Kenny warning over mortgage restrictions
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned that setting mortgage restrictions too high would price many first time buyers out of the market and only benefit “wealthy people and the children of wealthy people”.
During an interview in Davos, Mr Kenny was asked if he supported the Central Bank’s objective of limiting mortgages through higher deposit requirements, so as to avoid a repeat of the housing crisis.
The Taoiseach said there was …
Ireland is fourth most indebted state in the EU
Despite Ireland’s debt falling by a greater degree than any other EU member state last year, the State is still among the most indebted in Europe.
Eurostat figures illustrate the huge levels of debt the country continues to bear in the aftermath of the economic crisis, with Ireland’s debt to GDP ratio standing at 124.2%.
The country’s level of indebtedness is the fourth worst in the EU behind Greece (176%), …
Bank bailout costs fell unfairly on State, says expert Philip Lane
Trinity College professor Philip Lane has joined a chorus of senior figures in criticising the decision not to burn bondholders as part of the 2010 troika bailout, saying the burden of the programme fell unfairly on Ireland.
Prof Lane said that if the decision not to burn bondholders was made at a European level, then it should not have fallen to the Irish taxpayer to protect the stability of the …
Competition regulator moves to up the battle against cartels
The competition regulator has made its first significant move to hinder price fixing and cartel activity in 14 years.
Until now, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s Cartel Immunity Programme — which was established in 2001 — has only been open to hearing from whistleblowers not directly involved with cartel activity.
It has now been broadened to come into line with European norms and will now allow for the actual …
ECB set to propose €1.1 trillion QE plan
Mario Draghi has proposed spending as much as €1.1trn as the European Central Bank seeks to revive inflation in the eurozone.
The ECB president and his executive board recommended asset purchases of €50bn a month until December 2016, according to two officials.
The 25-member Governing Council gathered in Frankfurt yesterday to discuss the plan and could make changes before a final decision today.
Banking Inquiry: Ireland's economic crisis could have collapsed euro – Klaus Regling
THE head of Europe’s bailout fund has said the economic crisis in Ireland could have collapsed the euro.
Banking inquiry: Ireland was a country where no one was in charge – Klaus Regling
Klaus Regling, who is managing director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), told the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry Ireland’s economic collapse could have brought down the European Union’s currency.
Ireland pays higher rate of interest than Greece on bailout
Ireland pays a substantially higher rate of interest on its bailout than Greece, but economists cast doubt on the country getting any further relief.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said that he would support a debt reduction for Greece, currently struggling to meet the troika’s austerity conditions.
Athens has been promised that eurozone finance ministers will look at the issue of the economy’s ability to meet it debt level with …
ECB stimulus moves target investors
The European Central Bank’s pending stimulus measures for the eurozone economy are expected to see international investors lump on European stocks this year.
According to the latest international fund manager survey, from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, investors still have a muted risk appetite, with lower oil prices and policy stimulus expectations sustaining both overall growth hopes and investor confidence.
“Amid expectations of ECB stimulus, consensus is convinced that Europe is …
Inflation hopes dim despite ECB plans
Days before the European Central Bank is expected to deploy its ultimate monetary easing weapon, financial markets are showing no sign of confidence that it will push inflation anywhere near target in the next decade.
The ECB is expected to launch a programme to print hundreds of billions in new euro by buying government bonds as soon as Thursday, with the explicit aim of boosting inflation. Yet market-implied inflation expectations …
Euro on the ropes and facing a major fight
Markets were caught completely off guard last week by the surprise decision of the Swiss Central Bank (SNB) to abandon its currency cap of CHF1.20 against the euro.
It is widely seen as a pre-emptive move by the SNB ahead of the expected announcement of a large QE government bond purchase programme by the ECB later this week.
The SNB obviously decided that such a move by the ECB would …