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Oil prices fall due to weak economic data, Saudi output recovery Oil prices fell today after weak manufacturing data from Europe and Japan focused market attention on a gloomy outlook for demand. The drops also came as Saudi Arabia said it could restore oil output faster than anticipated following attacks last week. Brent crude futures […]

IFAC urges Budget caution over Brexit, global risks The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has urged the Government not to rely on surges in corporation tax to cover spending overruns. In its pre-Budget statement, the economic watchdog has said the Government should be cautious because of the risks associated with Brexit and a “worsening outlook” in […]

‘Industry central to Ireland’s climate action targets’ The government has advised industry that the environment needs to move higher up their agenda if businesses want to remain competitive. “Irish enterprise has failed to break the link between economic prosperity and damaging greenhouse gas emissions,” Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton, told an […]

Irish employment growth slows to a 6-year low New figures from the Central Statistics Office show the numbers employed in the economy falling from March to June of this year. The CSO’s latest Labour Force Survey has led to an upward revision in the unemployment rate for July from 4.6% to 5.3%. The number of […]

New parental leave regulations coming into effect in September New parental leave regulations will come into effect on September 1. Employees will be entitled to 22 weeks unpaid parental leave which is an additional 4 weeks on current entitlements. This will then increase a further 4 weeks to 26 weeks from 1 September 2020. The […]

4,920 new homes built between April and June – CSO There were 4,920 new homes completed between April and June, according to the CSO, an 11.8% increase year-on-year. More than half of those – 2,834 – were part of a scheme, which is classified as a development of two or more houses. That figure is […]

Business activity growth at 3 month low, according to AIB PMI survey Business activity in Ireland’s service sector expanded at the slowest pace in three months during July, amid the first reduction in foreign demand since November 2016. According to the AIB Services Purchasing Managers Index survey, overall new order growth eased to a three […]

Mortgage drawdowns up by 8.8% in second quarter A total of 10,157 new mortgages to the value of €2.25 billion were drawn down by borrowers in the second quarter of the year. This is according to the latest figures from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. The figures marked an increase of 8.8% in volume terms […]

European debt rally pauses at start of a big week for bond markets Core European government bond yields steadied on Monday after posting their biggest weekly drop in seven weeks as investors consolidated positions before a central bank policy meeting this week where policymakers might unveil plans of more rate cuts. Though hopes have grown […]

First-time buyers feel ‘pushed out’ by bulk investors Fianna Fáil is calling on the Government to restrict tax incentives for institutional investors in the Irish property market. The party said so-called “cuckoo funds” have given rise to entire housing developments being snapped up, locking out first-time buyers. A review by the Department of Finance into […]