Archive for November 2020

More than a third of insurance firms are worried about the cost of claims, particularly from Covid-19, while 60 per cent fear they will see a reduction in premium volumes as a result of the economic fallout from the crisis. That is according to a PwC/Insurance Ireland CEO survey. It found that 35 per cent…

The European Union will impose tariffs on American goods worth $4bn starting today in a tit-for-tat escalation over illegal aid to aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus. EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis yesterday expressed a preference to negotiate a settlement, saying the bloc would drop its duties if the US withdrew the tariffs it imposed on…

The gap between the highest and lowest mortgage rates has stretched to a five-year record. It comes after the launch of a mortgage rate of less than 2pc which has driven a surge in switching activity. The new rate is the lowest in this market for 12 years. The gap in rates means the difference…

The pandemic has prompted people to put more emphasis on the need to plan for their financial future. More than six out of 10 people said they now see planning for their financial futures as more important than they did prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. However, less than half of those surveyed said they are…

The ESB has teamed up with a Chinese-owned firm to develop a €3bn-plus wind farm off the coast of Scotland. It’s the second major Scottish offshore wind farm project that the semi-State ESB has signed up to in the past year. In its latest deal, the ESB has inked a 50-50 joint venture with Edinburgh-based…

Improving trends in the housing market should help banks restore some of their lost income from depressed mortgage activity, according to Goodbody. The stockbroker said it expected mortgage lending to decline 20pc this year to €7.6bn – better than the previous estimate of €6.9bn before growing in 2021 to €8.6bn. The change in forecast followed…

UK trade with the EU will face “significant disruption” when the Brexit transition ends, regardless of whether a trade deal is agreed, the UK government spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said preparations for the new border controls – which had already been rated “high risk” – had been further hampered by…

Credit and debit card spending dropped following the introduction of Level 5 restrictions, according to the latest data from the Central Bank. As seen with the original restrictions in March, the figures show that spending increased in the days leading up to the new restrictions being introduced, and in this case peaked on the day…

Prime and secondary retail rents could fall by 11pc and 13pc respectively over the 12 months to the end of September 2021 according to the latest survey of Irish chartered surveyors. At the same time prime and secondary office rents are expected to fall by a respective 5pc and 7pc over the same period according…

Former head of the Revenue Commissioners Josephine Feehily is to head up a new commission that will make recommendations to the Government on the age that people will qualify for the State pension. Ms Feehily has also chaired the Policing Authority since she stepped down from her role leading the tax authority. The new Commission…