Archive for March 2020

European banks have the flexibility to avoid a huge rise in provisioning for non-payment of loans during the coronavirus outbreak, the European Union’s securities and banking watchdogs said today.  Banks have warned they face mounting provisions as businesses and households they lent money to struggle to repay loans during the outbreak.  EU states have approved…

The Government is to increase the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Support payment for people who have been laid-off due to the virus from €203 to €350.  The payment will also apply to the self-employed affected by the virus. However, people who are already unemployed due to reasons other than Covid-19 will remain on the usual Jobseekers’…

The European Commission has said the EU would suspend its strict rules on public deficits to allow governments to open the money taps to face the coronavirus pandemic. In an unprecedented decision, Brussels triggered something called the “general escape clause”, giving countries free rein to “inject spending into the economy as needed,” EU chief Ursula…

Businesses most impacted by the coronavirus outbreak will be able to defer the payment of their commercial rates for three months under a plan agreed by the Government with local authorities. The deal will relate primarily to the retail, hospitality, leisure and childcare sectors and will last until the end of May. In a statement,…

Stockbroker Davy has said the Irish economy could contract in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In a range of possible scenarios outlined in a paper on the economy, chief economist Conall MacCoille describes the impact as ‘highly uncertain’. He said the stockbroking firm was delaying revising downwards its forecast for growth in…

The main banks are to introduce a range of measures to help those affected by the outbreak of coronavirus. They include including a payment break up to three months, the deferment of court proceedings and the provision of working capital support to support businesses and personal customers. It follows a meeting between representatives of the…

European shares edged higher from near-seven year lows today as another set of dramatic stimulus measures by the European Central Bank injected a ray of hope around its preparedness to tackle a major health crisis gripping the world. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5% in opening trade.  The European Central Bank joined peers…

The European Central Bank on Wednesday announced a surprise €750 billion scheme to purchase government and corporate bonds. It comes as it joined other central banks in stepping up efforts to contain the economic damage from the coronavirus.  The ‘Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme’ comes just six days after the ECB unveiled a big-bank stimulus package that failed to…

The European Investment Banks (EIB) is to make up to €40bn available to counteract the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. The organisation has also called on its members to set up a further guarantee for small and medium sized firms. The bank said the money could be made available at short notice. It…

Retail Excellence has forecast that another 200,000 people will be out of work by the end of this week because of the measures put in place to tackle the coronavirus. This is in addition to the estimated 140,000 people who have already lost their jobs since the measures were announced last Thursday. Retail Excellence Chief…