Michael Noonan: 'We'll recoup €30bn in bailout money from main banks'
FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan has said the State will eventually recoup the billions that it pumped into the main banks through bailout funding.
The Government is planning to sell Allied Irsh Banks and has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to advise it.
If economic conditions continue to improve, Mr Noonan believes that the €29.4bn pumped into AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB since the banking crisis could be returned …
Euro languishes near nine-year low before US jobs data
The euro wallowed near a nine-year low as speculation grew that the European Central Bank will embark on quantitative easing soon and US jobs data will be good enough to cement the case for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
ECB president Mario Draghi said the bank’s governing council stands ready to take unconventional measures to stem prolonged low inflation, fuelling expectations of a policy move at the bank’s …
Dublin stock exchange posts record number of share transactions amid new IPOs
In its review of 2014, the Dublin exchange said transactions in the equity market rose to 4.5m trades for the year, with the ISEQ Overall Index delivering a 15pc gain during the year.
That compares with equity transaction growth of 42pc in 2013 and an ISEQ performance gain of 34pc.
Deirdre Somers, ISE chief executive, said 2014 was a landmark year for the Irish Stock Exchange.
State’s holding in AIB increases by €1.7bn in value
The value of the State’s holding in AIB rose by €1.7 billion in 2014, according to the latest valuation carried out for the National Treasury Management Agency. This has emerged from the NTMA’s review for last year. The State’s holding in AIB and Bank of Ireland is managed by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which has taken over the role of the National Pensions Reserve Fund.
The valuation was carried …
Government borrows €4bn from bond markets at record low rate
The Government has borrowed €4bn from the bond markets at the lowest price in the history of the State.
The level of market interest could have seen the Government borrow as much as €5.75bn.
The yield – effectively the cost of borrowing – on the bonds is 0.867 pc.
Bailout hits €1.3bn as KBC pumps €130m into Irish arm
KBC Group, Belgium’s biggest bank by market value, pumped €130m into its Irish unit last month, bringing the bailout bill to about €1.38bn as the lender continues to grapple with losses following the property crash.
KBC Bank Ireland raised the money by selling shares to its immediate parent, KBC Bank NV, in Brussels on December 22, according to documents filed with the Companies Registration Office. The Dublin-based unit received €1.25bn …
Economic fears rise as Europe sinks into deflation
TUMBLING oil prices have helped drag the Eurozone into deflation for the first time in more than five years, heaping further pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to start printing money.
Inflation in the bloc turned negative last month, with consumer prices falling by 0.2pc year-on-year, sparking fears that the region could enter a prolonged period of deflation.
It has also raised expectations that data due to be released …
US investment giant Blackstone upbeat on Irish prospects
Senior executives from global US investment firm Blackstone joined the bosses of Irish firms including Smurfit Kappa, Kerry Group and Permanent TSB in New York yesterday as they showcased their businesses to over 80 North American financial institutions.
The Davy Annual Equity Conference also attracted key executives from a number of other Irish firms such as hotel operator Dalata, insulation maker Kingspan, Bank of Ireland, Fyffes and Greencore.
Pace of job creation in services sector hits highest in 15 years
The rate of job creation in the services sector last month rose at its fastest pace in at least 15 years, a survey has found.
The sector here ended the year on a high, with December recording faster increases in both activity and new business, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).
And reports of improving economic conditions and an increase in work boosted optimism among companies about the …
Government to borrow up to €4bn today on the markets
THE Government is to borrow between €3bn and €4bn on the bond markets today, the Irish Independent understands.
Plans for a bond sale were announced yesterday by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), but the agency did not specify the size of the sale and said only that it would take place “in the near future”.
Bond yields are at historic lows so the sale will result in cheap funding …