-generated content because it creates advertising revenue, according to Dr Constance de Saint Laurent, who is Assistant Professor of Sociotechnical Systems at Maynooth University, but added that it might not […]
Property prices grow at slowest annual pace in 17 months – CSO
Residential property prices grew by 7.4% in the year to August, the lowest rate since March last year and unchanged from the year to July, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today. The CSO said that property prices outside of Dublin were 9.2% higher in August of this year compared to a year […]
Gold hits record high on US rate cut bets, silver follows suit
Gold prices climbed to a record high above $4,100 today on increased US Federal Reserve rate cut prospects, while resurgent US-China trade woes boosted safe-haven bets, including those for silver, which also reached an all-time peak. Spot gold rose 1.7% to a record high of $4,179.48 per ounce, early this morning. US gold futures for […]
What could burst the AI bubble?
Some of the world’s biggest tech firms have soared in value over the last year. As AI evolves at pace, there are hopes that it will improve lives in ways that people could never have imagined a decade ago – in sectors as diverse as healthcare, employment and scientific discovery. OpenAI is now worth US$500 […]
Building activity falls for fifth month in a row, including residential
Building activity, including residential construction, has declined for a fifth month in a row, a monthly survey by AIB has shown. The bank’s sampling of purchasing managers in the construction sector indicated there were falls across housing, commercial and civil engineering. The survey said that a continuing downturn in the sector had gathered pace in […]