News

Consumer confidence in Ireland dropped slightly in February but remains broadly positive, according to a new survey. The latest KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment survey found that although the country faces a number of external uncertainties, fears of a downturn have not yet translated into reality for Irish consumers. The index declined to 100.7 in […]

Ardagh Group has fired the formal starting gun on an up to $373m (€352m) stock market listing in New York. In a statement last night, the Irish-founded global packaging giant said it had begun its initial public offering (IPO) in New York. Papers filed with the New York Stock Exchange show the glass and metal […]

Rural towns and villages are set for a massive blow as large-scale closures of post offices and bank branches are on the cards. A report for the Government on the future of post offices has recommended the closure of 80 post offices, mainly in rural areas. Meanwhile, Ulster Bank is planning to shut down up […]

Theresa May is a “damned bad” prime minister for business because she’s taking her country out of the single market and turning talent away from the UK, Ibec director general Danny Mc Coy has said. This, however, could provide a competitive advantage to Ireland, he added. Ms May, pictured, has also warned the European Union […]

State-owned AIB has increased its share of the mortgage market at the expense of rivals Bank of Ireland, KBC and Permanent TSB. The lender is gaining from having some of the lowest variable rates, and by having the Haven broker channel. The bank, which is due to sell a chunk of its shares in the […]

The Central Bank is taking measures to protect investors who are involved with ‘Contracts for Difference (CFDs). The Bank has published a new consultation paper that discusses its concerns about the use of CFDs and outlines current measures under consideration that would protect the interests of retail clients. CFDs are complex, leveraged, derivative instruments which […]

A €50,000 report on the impact of the help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers is to be delivered to the Department of Finance by the end of August. Finance Minister Michael Noonan is commissioning external consultants to examine the impact of the controversial scheme and wants to know if it has resulted in house price inflation. […]

AIB’s planned stock market flotation could be put on hold or even scrapped if the Government falls. Asked yesterday if a change of government would affect the plan to sell 25pc of the bank in a stock market listing, AIB chief executive Bernard Byrne said: “That’s a very good question.” The ultimate decision to push […]

Irish businesses are very optimistic on the outlook for this year with a large number of companies saying they expected a rise in activity, according to the latest Investec Services PMI. Business activity in Ireland continued to increase sharply during February, according to the survey. The Investec Services sector PMIs – which measures 450 private […]

People who own shares have been warned about a rise in boiler-room scams. This is where fraudsters offer to buy their shares at a higher price than they are trading at on markets, in a bid to gain access to shareholders’ bank accounts. The Irish Stock Exchange and the Central Bank have warned investors to […]