Archive for December 2019

Euro zone business growth remained weak in December, with tepid foreign demand exacerbating a contraction in manufacturing and offsetting a slight pick-up in services activity.  IHS Markit’s Euro Zone Composite Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), seen as a good guide to economic health, stayed at 50.6 in December, a touch below a median 50.7 predicted…

The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys has today launched a five year plan to future-proof the manufacturing sector here. Ireland’s Industry 4.0 Strategy was launched at the Irish Manufacturing Research Centre in Mullingar in Co Westmeath. It aims to help firms respond to the transformation of the manufacturing sector being driven by…

A new survey has found that more than half of small and medium-sized Irish enterprises are experiencing some or significant impact as a result of Brexit. The research also found that a third of SMEs have postponed a business decision or investment because of the uncertainty around the UK’s departure from the EU, up from a fifth…

New European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde today said the bank would next month launch a major “strategic review” of the bank’s tools and goals, its first since 2003. Christine Lagarde told reporters the reassessment would start “in the course of January” and aim to be completed by “the end of 2020”. The review “will…

New Central Statistics Office figures show that consumer prices rose by 1.1% in November from 0.7% in October on the back of higher rents and mortgage interest repayments and education costs.  This was the highest rate of inflation since June of this year. The CSO said that housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel prices…

The White House has reached a “deal in principle” with Beijing to resolve the 17-month US-China trade war, according to a source briefed on the trade talks The White House was expected to make an announcement later today, the source said. “The written agreement is still being formulated, but they have reached an agreement in…

The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) has warned that the rising cost of public liability insurance is adversely impacting competitiveness. The body also warns that legal services around the enforcement of commercial contracts in Ireland are both expensive and slow. The findings are contained in the NCC’s latest Competitiveness Challenges report, which focuses on six key…

The US Federal Reserve has held interest rates steady and signaled borrowing costs are likely to remain unchanged indefinitely.  Moderate economic growth and low unemployment are expected to continue through next year’s presidential election, it said. The decision by the Fed’s rate-setting committee left the benchmark overnight lending rate in its current target range between…

The ESRI has warned that any reduction in windfall levels of corporation tax will have a significant impact on the public finances, which could require the Government to implement austerity policies.  Because of this danger, it advises that the windfall portion of the corporation tax take should be set aside to counter any shocks to the…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that Ireland exported a total €141 billion of goods in 2018 and imported €92 billion worth of goods.  The country exported over €39 billion of goods to the US in 2018 – its largest export market. It also imported €17 billion from the US last year.  The…