Service sector growth picks up in February, PMI survey shows
The service sector here grew at its fastest pace in five months in February after slowing to a near standstill a month earlier, as firms reported rising levels of new business across all sectors, a survey showed today. The AIB Global S&P Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 54.4 from 50.5 in January. The index […]
Cabinet to discuss energy top-up payment for businesses
Businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors are in line for a top-up payment of up to €3,000 in the Energy Efficiency Grant, under proposals Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney will bring to the Cabinet. Businesses in these sectors, who employ up to 50 people, are already eligible for a capital grant of up to […]
Grocery price inflation falls for 10th month in a row
Grocery price inflation fell for the tenth month in a row in February, new figures show today, with the decline expected to continue during the rest of the year. The latest figures from global retail market analyst Kantar show that grocery price inflation fell to 4.7% in the 12 weeks to February 18 from a […]
Mortgage approvals down across all groups, except FTBs
The slowdown in the mortgage market is continuing, driven by a declining numbers of switchers and mover purchasers. The latest figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show that just over 3,200 mortgages were approved in January – down almost 12% on the same month last year. Approvals dropped across all customer groups, with the […]
Manufacturing activity improves, production volumes rise
Business condition in the manufacturing sector improved in February, the latest AIB Purchasing Managers Index shows. It comes as production growth accelerated to the highest in 22 months, amid a renewed improvement in order books. The headline index increased to 52.2 from 49.5 in January – the first expansion in six months. Readings above 50 […]
Ireland ahead of US, Germany and France for remote working opportunities
More than 15% of job postings in Ireland offer remote or hybrid work opportunities, ranking the country ahead of Germany, France and the US, but behind the UK, Austria, Spain and Poland. According to new analysis from jobs site Indeed, Poland featured the highest proportion of remote ads at over 21%. The share percentage for […]
Central Bank warns of risks coming from payment and e-money sector
The Governor of the Central Bank has warned of the heightened risk level associated with both the payment and e-money sector and the investment fund sector. Gabriel Makhlouf said concerns about the payment and e-money sector reflect significant control weaknesses found in firms operating in this market, “where their rates of growth and ambition have […]
CEOs in Ireland more optimistic than in previous two years, research shows
CEOs in Ireland are more optimistic than in the previous two years as businesses adjust to geopolitical challenges, a new survey shows. The research carried out by business group Ibec reveals that 87% of respondents rate the outlook for the next six months as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, up from 66% last year. Meanwhile, 91% […]
ECB waiting for data before starting to cut interest rates
Inflation in the euro zone is expected to fall further but the European Central Bank needs more data before starting to cut interest rates, ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos said today. The ECB has kept rates steady at a record high since September and consistently pushes back on rate cut talk, arguing that wage growth […]
Internet watchdog ‘not an online censor’, committee to hear
The Digital Services Commissioner at media regulator Coimisiún na Meán will tell an Oireachtas committee that it is not their job to act as an online censor. John Evans is due to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise to discuss the operation and resourcing of Coimisiún na Meán. Earlier this month, the regulator assumed […]
Access to Cash Bill may damage competition in banking sector, BPFI warns
The organisation representing the banking sector has warned that certain provisions contained in draft legislation aimed at ensuring continued availability of cash services pose a very real risk to the present and future competitiveness of the Irish retail banking sector. The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) also stated that the Access to Cash Bill […]
Weekly earnings rose at half the rate of inflation in fourth quarter
New preliminary estimates from the Central Statistics Office show that average weekly earnings stood at €921.81 in the fourth quarter of 2023, up 2.1% compared with €902.56 in the fourth quarter of 2022. That rate of increase compares to an average inflation rate of 4.5% across the final three months of the year. Today’s CSO […]
Commercial vacancy rate at highest in a decade
The commercial property vacancy rate nationally has increased to its highest level since GeoDirectory started tracking the data a decade ago. According to its latest Commercial Buildings Report, the vacancy rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 14.3% in the year to the end of December. In total, there were 30,046 empty commercial units across […]
A third of workers have no cover outside of State pension
68% of workers aged between 20 and 69 have some form of pension cover outside of the State pension, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. The number of people taking out a pension increases with age, according to the data. Just 33% of those aged between 20 to 24 had supplementary cover between […]
ESRI estimates strong MDD growth of 3.7% in December
A new estimate suggests that the domestic economy here grew reasonably strongly in December, despite challenging conditions. The “Nowcast”, produced by the Economic and Social Research Institute, predicts that Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) expanded by 3.7% in the month. That is up from 2.5% estimated for November. MDD is a measure of domestic economic activity […]
Consumer sentiment dips in February after January bounce
Consumer sentiment fell again in February, undoing some of the gains it made a month earlier. The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 70.2 in the month, down from 74.2 in January. The research’s author, Austin Hughes, said the dip in sentiment is not surprising as the gain in January was significant, but most […]
WTO meets with calls for consensus amid geopolitical tensions
The World Trade Organization today opened a high-level ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi with calls for consensus as geopolitical tensions and the looming US election undermine chances of a major breakthrough. The WTO’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13), scheduled to run until Thursday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is the first […]
Thousands facing mortgage bill hike as fixed terms end
While tracker and variable mortgage customers have borne the brunt of the European Central Bank’s interest rate raising programme, those who managed to fix at the right time have remained largely insulated from its historically high interest rates. According to the Central Bank, Irish banks’ fixed mortgage customer were enjoying an average interest rate of […]