Economy set to grow by 3.1pc this year as recovery broadens
Releasing its forecast this morning, Ulster Bank said it expects the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to rise by 3.1pc in 2014 as the recovery becomes “more broadly based”.
It said that this year will mark the first since 2007 that exports, consumer spending, and investment will all be growing together.
The bank said that’s an important sign that Ireland’s economic recovery is looking “more sustainable”.
Ulster Bank had previously …
Employment in manufacturing sector rises at fastest rate for 15 years
Output increased for the 12th month running, with the rate of expansion remaining sharp despite slowing from the previous month.
Higher sales was the main factor leading to an increase in production, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index for the sector.
Philip O’Sullivan, of specialist bank Investec, said the report signifies another sharp monthly improvement in business conditions.
“The key highlight within the report is the employment component, which …
Wall Street banks plan move to Ireland if UK quits EU
A newspaper report has quoted sources as saying Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley were considering Ireland as a favourable location if they needed to shift operations.
Plans are said to be at an early stage but attention is being focused amid deepening plans for a banking union and the possibility that the UK exits the European Union following a promised referendum.
Ireland could prove to be an obvious …
Fall in the number of SME businesses in growth mode
And more than 80pc of firms questioned said they were not exporting, according to the latest assessment of the SME sector from cross border development body InterTrade- Ireland.
Its Business Monitor survey for the second quarter found that the number of companies that were growing fell to 29pc between April and June compared with 37pc in the first three months of the year.
Dr Eoin Magennis, InterTradeIreland’s economist and policy research …
North 'will be able to match corporation tax in South'
NORTHERN Ireland looks set to be handed the power to slash corporation tax which will help it better compete with the Republic for inward investment.
The corporation tax rate in the North is 20pc, compared with 12.5pc in the Republic.
Businesses and political parties north of the border have been campaigning to have the rate brought into line with the Republic.
Senior sources in London and Belfast predict that an …
France cuts growth forecasts for 2014 and 2015
France today cut its growth forecasts for both this year and next and said it would miss its public deficit target this year.
It urged its European peers and their central bank to take steps to boost faltering growth and head off deflation.
Although he did not specifically comment on the key 2015 target – when France’s public deficit is due to come into line with the EU’s 3% of …
Wages to rise as recovery takes hold
In its latest assessment of the economy, it claimed the coming year would bring further increases in average earnings following years of pay restraint, with total wage packets being pushed up on average 0.5pc this year and 1pc in 2015.
But it also warned that while the jobless rate is in decline, long-term unemployment remains “worryingly high”.
The news comes just a day after stockbroker Davy said that a raft …
German economy contracts unexpectedly in second quarter
The data, combined with weakness in other large countries like Italy, is likely to raise new doubts about the recovery in the euro zone, which is struggling to emerge from the deep financial crisis that nearly tore it apart.
Germany’s Federal Statistics Office said the economy shrank by 0.2pc between April and June. It had been forecast to stagnate, according to a Reuters poll.
It was a marked slowdown from …
Positivity hits five-year high despite concerns over hiring costs
Spending Is on the rise and companies believe the availability of credit from all sources Is improving, according to the latest Deloitte CFO survey.
But despite the positivity, the men and women who control the finances of some of Ireland’s large private companies remain cautious about the overall state of play in the economy.
While they see unemployment falling and the recovery continuing, just over a half surveyed believe the …
Bailout loan can be repaid early, says IMF
Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said taxpayers could save up to €375m per year if the State was able to pay off a share of the IMF portion of the €67.5bn bailout.
But unless there is agreement from Europe, repaying the IMF portion of the loan early would automatically trigger the repayment of the less onerous European share of the bailout, wiping out the benefits.
Mr Noonan said he will …