News

Mortgage switching activity dropped 75% last November when compared to the same time the previous year, new figures show. The latest report from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows that just 355 mortgages were approved for this group during the month, down from 1,419 in November 2022. Overall, there has been a slowdown in […]

Enterprise Ireland has announced that net employment at its client firms grew by just over 5,000 last year to a record 225,500 in what was a “very challenging year for businesses”. The government agency supports Irish businesses, from start-ups to multinationals, to grow and scale and compete in global markets. 15,530 new jobs were created […]

Euro zone inflation surged in December and could still go higher in the early part of 2024, easing financial markets pressure on the European Central Bank to start cutting interest rates from record highs. Inflation across the 20-nation bloc jumped to 2.9% in December from 2.4% in November, just shy of expectations for a 3% […]

Ireland’s buoyant labour market had a significant effect on the housing market, reducing the negative impact of high interest rates on property prices last year. Asking prices for properties nationally rose by over 4% through 2023, in Dublin and outside the capital. The Myhome.ie report, which was done with the Bank of Ireland, said much […]

Cyberattacks and data breaches are the top risks for Irish business, according to a new study. Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey gathered insights from 2,842 respondents across 61 countries, including Ireland, to identify their most-pressing business challenges. The study found that 94% of firms in Ireland have a formal plan or are reviewing processes to […]

The contraction in euro zone business activity continued at the end of 2023 due to a persistent downturn in the dominant services industry, a survey showed today, indicating the bloc’s economy was in recession. HCOB’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global and seen as a good gauge of overall economic health, was […]

The annual rate of inflation rose in December to 3.2%, the latest “flash estimate” from the Central Statistics Office shows. After falling from over 3.5% to 2.5% in November, a slight increase in the rate was not unexpected. The sharp fall in inflation in November was mirrored across the euro zone and gave rise to […]

The Exchequer recorded a surplus of €1.2 billion in 2023, according to figures released by the Department of Finance. This compares with a surplus of €5 billion in 2022, with the decline driven by factors including increased public expenditure and the transfer of €4 billion to the National Reserve Fund (NRF) in February last year. […]

Irish firms continued to report rising levels of new business, but the pace of growth slowed in December to the second weakest in 2023. The AIB Irish Services PMI for December showed a continued expansion in business activity in the sector, but as has been the case for most of the year, the pace of […]

US Federal Reserve officials expect interest rates will need to remain high “for some time” to tackle stubborn inflation, according to minutes of the most recent rate decision published last night. The Fed announced last month that it would continue to hold interest rates at a 22-year high, and penciled in up to three rate […]