What are the big economic trends on the way in the next decade?
Opinion: here’s how the US economy, Chinese growth, oil prices, globalism, unemployment and Brexit will affect our world At the start of the year, there is great interest in making predictions. But instead of making short term predictions for 2019, what are some of the big trends which may dominate the next five to ten […]
Promised reform in insurance sector is ‘incomplete’ – Insurance Ireland
The insurance industry in Ireland has expressed concern about what it calls a lack of urgency in delivering key reforms in the sector that are aimed at reducing claims costs. Insurance Ireland says promised reform is incomplete and inaction is costing policy-holders. The call for progress comes exactly two years on from the publication of […]
Consumer sentiment unchanged in December – survey
Consumer sentiment was unchanged in December from November, as concerns about the economic outlook appeared to be offset by improved personal finances and end-of-year spending. The Irish economy is on course to be the best performer in the European Union for the fifth consecutive year. But concern about the vulnerability of the economy to an […]
Ireland’s forestry industry comes together to meet Brexit challenge
Ireland plants almost 30 million trees a year, or 80,000 trees a day. The country’s forest and timber companies have competed very successfully against each other for many years, but since its biggest export market is the UK, Brexit has acted as a catalyst to bring the industry together to meet the challenge. Forest Industries […]
Enterprise Ireland warns 600 companies vulnerable to a hard Brexit
The number of people employed in companies backed by Enterprise Ireland (EI) rose last year to a record high of more than 215,000. But the agency has warned that Brexit poses serious challenges for indigenous Irish businesses, particularly those involved in exporting, and those effects had yet to be seen “However, as the March 29 […]
Brexit preparation – is business ready for the unknown?
The Kayfoam factory in Bluebell in Dublin is a labyrinthine complex of large warehouse units packed with noisy high-tech machines pumping out, shaping and sizing huge blocks of foam under the watchful eye of a team of busy staff. The blocks are then quickly fashioned into mattresses and other foam based bedding materials like pillows, […]
Jobless rate remains unchanged at 5.3% in December
The rate of unemployment remained at a 10-year low of 5.3% in December, new figures from the Central Statistics office show today. The CSO said the seasonally adjusted number of people who were unemployed in December stood at 127,100, a decrease of 20,000 when compared to December 2017. The country’s unemployment rate has fallen from […]
Monthly retail sales edge 0.1% lower in November
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the volume of retail sales edged 0.1% lower in November on a monthly basis. But retail sales were up 3.6% on an annual basis, the CSO added. The figures were lower than expected. When car sales are excluded, the CSO said that monthly retail sales rose […]
NTMA to open 2019 fund raising with 10-year bond deal
The National Treasury Management Agency has hired a syndicate of banks and brokers to sell a new 10-year bond that a market source said was likely to raise around €3 billion. That potentially could cover a fifth of the NTMA’s annual funding needs. The NTMA has kicked off its funding drive with a syndicated sale […]
Employers’ body says economic growth will be lower this year
Employers’ group Ibec says economic growth will be lower this year as a result of Brexit but also because the economy is at a mature phase of the business cycle. The group also warns that a shortage of workers is already starting to have an effect on companies. Ibec says growth will be around 4% […]