Primark to trial click & collect service in UK
Budget fashion chain Primark will trial a Click & Collect service on children’s products in the UK but said the move should not be seen as a precursor to an online delivery offer. Parent Associated British Foods said today the Click & Collect trial will take place in up to 25 stores in the northwest […]
Kingspan seeing ‘significant’ dip in May and June orders
Building insulation specialist Kingspan said today it had seen the mood in most end markets deteriorate over the last two months with order intake volume down significantly year-on-year in May and June. But orders were still up this month and last on the same pre-pandemic time in 2019. The Co Cavan-based firm said today that […]
Tesco sees early signs of changing customer behaviour as inflation hits
Tesco said today it was seeing early indications of changing customer behaviour due to surging inflationary pressures that had made the market environment “incredibly challenging”. Chief executive Ken Murphy vowed to work with suppliers to mitigate the impact of inflation as much as possible and support customers who are facing the most difficult economic conditions […]
Why experts see storm clouds over the economy
The beginning of the pandemic in 2020 brought with it an end to years of bullish economic growth. As Ireland headed into the general election, the economy was in rude health. Predictions were bright. Nobody predicted two years of Covid turbulence, followed swiftly by war in our neighbourhood. But, though Covid restrictions have eased, the […]
HCS invests €3.2m to double its workforce and revenues
IT, security and telecoms company HCS is investing €3.2m to double the size of its workforce and business revenues within the next three years. HCS has started its recruitment programme and will grow its workforce to 60 over the next three years. Following the investment, HCS is forecasting increased annual revenues of €9m by 2025. […]
Increased risk of more ‘medium-term’ inflation, Central Bank warns
The Central Bank has warned that broad based price pressures have increased the risk of more medium-term inflation. The regulator also said that these inflationary pressures present new challenges for borrowers. However, the bank said these pressures are coming at a time when many borrowers have built up higher resilience over the past decade. The […]
ISIF to invest €500m in five regional cities
The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, known as ISIF, has announced plans to step up its regional investments. The fund, which is part of the National Treasury Management Agency, has a mandate to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and jobs. A new €500m investment programme will target the five regional cities of […]
Government funding of €55m to help businesses move away from fossil fuels
The Government is to make €55m available to businesses to help them move away from the use of fossil fuels. The new Green Transition Fund, to be launched later, will be made up of two parts. The Climate Planning Fund for Business, worth €25m, will provide firms with funding to help them plan how they […]
Ireland ranked third-most competitive euro area country
Ireland has been ranked as the third most competitive country in the euro area by the latest IMD World Competitiveness Rankings. It has also been placed as the 11th most competitive economy in the world out of 63, up from 13th last year. The development has been welcomed by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), but […]
Musgrave invests €25m in Centra and SuperValu stores as part of sustainability strategy
Musgrave is investing €25 million in SuperValu and Centra stores as part of a new sustainability fund aimed at helping retailers to achieve net zero carbon by 2040. The supermarket supplier said the investment will result in an estimated 12% carbon reduction by the company over a two-year period. In the Republic of Ireland, Musgrave […]
Irish tourism sector sees ‘unprecedented’ level of inflation
New research from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation shows that inflation in May in the tourism industry was seven times higher that the same time in 2019, which is putting significant cost pressure on the sector. The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation’s latest dashboard for May shows that the sector’s recovery continues to gather pace. But […]
Ryanair CEO says summer fares will be up 7-9% on 2019 levels
Ryanair Group chief executive Michael O’Leary said today that bookings at Europe’s biggest budget airline are strengthening and he expects summer fares to be between 7% and 9% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Speaking to Reuters, he said the load factor, a measure of how well an airline is filling available seats, should be around 94% […]
Taoiseach says UK protocol plans are ‘anti-business and anti-industry’
The Taoiseach has described the legislation on the Northern Ireland Protocol published by the British government yesterday, as “anti-business and anti-industry”. Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, Micheál Martin said the action by the UK represented a “fundamental breach of trust”. He said he did not believe that the legislation was well thought […]
Public sector pay talks to resume at WRC
Formal public sector pay talks between the Government and unions will resume at the Workplace Relations Commission. The negotiations opened yesterday and were adjourned after around four hours. The talks come after unions triggered a review clause within the existing public sector pay deal ‘Building Momentum’ due to rising inflation. Under the current agreement, public […]
Growth in construction sector slowed again in May
Activity in the construction sector continued to increase in May but at its slowest pace in more than a year, according to the latest Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index from BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland. It represents the third consecutive month of slowing growth in the sector, as rising prices and declining sentiment impacts activity. The […]
Euro zone to avoid recession, growth to accelerate in Q3 – ECB survey
The euro zone will avoid a recession this year and growth will accelerate noticeably after bottoming out in the second quarter, a key European Central Bank survey shows. The 19-country currency bloc has been hit by fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has sapped confidence, investment and households’ purchasing power via sharply higher fuel […]
Major blaze hits Smurfit Kappa packaging plant in UK
Smurfit Kappa has resumed some operations at a packaging plant in the UK after a large fire ripped through the facility overnight, the local fire service said. West Midlands Fire Service said more than 100 firefighters had made progress containing the blaze that they were alerted to yesterday evening. It said there were no reports […]
Govt not considering price caps as inflation rises to 7.8%
The Minister for Finance has said he is not considering the introduction of price caps to deal with soaring inflation. Paschal Donohoe was speaking after the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that annual rate of inflation rose to 7.8% in May. This is the highest rate in 38 years, and up from 7% in April. […]