Category: Syndicated

Oil prices ease but supply cuts keep Brent above $90 a barrel

Oil prices eased today as a stronger US dollar and economic concerns in China weighed on the outlook for fuel demand, but extended supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia helped keep Brent above $90 a barrel. Brent crude fell 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $90.50 a barrel in early trade, while US West Texas […]

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Lack of state support a barrier to fintech expansion – report

A lack of government support for growth and innovation has been identified as a major barrier to expansion in the financial technology, or fintech, sector in a report carried out by Ibec group Financial Services Ireland. Fintech is defined as the use of new technology to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial […]

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Euro zone economy grew just 0.1% in second quarter

The euro zone economy grew by a mere 0.1% in the second quarter, lower than previously estimated, official data showed today. The European Union’s Eurostat data agency had previously put growth at 0.3% between April and June compared with the previous quarter in the countries that use the euro currency. Eurostat also revised its first-quarter […]

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Texts and phone calls down, data usage up

A new report reveals that mobile phone users are sending less texts and making less calls, but using more data. New figures from the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg show on average people make 145 minutes of calls every month, down over 26% on the same time last year. The amount of text messages being […]

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Higher mortgage rates, oil costs push inflation to 6.3%

Inflation rose at an annual rate of 6.3% in August, up from 5.8% in July, according to the latest Central Statistics Office figures. Inflation took a step in the wrong direction last month with the increase mostly driven by higher mortgage interest rates and higher prices for home heating oil and motor fuels. The recent […]

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Women encouraged to consider construction careers

The shortage of construction workers is one of the biggest challenges facing the building industry amid warnings that there is not enough skilled labour to meet the demand for housing. Efforts are under way to try to encourage more women to enter the sector. Samantha Kelly works for Glenveagh Construction Programmes have also been launched […]

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Commercial vacancy rate hits 14.1% – highest on record

There were 29,798 vacant commercial units recorded across the country between April and June. There were 29,798 vacant commercial units recorded across the country between April and June. By Gill Stedman The commercial vacancy rate in Ireland has hit 14.1%, the highest level since GeoDirectory started recording the data ten years ago. GeoDirectory is Ireland’s […]

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Banking industry’s new support measures for mortgage customers

The main Irish bank and non-bank lenders have agreed a new set of criteria designed to provide clear guidance to mortgage holders whose loans are managed by credit servicing on how they could potentially switch their loan to another provider. The criteria lay out agreed requirements that borrowers whose mortgages are with credit servicers would […]

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Euro zone August downturn deeper than was thought – PMIs

The decline in euro zone business activity accelerated faster than initially thought last month as the bloc’s dominant services industry fell into contraction. This is according to a survey which suggests the bloc could drop into recession. HCOB’s final Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global and seen as a good barometer of […]

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National Broadband Plan marks 50,000th connection in Cork

The company marked the latest milestone in the NBP rollout at a farm in rural Co Cork. Peter Hendrick, the chief executive of National Broadband Ireland, the number of of homes, farms and businesses connected to the NBI network has doubled in the last nine months. “Over 180,000 premises are ready to connect by signing […]

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