Archive for November 2023

A quarter of businesses in the “experience economy” are less confident than they were six months ago, new research has found. A similar proportion of firms indicated they expect conditions to be poor over the next six months. The experience economy includes hospitality, retail, travel, food, drink, tourism, entertainment, the arts and events. The survey…

One week out, AIB is forecasting that online Black Friday spend in Ireland this year will surpass last year’s record-breaking total. In 2022, customers of the bank spent €66,000 every minute or €95m in total, the highest online spend ever recorded by the lender over a 24-hour period. A total of 900,000 card transactions by…

It’s the time of year when the purse strings are being loosened in the run into the festive season. Most of us are at the stage where we’re at least starting to plan for the months ahead and, more importantly, how we’re going to finance and manage the annual Christmas spend. Following at least two…

Planning to cut back on Christmas spending is now a seasonal norm, according to analysis of the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment survey for November. It contained a special question on consumers spending plans for Christmas, and compared it with spending intentions in the previous three years. Over half of consumers expect to have less to…

Oil prices were little changed today but on track for their fourth week of losses in a row after tumbling about 5% to a four month-low yesterday on worries over global demand. Brent futures edged up seven cents, or 0.1%, to $77.49 a barrel in early trade. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was at…

More expensive services and food were the main drivers of consumer price growth in the euro zone in October, data showed today, as the EU’s statistics office confirmed year-on-year inflation slowed sharply. Eurostat said consumer inflation in the 20 countries using the euro decelerated to 2.9% year-on-year in October from 4.3% in September after prices…

The Government has announced that the entitlement to paid sick leave will increase from three to five days on 1 January 2024. It is the second stage of a four-year plan which will see employer-paid sick leave gradually rise to ten days in 2026. The move is designed to ensure that all employees get a…

Exports of goods from Ireland fell 17% in September, compared to the same month of last year, driven in large part by a further sizeable drop in sales of pharmaceutical related products and electronics. In total, goods valued at just under €16 billion were exported during the month, compared to €19.4 billion in September of…

Residential property prices rose nationally in September, compared to the same month last year, by 1.4%. This compares to an annual rate of 1.1% in August, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show. The rate of price increases outside Dublin rose to an annual rate of 4%, compared to 3.4% in August. However,…

The Central Bank has today published regulations and guidance for firms who have to comply with the Individual Accountability Framework (IAF). This is a set of rules governing the conduct of employees and executives in financial companies. It follows a three month consultation process. Derville Rowland, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank said: “As regulators,…