Consumer confidence drops to lowest level in six months
Consumer confidence dropped to a six month low in September, amid a rebound in oil prices, a further rise in interest rates and a gloomier economic outlook. The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index declined from 62.2 in August to 58.8 in September, marking the second monthly drop in a row. Modest improvements in confidence were […]
Govt must balance support and inflation in budget – McGrath
The Minister for Finance has said the Government faces a challenge in the upcoming budget in getting the balance right between providing an appropriate amount of support needed for society and the economy without pushing inflation higher. But addressing the Dublin Chamber annual dinner, Michael McGrath said he is confident it will get it right. […]
Housing commencements up 30.6% in August
New figures from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage shows that the number of new commencement notices for August rose by 30.6% compared to the same time last year. The Department said commencement notices for 2,770 new homes were received by Building Control Authorities in August, up from 2.121 units in August of […]
Unlikely energy prices will return to 2020 levels over coming months – CRU
It is unlikely that households will see energy prices return to the previous low levels seen in 2020 and 2021 over the coming months, a new report from the energy regulator has found. But the research from the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) does predict that gas and electricity customers should see some […]
March ‘probably too early’ to expect interest rates to fall – Makhlouf
The Governor of the Central Bank has said his view is that March is probably too early a time to expect interest rates in the eurozone to start falling again. Gabriel Makhlouf also said he would like to see a much faster pass through of European Central Bank interest rate changes to the real economy. […]
McGrath wants public bodies to keep taking cash payments
The Minister for Finance has written to Government colleagues asking that public bodies under their remit maintain their existing payment methods in relation to accepting cash pending the completion of the National Payments Strategy. Michael McGrath also said he expects that all public bodies that currently accept or facilitate the acceptance of cash will continue […]
Spending on homewares up 18% in August, but pub spend dips 1% – AIB
Summer spending recovered slightly last month despite the continuing bad weather, a new survey shows today. The AIB August Spend Trend report reveals that overall spending rose by 1% in August compared to the previous month. The bank its report suggests that due to the bad weather many people decided to stay home with spending […]
Euro zone August inflation revised slightly lower
Euro zone consumer inflation in August was slightly lower than initially estimated, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said today. But it still remained more than twice the European Central Bank’s target of 2%. Eurostat said inflation in the 20 countries sharing the euro was 0.5% month-on-month in August and 5.2% year-on-year, lower than the […]
First Home Scheme extended to self-builders building first home
The Government has extended the First Home Scheme to self-builders who are building their first home. The scheme, which was launched just over a year ago, works by providing homebuyers with part of the purchase price in return for a minority equity stake in the home. It is already open to people buying newly-built houses […]
Grocery price inflation falls to lowest level in a year – Kantar
Grocery price inflation slowed to 11.5% in the 12 weeks to September 3, new figures from Kantar show today. This marks the lowest level of grocery price inflation since September of last year and is down from a rate of 12.8% in the 12 weeks to August 6. But it remains much higher than the […]
Economic growth expected to slow as multinational exports weaken – Central Bank
The Central Bank has lowered its forecasts for growth in the economy based on weaker exports from multinationals in Ireland, but has left its outlook for inflation broadly unchanged. In its Quarterly Bulletin, published today, the bank also said the Government’s spending plans for the upcoming Budget risk adding to inflation. The bank forecasts that […]
Annual house price growth cools to 1.5% in July – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that residential property prices rose by 1.5% in the 12 months to July. This marked the slowest annual rate of growth in almost three years and compared to a growth rate of 13.1% the same time last year. Prices in Dublin decreased by 1.4% and prices outside […]
Wholesale energy prices fell again in August
Wholesale electricity prices continued their decline in August compared to prices last year, according to the latest report published by the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO). SEMO operates the wholesale market for electricity on the island of Ireland. Its figures show that, in the year to end of August, the daily average price for wholesale […]
What next for Irish stock market amid departures of key players?
Vladimir Lenin is widely credited with the phrase ‘there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen’. He could well have been talking about the Irish stock exchange – or Euronext Dublin, as it’s now known – and events on the frontline there of late. It appears as if there has […]
Construction activity continued to slow in August – PMI
A slowdown in construction activity continued in August, according to the latest construction purchasing managers index from BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland. There was a sharper contraction in activity last month than in July, as a continued fall in demand saw new orders shrink and the rate of employment growth ease. The PMI stood at […]
ECB raises euro zone interest rates again by 0.25%
The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the 10th meeting in a row today to counter stubborn inflation but signalled that it is likely done tightening policy. The ECB lifted its deposit rate to 4% from 3.75%, taking it to an all-time-high. Markets and economists expect the policy tightening move to be the ECB’s […]
Plans for participation exemption to Irish corporation tax
The Government has announced plans to introduce changes to how dividend income received from foreign branches of companies with bases in Ireland are taxed here. The reforms, if implemented, will mean qualifying dividend income that is transferred here from a foreign company within a company group will from 2025 be exempt from tax in Ireland. […]
Budget will help with cost of living, McGrath says
The Minister for Finance has said the latest European Central Bank interest rate increase will undoubtedly add pressure to many households who already are carrying the burden of previous interest rate hikes. This afternoon, the ECB lifted its deposit rate to 4% from 3.75%, taking it to an all-time-high. Michael McGrath said the Government will […]