Category: Syndicated

Employers’ group Ibec has called for a new SSIA-type savings scheme to allow households benefiting from economic growth to save more. Chief executive Danny McCoy said the greater complexity of the Irish economy, in particular the more pronounced economic cycles, required fresh thinking and new policy responses. He said a revamped special savings incentive account […]

The chief executive of Bank of Ireland has said the bank is keeping all options on the table when it comes to reducing its non-performing loans level further. Francesca McDonagh said the bank is committed to lowering its non-performing loans and has improved its position over the past year by almost a quarter. She said […]

This year the telecoms industry will begin the transition to new fifth-generation mobile networks – known as 5G – which is expected to one day help run everything from self-driving cars to robot surgeons. The successor to the current 4G network technology introduced commercially in 2009 promises nearly instantaneous transfers of huge amounts of data […]

Borrowers availing of the Government’s Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) are paying over the odds for mortgage protection insurance, making the loans far more expensive than originally thought. One borrower, who didn’t wish to be named, said the high premium was making the loan – designed to help lower-­paid workers – unaffordable for him and […]

The most significant new element in the Brexit Omnibus Bill published by the Government this morning is a change to VAT law which will allow companies importing from the UK to continue to pay VAT in the same way they do now. This change will be of considerable benefit to the many Small and Medium […]

AIB has backed brave, while Bank of Ireland has sought to tug on the heartstrings of families. Permanent TSB has urged its customers to “keep going” and KBC is battling to ensure that everyone knows how easy it is to join them. Banks have forever invested in ad campaigns. You can almost track the economic […]

Having more money does not make you happier, according to figures released earlier this month from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS). They show people there have become more anxious in recent years and have not become happier – despite seeing big jumps in disposable income and wealth. “Despite high levels of employment, rising […]

Sterling fell slightly today after a UK government source poured cold water on the prospect of an imminent Brexit deal, causing the pound to shed earlier gains. Hopes that Prime Minister Theresa May can secure some changes to her Brexit withdrawal deal from Brussels, and then get the tweaked agreement through the British parliament, have […]

Groups representing retailers in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain have issued a strong warning that a no-deal Brexit will lead to reduced availability of some goods. The joint statement from the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Retail Ireland and British Retail Consortium also cautions that if Britain crashes out of the EU on 29 March, food […]

The former president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has said that despite Brexit, the opportunities for Irish businesses to grow within Europe are infinite. Speaking in Dublin today, Herman Van Rompuy said that regulatory certainty and standards provided by EU frameworks continue to facilitate trade and help businesses to sell into a wide […]