Author: splash

The holders of tracker mortgages in Ireland look set to benefit from a 0.35% reduction in their interest rates in September. The development follows a technical change by the European Central Bank affecting the rate at which tracker mortgages are pegged to. Tracker mortgages rates are typically made up of the ECB’s refinancing rate, currently […]

The rate of inflation continued to ease last month, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office. Consumer prices rose by 3.4% in the year to the end of February, compared to a rate of 4.1% in the year to the end of January. The CSO said it was only the fourth time since […]

Consumer queries to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission were up 20% last year, with faulty goods and services being the subject of most contacts. Almost 40,000 people contacted the helpline throughout the year. The CCPC has released its helpline report for 2023 to coincide with World Consumer Rights Day. Most queries to the commission […]

Europe’s private credit funds are increasingly borrowing from banks to boost their performance, fuelling concerns about the wider risks posed by this interconnectedness. A record 80% of new European private credit funds borrowed from banks via ‘subscription lines’ in 2023, funding that allows them to lend before tapping their investors for cash, MSCI Private Capital […]

The European Parliament has given the final nod to far-reaching rules on artificial intelligence that the EU hopes will both harness innovation and defend against harms. The law, known as the “AI Act”, was first proposed in April 2021 by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. But it was only after Microsoft-funded ChatGPT burst […]

The average interest rate on new mortgages in Ireland rose in January, according to new data from the Central Bank. At the end of the month, the average rate was 4.27%, up 0.08% from a month earlier. It means rates on new mortgages in Ireland are now the seventh most expensive in the euro area, […]

The Central Bank has revised downwards slightly its forecasts for growth in the domestic economy this year, but still expects that it will continue to grow at a moderate pace over the next three years. The bank is now predicting that Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) will expand by 2.2% this year, down from its forecast […]

92% of Irish employees have a strong preference for continuing in a hybrid or remote work model, according to new research from recruitment company Morgan McKinley. The Global Workplace Guide shows that half of employees would forgo a pay raise if it meant they got their desired flexibility. One to two days in the office […]

The first ever rules for artificial intelligence for the European Union are expected to be approved by MEPs in Strasbourg. The proposed law, which is likely to have widespread support in the European Parliament, will require AI models such as ChatGPT and general-purpose AI systems to comply with transparency obligations before they are put on […]

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the rate of household saving fell slightly in the last three months of 2023 and in the year as a whole as inflation continued to drive consumption during the year. Today’s figures show that the Household Saving Rate eased to 10.19% in the fourth quarter of […]