Archive for August 2020

Staycations and the reopening of hospitality and leisure venues have spurred gas demand to near normal levels. But while overall gas demand climbed 4.1pc in July compared to June, it remains 3.7pc lower than a year ago, according to Gas Networks Ireland. Gas demand in the hospitality and leisure sector was just 1pc below where…

Senior venture capitalists have described as “worrying” the lack of money coming through for new Irish startups. While the overall amount raised on both parts of the island reached €545m for the first six months of 2020 – the highest for four years -the figures were skewed by a handful of giant deals, leaving early-stage…

Euro zone government bond yields rose on Friday, after three consecutive days of selling-off, with the benchmark German 10-year Bund yield having briefly touched a six-week high in early London trading. Borrowing costs in Europe have tracked US Treasuries this week, which have been driven to new highs by a deluge of debt issuance in…

The technology sector will have recovered from the effects of the coronavirus and lockdown by the end of this year, but retail will not see 2019 levels of activity until beyond 2025. Overall, the economy here will not recover to its 2019 size until 2023 and Northern Ireland’s will take a further year return to…

Deloitte has released it latest State of the Consumer Tracker which shows consumer confidence holding steady into July, with Ireland now in second place in Europe for consumer confidence in visiting stores in person. This is the latest of the new bi-weekly survey, which tracks Irish consumers’ attitudes towards personal well-being, financial concerns, travel and…

The European Commission has proposed changes to the EU’s VAT rules, in preparation for the end of the transition period with the UK on 31 December 2020. The amendment to the VAT Directive introduces a special identification number for businesses in Northern Ireland, so that EU VAT provisions can be properly applied to goods, in…

The UK economy suffered a bigger slump than any other major European economy in the second quarter, shrinking by a fifth and falling into its deepest recession on record. Official data released on Wednesday showed that gross domestic product (GDP) fell 20.4 per cent quarter on quarter, with widespread contractions across all sectors. The figures…

Applications have opened for the Government’s Restart Grant Plus Scheme after the maximum grant available was raised to €25,000. Businesses that have suffered a 25% loss of expected turnover between April 1 and June 30 can apply for the funding if they have less than 250 employees and turnover of less than €25m. Eligible companies…

Britain’s economy shrank by a record 20.4 per cent between April and June, when the coronavirus lockdown was tightest, the largest contraction reported by any major economy so far, according to official figures published on Wednesday. The data also showed the world’s sixth-biggest economy entered a recession as it shrank for a second quarter in…

Dublin’s Digital Hub, which is home to more than 70 companies, has warned it may need to seek emergency funding from the State as Covid-19 impacts its finances. According to briefing notes recently prepared for Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan, the Digital Hub Development Agency alerted his department in April of the effect of the…