Author: Practicenet

The vast majority of Irish businesses still do not have a Brexit plan in place, despite 70pc of firms expecting the UK’s departure from the EU to have a negative impact on Ireland’s economy. AIB’s Brexit Sentiment index for the second quarter found that the manufacturing, retail and tourism sectors here were the most negative […]

In common with many people in this country, both my parents worked in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. My late father spent 10 years as a radio officer in the British merchant navy. For this he got a good defined benefit pension when he hit 65. He was also entitled to a British state […]

THE monthly cost of renting a home has hit an all-time high, shooting up by an average €200 in some parts of the capital in just the space of a year New figures from Daft.ie today lay bare the dilemma facing families who would be better off financially if they bought a home. But difficulties […]

The country’s main banks have stopped using a State fund set up to channel low cost finance to SMEs, because lenders can access cheap money in their own right, the Irish Independent has learned. The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) was set up to ensure favourable loan rates reached SMEs, by funnelling State-sourced money […]

Spend on digital advertising has overtaken that of television in the United States for the first time. Last year, internet advertising revenues in the United States hit $88bn (€77bn), an increase of 21pc on the previous year, according to the latest ‘Internet Advertising Revenue’ report from professional services firm PwC and the Interactive Advertising Bureau […]

China’s state planner pledged on Wednesday to keep debt levels under control even as Beijing rolls out fresh stimulus to support the stumbling economy as a trade war with the US deepens. The comments by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) came a day after China reported surprisingly weak data that showed investment growth […]

Parents of the 120,000 students who get their Leaving Cert results this Wednesday are facing a bill of as much as €12,800 to put their child through their first year in college. It currently costs €12,828 a year to put a child through college – if he or she is living away from home and […]

Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU are due to reconvene on Thursday in Brussels. The European Union is signalling that it wants to make September a decisive month in the divorce negotiations, while British Prime Minister Theresa May is more in favour of a late-autumn deadline. The talks are expected to continue on […]

Ireland’s construction sector is now growing so fast that shortages of some building materials and services are being reported. That’s led to higher prices for steel, insulation and transport. The latest Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which tracks the country’s building activity, rose to 60.7 in July from 58.4 in June. Any reading […]