Author: splash

The euro dropped today after inflation in the euro zone hit a record high, but was heading for a weekly gain on hawkish signals from the European Central Bank as some calm returned to foreign exchange markets at the end of a wild week. Sterling was also lower as end-of-quarter demand boosted the dollar. But […]

British Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng have, in a dramatic U-turn, abandoned a plan to abolish the top rate of income tax for the highest earners. Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng announced a new “growth plan” on September 23 that would cut taxes and regulation. The plan would be funded by vast […]

A higher rate of illness benefit for people who miss work due to Covid-19 comes to an end today. The Enhanced Illness Benefit (EIB), paid at €350 per week, was available to workers who were told to self-isolate or restrict their movements by a doctor. If someone receives a Covid-19 diagnosis, or has been advised […]

Euro zone inflation zoomed past forecasts to hit a fresh record high this month, reinforcing expectations for another jumbo interest rate hike from the European Central Bank in October. Price growth in the 19 countries sharing the euro accelerated to 10% in September from 9.1% a month earlier, data from Eurostat showed on Friday, beating […]

The package of once-off measures announced as part of this week’s Budget will insulate “most households” from higher energy prices this winter, according to the ESRI. The analysis, which will be presented at a post-Budget briefing today, also warns that unless the once-off measures are repeated next year, many low-income households will see real cuts […]

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar is to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality today to discuss the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality regarding pay and workplace conditions. In its report, the Citizens’ Assembly recommended that the State should set targets in legislation to reduce the hourly gender pay gap to 9% by […]

Asian share markets rose today after Britain’s central bank launched an emergency bond buying programme to stabilise a furious sell-off in gilts, though trade was skittish and sterling remained under pressure. The Bank of England said it will buy as much as £5 billion a day of long-dated government bonds until October 14. It spent […]

Just over 5,500 mortgages were approved in August, up 5.5% on the previous month and 21.3% compared with the same period last year. New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show that almost 45% of the mortgages approved were for first-time buyers, while just over 20% were for mover purchasers. In total, the mortgages […]

It was, according to the Minister for Public Expenditure, Michael McGrath, a “budget for its times”. The biggest ever giveaway, in pure monetary terms, was necessitated by the emergency period we are living through. Just when things might have been expected to return to normal after a once in a lifetime pandemic, a new crisis […]

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said he does not envisage a mini-budget being implemented next year. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Varadkar said Budget 2023 is being front-loaded with most of the one-off payments before Christmas, while permanent increases in payments, pensions and welfare will come into effect in the New Year. Two of the […]