News

Consumer sentiment in January recovered much of the loss it suffered in December in the face of a surge in the highly contagious Omicron variant, a survey showed today, with a further improvement expected next month. The KBC Bank Ireland consumer sentiment index climbed to 81.9 in January from 74.9 in December, falling short of […]

A new €10m fund has been established to invest in socially-conscious start-ups on the island of Ireland. The Impact Syndicate, which is being launched by the Halo Business Angel Network, will look to back firms that are seeking to make “positive and measurable social and environmental change alongside financial returns”. Its members will make investments […]

Recipients of jobseekers’ payments will soon have to attend a post office again in order to collect them, under plans announced by the Minister for Social Protection. In 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic hit, recipients were given the option of having the payments made electronically directly into their bank accounts. This was to try to […]

The Central Bank has said the economy is expected to continue to grow strongly this year. Its latest Quarterly Bulletin forecasts growth in the domestic economy of just over 7% in 2022. However, inflation is expected to be higher for longer than previously thought, although it is expected to wane in the second half of […]

New research suggests that 65% of consumers don’t know how their credit card interest is calculated. The survey carried out by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) shows that this figure is up 7% on the previous survey conducted in 2020. Of the respondents who said they are familiar with the credit card interest […]

Last year saw the highest number of mortgage drawdowns since 2009, worth a total value of €10.5 billion. 43,994 mortgages were drawn down in 2021, a 9.4% increase on the previous year. Figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show the value of mortgage drawdowns last year was the highest since 2008, when the financial […]

Oil prices bounced back today, recovering some of the previous day’s losses, as growing tension in Eastern Europe and the Middle East fuelled concerns over possible supply disruptions. Brent crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.7%, to $86.88 a barrel this morning after touching a session high of $87.27 a barrel earlier, reversing a 1.8% […]

The Cabinet is set to sign-off on a €210 million legislative plan at their weekly meeting this morning, which aims to assist households struggling with the rising cost of electricity bills. Under the scheme, all domestic electricity customers will receive a once-off €100 credit, which will be operated by ESB Networks. The scheme will not […]

The Governor of the Central Bank has said “the prospects for Ireland’s economy appear bright” but warned that the risks to inflation in Ireland remain “on the upside”. Gabriel Makhlouf made his remarks at on online webinar hosted by the Institute of Directors. On inflation, the Central Bank Governor said it is expected to remain […]

A swift rebound in consumer and business spending is in prospect for 2022 as almost all pandemic restrictions come to an end, according to Goodbody’s latest quarterly outlook. The Back in Business report predicts growth in domestic demand of about 5.8% this year. The forecast tallies with that of Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe who […]