Archive for June 2023

Speaking at a Banking Payments Federation Ireland conference, Micheal McGrath said genuine people should not be allowed to fall into arrears due to higher interest rates. Speaking at a Banking Payments Federation Ireland conference, Micheal McGrath said genuine people should not be allowed to fall into arrears due to higher interest rates. By Adam Maguire…

Construction activity contracted again in May, but only slightly, as demand improved. The latest BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPRE) Ireland Construction index was still below the crucial 50 mark at 49.4, the eight consecutive month that activity fell. But there were further signs of recovery, with new orders, employment and buying activity improving on previous…

The annual rate of inflation slowed to 6.6% in May, compared to 7.2% in April, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today. The rate of goods inflation has slowed to 2.9% while the price of services has risen to 9.5%. The pace of inflation across the economy is gradually slowing down but prices…

The Central Bank has published data showing customers with mortgages at credit-servicing firms face higher interest rates. The analysis shows that 90% of loans held by the so-called ‘non-bank’ sector that administers mortgages bought up by investment funds, have an interest rate of 6.5% or less. 20% of these loans had interest rates of 6%…

Today on World Accreditation Day, the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) is calling on businesses to employ accredited services to test, inspect, verify or certify their products or services. When manufacturing a product, a business will hire a company to make sure their products or services meet the specified requirements set out in legislation or…

The National Treasury Management Agency said it sold €1.25 billion of bonds maturing in 2033 and 2050 at auction today at yields of 2.84% and 3.359%. With the completion of today’s auction, the NTMA has issued €6 billion of benchmark bonds so far this year. The NTMA has said it aims to raise between €7…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the Households Saving Rate fell to 14% in the first three months of 2023, down from 24% at the end of 2022. The CSO said the lower rate of saving in the first three months of the year marked a departure from the high rate that…

The euro area fell into a technical recession in the first quarter of this year, according to figures from Eurostat. However, across the EU as a whole, growth remained positive at 0.1% compared to the last three months of last year. Euro area GDP growth fell by 0.1% in the first three months of this…

Euro zone consumers lowered their inflation expectations, a fresh European Central Bank survey showed today, a relief for policymakers after an unexpected surge a month earlier, even if underlying price growth is still likely to be stubborn. The ECB has raised interest rates by a combined 375 basis points over the past year to arrest…

The top US securities regulator has sued cryptocurrency platform Coinbase, the second lawsuit in two days against a major crypto exchange. This marks a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the industry and one that could dramatically transform a market that has largely operated outside regulation. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday…