News

Retailers have blamed “alarmist” Met Eireann weather warnings for deterring people from hitting the high streets to do their Christmas shopping. Industry representative group Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) said trading over the Christmas period had been challenging. “It very much looks like the Irish Retail Industry will trade on par with Christmas 2017, at best,” […]

A group of Anglo Irish Bank bondholders are set to be paid all of the €267m they are seeking from liquidators of the bust bank, despite the State only getting a fraction of the €30bn it invested as a rescue attempt. The remains of Anglo are in the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), where liquidators […]

Household incomes have gone up, but large numbers of people are still in poverty. The typical Irish household had an income of €20,800 last year, a rise of €500 on the previous year. However, thousands of people continue to struggle with poverty, despite many of them having jobs, with the number of ‘working poor’ higher […]

The SME sector is set for a €75m cash injection via a State lender, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI). The SBCI was set up to ensure favourable loan rates reached SMEs, by funnelling State-sourced money through banks and other lenders, who could then pass on the benefits. The €75m package is going to […]

Irish households are set to spend €1bn on groceries this December for the first time. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said Christmas day falling on a Tuesday will give retailers a festive bonus. “As the 25 December fell on a Monday last year, Friday and Saturday were the two biggest trading days for the major grocers. […]

Just how tough the present day has become for print US newspapers was underlined by some new research on news consumption in that market. According to the Pew Research Centre, social media platforms have now overtaken print newspapers as a news source for Americans – 20pc of US adults say they often get news via […]

The Government has launched an initiative to help returning emigrants start and develop businesses in Ireland. The ‘Back for Business’ entrepreneur mentoring programme, which is being funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, runs over six months. It is designed for recently returned emigrants who have lived abroad for at least a year […]

It’s hard to imagine but there was a time when conversations around trade and business did not include references, pointed or otherwise, to Brexit. Its impact on how we conduct business cannot be underestimated. And if ever Irish businesses needed to consider the value of diversifying their market strategy then that time, quite frankly, is […]

Digital startup investor NDRC, which is funded by the State, has warned that Irish companies are struggling to get early-stage investment and that the response from Government is “inadequate”. In a submission to the Department of Finance, NDRC also said there had been a number of worrying developments as funding available for early-seed investment shrinks. […]

Although the main banks have stepped up preparations for a potential no-deal Brexit, UK-based payment firms used by EU customers are not ready, the bloc’s banking watchdog said on Friday. Britain’s parliament is deadlocked over whether to approve or reject a divorce settlement with the EU ahead of the country’s planned departure from the bloc […]