Moody's to upgrade Irish bonds for second time in 2014
IRELAND’s bond rating will probably be raised today for the second time in less than six months by Moody’s, as the economy stabilises and concerns that the eurozone may be under threat eases, analysts have predicted.
Moody’s is widely expected to bolster its ranking of Irish bonds to Baa2 from Baa3 as the ratings company delivers its latest verdict on the country, according to six of nine analysts and economists …
Families to pay €700 more after sneaky USC hike
Hundreds of thousands of pensioners and families with medical cards are facing a sneaky tax hike – while high-earning self-employed people will enjoy a tax cut.
The increase of as much as €700 a year for a single-income family on €40,000 a year will come as a result of a huge jump in the amount of universal social charge (USC) paid by up to 360,000 people.
The hike arises from …
Ireland lobbies for new money markets tracking agency
Ireland is lobbying global banking authorities in Switzerland to become the base for the organisation that will set up and implement a worldwide system for tracking players on the money markets.
The Basel-based Financial Stability Board (FSB) sets global bank standards and is creating a new agency to implement a planned system of assigning unique Legal Entity Identifier numbers to all participants in the capital markets to ensure greater transparency.
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Credit unions target young adults with €2bn loan blitz
CREDIT unions have been encouraged to target young adults in a move that could see up to €2bn lent to them to buy cars and fund education.
And people between the ages of 18 and 34 have a high regard for the community-owned lenders.
Almost half of adults under the age of 34 would consider taking out a loan from their credit union, a conference in Dublin hosted by international …
Fall in homeowners in arrears on mortgages
THERE has been a fall in the numbers of homeowners in arrears on their mortgages. Despite the fall in the numbers behind on their payments, the main domestic banks have yet to restructure three out of four distressed mortgages.
Figures out this afternoon from the Department of Finance show that there are now just short of 78,500 residential mortgage accounts were three months or more behind on payments at the …
Sentiment towards savings down in April – Nationwide UK / ESRI survey
Consumer sentiment towards saving fell slightly in April, according to the latest Nationwide UK (Ireland) / ESRI Savings Index.
The monthly measure of people’s attitudes towards saving was 101 in April – down one point from the figure recorded in March.
The majority of those surveyed – 60% – said Government policy was discouraging people from saving, with just a quarter believing that now was a good time to save.
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Noonan dismisses fears of housing bubble
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said assisting first-time buyers to secure mortgages will help stimulate the construction sector and has dismissed speculation it could fuel another bubble. Reacting to reports that the Government would in effect be subsidising mortgages, Mr Noonan said the current system was preventing young couples from getting on the property ladder.
His comments came ahead of today’s launch of the Government’s strategy for a renewed …
Construction plan won't lead to property bubble – Noonan
Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said plans to boost the construction sector will not lead to a property bubble.
Mr Noonan was speaking ahead of a Government announcement today of a package of measures aimed at stimulating activity in the building industry. He said more houses were needed.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the initiatives should give fresh hope to the 100,000 skilled construction workers on the live register.
Today’s announcement …
Consumer confidence hits seven year high
CONSUMER confidence rose again last month to hit a seven-year high.
The increase is despite household finances being under continued pressure, especially with the advent of water charges.
KBC Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute said the index of consumer sentiment jumped to 87.3 in April, from 83.1 in the previous month.
This is the highest level since January 2007.
But economist with KBC Bank Austin Hughes warned …
European shares rise sharply to six year high
European shares rose on Tuesday, with a key regional index making fresh six-year highs, as a rally in U.S. shares and upbeat updates from blue-chips such as steelmaker ThyssenKrupp supported risk appetite.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.2 percent at 1,367.60 points, its highest level since May 2008. Britain’s FTSE was up 0.2 percent after briefly hitting its highest point in roughly a year.
Shares in Germany’s ThyssenKrupp …