News

A British exit from the European Union would be a serious risk to global economic growth, Group of Seven leaders said in a summit declaration on Friday, although German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the issue had not been discussed. The statement will be welcomed by the British government, which has made a series of warnings […]

Oil has surged about 80 per cent since dropping to the lowest since 2003 in January Brent crude rose above $50 a barrel for the first time in more than six months as a drop in US stockpiles accelerated a rebound from a 12-year low after global disruptions trimmed the market’s glut. Futures rose as […]

Rise came as average weekly earnings across economy rose by 1% – CSO Average weekly earnings in the financial, insurance and property sector rose by almost 7 per cent to €1,161.75 in the first quarter of the year, when compared to the same period 12 months previously. New data from the the Central Statistics Office […]

STATE forestry agency Coillte generated profits last year of €47.6m, two thirds more than the previous year. The company paid a dividend to the State €5m. Last year saw the company agree the sale of land in Ballymahon in Co. Longford to holiday resort company Center Parcs, a deal that was the catalyst for €230m […]

PROPERTY prices nationwide rose again last month as a shortage of homes to buy continues to push up values. Dublin led the charge upwards, but there was a fall in prices outside the capital city. Prices across the State were up 0.3pc in the month of April, and have now risen by 7.1pc in the […]

Ulster Bank is to offer more than 900 distressed home loans to so called vulture funds, as part of a sale aimed at clearing the decks of the bank’s boom era problem assets. The sale of €2.5bn of distressed business loans (65pc), buy-to-let mortgages and owner occupier mortgages is aimed at substantially clearing out all […]

Royal Dutch Shell will increase the number of job cuts in 2015 and 2016 by around 20pc to at least 12,500 as a result of low oil prices and the integration of BG Group, it said on Wednesday. The Anglo-Dutch company will reduce the size of its UK and Ireland oil and gas production, or […]

Over recent weeks I have traversed the UK debating whether it should leave the EU. I have been struck by the way that most speakers for readily acknowledge that the euro is a disaster yet still argue that the UK should stay in the EU. Apparently, they regard these two as unrelated, or at least […]

Four out of five consumers who have health insurance are on the wrong plan, according to research by one of the country’s leading health insurance experts. This means thousands of families are overpaying for health cover. And employers who pay some or all of the health insurance costs of staff are not getting the best […]

Oil sector workers of French CGT and FO unions voted on Monday to begin a strike at Exxon Mobil’s 240,000 barrels-per-day Port Jerome refinery in northern France, the unions said in a joint statement. Workers at a port terminal in Le Havre, northern France, which handles large volumes of imported petroleum products, also voted overwhelmingly […]