Without decent European investment yield lenders are looking to the US
September in the European corporate debt market is often a time of much rejoicing. The dearth of activity in August is replaced by a flood of issuance, tightening spreads, and a general feeling that bonds are back. Not this time. This August has been particularly miserable, and almost all of the factors that made it […]
Comment: Hiking VAT on tourism would raise Brexit stakes
Each year, at about this time, there is a lot of speculation about the 9pc tourism VAT rate and whether it will be retained in October’s Budget to be delivered by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. Each year, at about this time, there is a lot of speculation about the 9pc tourism VAT rate and whether […]
Contactless card payments increase
Consumers are turning more to debit cards and contactless payments, according to the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). In the past three years, the number of debit-card transactions has increased rapidly in Ireland, the CBI said in its latest quarterly bulletin. There is also some tentative evidence to suggest that the increase in their use […]
Businesses failing to prepare despite no-deal Brexit fear
The vast majority of Irish businesses still do not have a Brexit plan in place, despite 70pc of firms expecting the UK’s departure from the EU to have a negative impact on Ireland’s economy. AIB’s Brexit Sentiment index for the second quarter found that the manufacturing, retail and tourism sectors here were the most negative […]
This is a frightening prospect for the thousands who have worked in Britain
In common with many people in this country, both my parents worked in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. My late father spent 10 years as a radio officer in the British merchant navy. For this he got a good defined benefit pension when he hit 65. He was also entitled to a British state […]