Record number of startups are formed here
Almost 23,000 business startups were formed in Ireland last year, according to a report from company intelligence firm CRIF Vision-net. This is up 1.2pc on 2018, and is the highest number of startups over a 12-month period in CRIF’s 29-year history. Startups exceeded company closures by more than 10,400 in 2019. Firms operating in the […]
Consumer sentiment climbs to six-month high
Consumer sentiment hit a six-month high in January, buoyed by the reduced risk of a disorderly British exit from the European Union. But sentiment was still sharply lower in January than it was a year ago. Ireland has remained the European Union’s fastest growing economy during three years of Brexit talks, but consumer confidence faltered […]
US trade deficit falls in 2019 for first time in 6 years
The US trade deficit fell last year to $616.8 billion, the first time the gap has narrowed since 2013 as imports, particularly from China, declined more than exports, according to government data released today. As President Donald Trump’s trade confrontations escalated in 2019, the total trade gap shrunk by nearly $10 billion as exports fell […]
Economy off to strong start in 2020, services PMI shows
The country’s services sector grew at the fastest pace in seven months in January, a new survey today showed. This was the second survey this week to suggest the euro zone’s fastest-growing economy made a strong start to the year. A slowdown in manufacturing activity in Ireland threatened to spread to the services sector as […]
Euro zone factories still struggling but green shoots emerging – PMI
Euro zone factory activity contracted again in January but did so at its shallowest rate since mid-2019, according to a survey which suggested the worst may be over for the bloc’s battered manufacturing industry. IHS Markit’s final manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a nine-month high of 47.9 in January. This was just above a […]