Allied Irish Banks has lashed out at Citibank’s latest efforts to derail a $500m (€458m) lawsuit launched over a decade ago after rogue trader John Rusnak racked up $691m of losses at former AIB subsidiary Allfirst.

AIB claims that Citibank is relying on “illusory errors” to persuade a New York court that it should reconsider a June determination that denied, in part, Citibank’s motion for summary judgment in the case.

Growth in the country’s services reached a nine-year high in July, marking three years of unbroken expansion as new business rose to levels last seen a decade and a half ago, a survey has shown.

Ireland’s economy grew by 6.5pc year-on-year in the first three months of 2015, data showed last week, on track to become the fastest-growing economy in Europe for the second year running in 2015.

Work is due to start on a new high-speed digital hub in Skibbereen in Cork, where it is hoped that 500 new jobs will be created over the next five years.

The 10,000 sq ft hub, which was officially launched today, is the first of its kind in a non-urban area in Ireland and offers a range of supports and services for businesses. It aims is to provide start-ups with …

Allied Irish Banks has announced that it will cut its standard variable mortgage rate for both new and existing AIB customers by 0.25pc to 3.65pc.

The reduction will come into effect during October. It will save customers on a €200,000 mortgage about €325 a year. The bank also announced a 0.25pc reduction in its loan to value mortgage rate to 3.35pc, which will also come into effect during October.

Data from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows how Central Bank lending rules appear to be having an impact.

The figures show how much is being lent by the main banks for house purchases, and a slowdown in the number of mortgages being issued to ‘movers’, or those hoping to trade up to a larger home.

A balanced budget could be on the cards ahead of the 2019 target after new figures showed that the State’s finances are in increasingly good shape.

The closely watched Exchequer deficit fell to €647.5m in the first seven months of the year, marking a radical improvement compared with last year.

The number of startup companies in Ireland reached its highest level in July since before the recession in 2007, new figures have shown.

According to a survey carried out by business and credit risk company Vision-net, 1,764 new limited companies were registered during the month, up from just over 1,500 during the same month last year. An additional 2,517 new businesses were registered, up by 24pc compared to July 2014.

More than 27,500 new cars were bought by Irish motorists in July, almost as many as the traditional bumper month, January.

Figures show the nation’s buying trends are changing dramatically with the new twice-a-year change of registration plates.

New-car registrations soared by 9,000 (48pc) to 27,633 last month – just 2,000 short of January. Sales for the year to date are up 30pc, according to Simi (Society of the Irish …

Irish manufacturing sector growth bounced back from a 16-month low in July as the weak euro boosted exports, a new survey has shown.

The Investec Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 56.7 in July from 54.6 in June. But it remained below the 15-year high of 57.5 posted in February.

The index has held above the 50 line denoting growth since May 2013, when Ireland was in an international bailout …

Bank of Ireland may redeem €1.3bn of preferred shares earlier than expected clearing the way for a resumption of higher dividends, according to analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald.

In a note to clients, Cantor Fitzgerald said it had raised its target price for Bank of Ireland shares to 45 cents from 43 cents, on the back of last week’s interim financial results.

The shares closed at 38.8 cents yesterday.