The broker said that Ireland is growing at an “exceptionally rapid pace” and is the fastest growing 
in Europe

The broker has also said the unemployment rate will fall to 9.6pc next year, it is currently just above 11pc.

The upbeat report also predicts that the recovery will be more broad-based as consumer spending and investment growth accelerate.

“We expect the government deficit will fall to 2.9pc of GDP next …

A majority of 67pc of respondents said there’s still enough slack in the British economy to justify holding the key rate at 0.5pc, where it’s been since March 2009. The BOE has put spare capacity at about 1pc to 1.5pc of gross domestic product.

As Mr Carney prepares to publish new forecasts in two days and update investors on his views, the level of slack remains a pivotal issue. Conflicting …

And the Department of Finance points out that larger countries, including Germany and France, will also lose their permanent votes. From January 1 next year, all members of the eurozone will get rotating votes at ECB Governing Council meetings.

Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes has called for a guarantee from the ECB that if a country is not voting, the concerns of that country have to be reflected in the …

The results of the small employers’ group National Crime Survey found that crime cost businesses €1.5bn last year and owners were losing faith in the judiciary in the fight against crime.

The survey found that the direct costs of crime have risen 136pc since the start of the recession, resulting in an average cost of €9,760 to each business. When the cost of security is included the tally rises to …

Spar South Africa, a publicly-quoted wholesaler and distributor, is to pay €55 million for an 80 per cent stake in the BWG Group, which owns the Spar brand in Ireland. The new partnership will have up to € 100 million to invest in the expansion of BWG’s wholesale and convenience retailing operations over the next five years, and the new joint venture will be owned 80 per cent by Spar …

Facebook was in touch the other day. “Help your friends recognise you,” they wrote. “Add a profile picture.”

My instinctive reaction was: Why? So it could be added to the pile of data on me and others that is left out there for the unscrupulous to access?

Of course, my picture sits with this piece on the website, so that particular horse has probably bolted. However, we still work generally …

Consumer spending represents over 60% of the economy here and there are signs of recovery after seven years of decline in a row.

This is according to the Marketing Institute of Ireland and UCD’s Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Their consumer market monitor, which draws on a range of data from the CSO, the Central Bank, the ECB and the European Commission, puts consumer confidence at its highest level in seven …

Business newswire Bloomberg reported yesterday that Paddy Power is offering odds of 9-to-4 that house prices will increase by between 15pc and 19.9pc this year.

A €4 winning bet would return a €9 profit, the report helpfully points out to the bond traders and banking analysts who subscribe to the service.

You know you’re in trouble once the novelty bets are being laid. 
Our home-grown experts have been quick to …

In his statement yesterday, ECB President Mario Draghi showed little evidence of a change on policy.

What he ought to have said the council has had second thoughts: The changes in June were too timid, and since then the situation has only worsened.

Inflation in the euro zone is still falling. In the year to July, it was 0.4pc – yet again, less than private forecasters were expecting, and the …

Belgian Wim Verbraeken has also cast doubts on claims that that houses in Dublin in particular are “undervalued.”

Mr Wim Verbraeken, who took over as chief executive of KBC Bank Ireland in November last year, said a lack of homes available to buy in Dublin in particular is hitting the market, including creating a gap between the number of new home loans approved by the bank and actual number drawn …