News

Euro zone consumers have trimmed their expectations for inflation over the next 12 months, a European Central Bank poll showed today, in a sign the ECB’s credit-tightening efforts are having an impact. The Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) is used by policymakers to gauge whether the steepest streak of interest-rate hikes in the euro’s history has […]

There was a marked slowdown in the rate of expansion in activity in the services sector in January, according to AIB in its latest Purchasing Managers’ Index. The overall index came in at 50.5 in the month – just above the 50 breakeven point that separates expansion from contraction in a given sector. It was […]

The global economy is on course to hold up better this year than expected only a few months ago as an improved outlook in the United States offsets euro zone weakness, the OECD said. World economic growth is expected to ease from 3.1% in 2023 to 2.9% this year, better than the 2.7% expected in […]

Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has announced that the interest rate on tax debt frozen since the pandemic has been cut to 0%. The Revenue Commissioners have also indicated that they will take a flexible approach to repayments which will allow for pay back arrangements spanning more than five years. There is still €1.72 billion […]

Construction costs are continuing to rise, but the rate of increase eased significantly in the second half of last year, the latest Tender Price Index from the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland shows. The report shows that the rate of commercial construction inflation increased nationally at a rate of 1.5% in the final six […]

New car sales were up 15% in January when compared to the same time last year, new figures show. A total of 31,470 new cars were sold during the month, the data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) reveals. Despite that growth, registrations are still 3% lower than pre-Covid levels in 2019. […]

Euro zone inflation eased as expected last month but underlying price pressures fell less than forecast, likely boosting the European Central Bank’s argument that rate cuts should not be rushed, even if the next move is still going to be policy easing. Consumer inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro dipped to 2.8% in […]

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show an easing in the estimated annual rate of inflation in January. The latest “flash” inflation estimate from the CSO shows that the annual rate of inflation stood at 2.7% in January, down from 3.2% in December. The core HICP rate, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, […]

Construction costs are continuing to rise, but the rate of increase eased significantly in the second half of last year, the latest Tender Price Index from the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland shows. The report shows that the rate of commercial construction inflation increased nationally at a rate of 1.5% in the final six […]

Consumers are being warned to be on the alert for elaborate investment scams involving online and mobile banking transfers. Figures from FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative led by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland showed a year on year 26% increase in the incidence of such fraud in the first six months of last year. […]