Archive for September 2020

Sterling got support today from data showing British shoppers kept increasing spending last month, taking sales further above their pre-Covid-19 levels, although the outlook for the pound remains bleak.  The currency was up against the euro at 0.916 today but down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.295. It fell to $1.2866 yesterday when the Bank of England said…

There’s less than a month to go until Budget 2021, but already it’s shaping up to be unlike any other we’ve known in recent memory. Coming against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and what’s looking increasingly like no trade deal between the UK and the EU by year end, the government has two broad…

So is this the big one? After years of courts cases and appeals and treaties and Austrian campaigners, are we finally on the brink of digital war between the EU and the US? Everyone agrees that the Irish data protection commissioner’s preliminary order to Facebook to stop transferring EU citizen data to the US brings…

The global economic recovery from the crisis originated by the coronavirus pandemic may take as much as five years, the World Bank’s chief economist Carmen Reinhart said on Thursday. “There will probably be a quick rebound as all the restriction measures linked to lockdowns are lifted, but a full recovery will take as much as…

Revenue has further extended the deadline for self-assessed income tax returns made online. The Pay and File deadline for submissions made via Revenue Online Service is now 10 December, as opposed to the previous date of 12 November. Revenue said Capital Acquisitions Tax returns relating to gifts or inheritances received in the year to the…

The Minister for Finance has confirmed that the Government does not plan to make any changes to income tax, USC or PRSI in October’s Budget.  Paschal Donohoe said it is the view of the Government that it needs to hold the personal tax code steady and use it to respond back to the challenges facing…

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady today and slightly upgraded its view on the economy, suggesting that no immediate expansion of stimulus was needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic.  Markets are focusing on what Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will say at his post-meeting briefing on how the central bank could work…

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found there is limited overlap between the parts of the economy most exposed to Brexit and the parts most exposed to the impact of Covid-19.   In a working paper, the ESRI said that if a no-trade deal Brexit were to occur, more companies overall would be…

The Central Bank has published an analysis of payment breaks taken by mortgage holders and firms which shows the overwhelming majority of borrowers had no problem servicing their loans prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.   The analysis of payment breaks on mortgages is based on data at the end of May from the five main…

The UK’s restaurant subsidy scheme to support the hospitality sector through the Covid-19 pandemic helped to push the country’s inflation rate down to its lowest rate in almost five years, official data showed today.  UK consumer prices rose by 0.2% in annual terms in August. This was the smallest increase since December 2015 and a sharp…