Retail sales set to grow by 9%
Consumer spending could rise by 9% in volume terms this year helping to maintain Ireland’s status as the the eurozone’s fastest growing economy for a second consecutive year.
CSO figures published yesterday show a 1.4% increase in headline retail sales volumes for March, when compared to the previous month. When measured on a year-on-year basis, March’s spending levels were up 9.2%. When car and vehicle sales are excluded from the …
128,000 ‘underemployed’ workers want more hours
Almost a quarter of the workforce is made up of part-time employees, many of whom feel they are under-employed and would be willing to work more every week.
Some 23.4% of workers are employed part-time as opposed to a fifth as an EU-wide average. Almost three in 10 part-time employees would like to work more each week but are unable to do so for a variety of reasons.
More than …
‘Everyone loses’ if Britain exits EU
If Britain leaves the European Union, it could knock up to 14% off its GDP by 2030, taking into account all negative factors including lost economic dynamism, a study by two leading German institutes has found.
Based on 2014 values, Britain’s GDP could be €313bn lower — or €4,850 per capita — by 2030 in a worst-case scenario, the study released yesterday by the Bertelsmann Foundation and Ifo economic research …
Investment bank predicts 3.5% economic growth
Global investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald is the latest financial body to weigh in on the Irish economic recovery with strong 2015 growth projections.
Cantor Fitzgerald is projecting full-year GDP growth of 3.5% in line with predictions from the European Commission and IMF made earlier this year.
The key factors influencing the bank’s outlook for the year are the dual forces of the ECB’s €60bn quantitative easing programme and the continuing …
Cost of doing business in towns 'a big problem'
The Spring Statement tomorrow, which will be announced by the Finance Minister Michael Noonan, is expected to mark the end of austerity in Ireland.
The plan for the upcoming budget will outline €1.4bn in tax cuts and spending increases, including changes to the Universal Social Charge. It is based on an economic growth forecast of 4% this year – which is well above the 2.9% rate set out in Budget …
Fitch: Bad loan levels to fall further
Instances of non-performing Irish homeloans are set to reduce further over the remainder of 2015, according to leading international credit rating agency, Fitch.
In its latest mortgage market index for Ireland, the agency says it sees bad debt levels continuing to dwindle, with restructuring arrangements and renegotiations between bank and borrowers playing a key role.
It also noted the Central Bank’s new mortgage lending restrictions and said they are likely …
Flood of cheap money ‘risks creating bubbles’
A flood of cheap money risks creating bubbles in financial markets if interest rates remain low for long , ECB governing council member Erkki Liikanen has said.
“We need to pay attention,” Liikanen, also governor of Finland’s central bank, said in an interview to be published in leading German business newspaper Handelsblatt today.
“If interest rates remain very low for a long time, there is a risk,” he said.
Hasenstab slashes Irish debt holding
Franklin Templeton’s Michael Hasenstab, who made billions of dollars investing in Irish bonds, continued to cut his holdings of Ireland’s debt in the first quarter as yields plunged.
The amount of Irish debt held by US and Luxembourg- registered versions of Hasenstab’s Templeton Global Bond Fund and the Templeton Global Total Return Fund fell 61% to a face value of €1.8bn during the first quarter, according to figures compiled by …
Global economy less robust than thought
Business activity weakened in China and Japan in April and growth slowed in Europe and the US, suggesting the global economy may be less robust than policymakers are predicting.
In China, where the government has been engineering a rebalancing of its economy towards domestic spending and away from reliance on exports of manufactured goods, the preliminary purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to a one-year low of 49.2 from 49.6, according …
Revenue to add 400 staff as tax take tops €41bn
Revenue is to take on an additional 400 staff by the end of the year as it scales up its regulatory and compliance capabilities and looks to maintain its strong performance over the past number of years.
It is recruiting a broad range of roles including taxation and legal professionals, economists, data analysts, and IT experts.
Approximately 230 of the roles will replace retirees following a decrease in the Revenue’s …