New debt-forgiveness scheme could save SMEs battered by the downturn
A debt-forgiveness scheme for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) battered by the crash is among proposals to be examined by a high- level working group being set up by the Government, the Irish Independent has learned.
Banks will be asked to cancel some company debts in exchange for shares in even small firms if the debt-for- equity proposal is taken up, according to sources close to the process.
The radical …
Irish manufacturing sector is top Eurozone performer
THE manufacturing sector in Ireland expanded at its fastest pace in three years last month, making it the eurozone’s star performer.
And expectations of further improvements over the coming months have led companies to markedly increase staff, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the sector.
Ireland topped the eurozone’s PMI league table, with the rate of growth beating Germany.
High taxes, business costs 'threaten economic recovery'
TAX increases heaped on workers during the recession, coupled with rising business costs, are weakening competitiveness and could threaten Ireland’s economic recovery, an independent watchdog has warned.
Rising wages and employee contributions, together with rising electricity bills for companies, may also have an impact and could hurt jobs and growth.
The independent National Competitiveness Council (NCC) said in a stark warning that Ireland’s cost competitiveness was deteriorating compared with other …
Credit unions bid to block Central Bank's debt plan
CREDIT unions are frustrating an attempt by the Central Bank to launch a new initiative to get banks and other lenders to deal with all the debts of a household, and not just mortgage borrowings.
The scheme could see heavily indebted households getting a write-down of some of their debts.
Credit unions and other lenders of so-called unsecured debts would be big losers, as the scheme would prioritise the paying …
Plan B: how leaving euro can save Ireland
Our current economic problems didn’t begin with the debt crisis but have their roots in decision to join eurozone, says Cormac Lucey. It may seem odd, with the Troika having departed Ireland in December 2013, to call for a default on our debts and for exit from the eurozone.
Instinctively, people don’t want to do either of these things. The first would involve reneging on debts freely entered into. The …