Archive for March 2024

Housing is viewed as the top challenge for US firms operating here, a survey of members of the American Chambers of Commerce in Ireland has found. 98% of members cited the availability of residential accommodation as challenging for staff in their business operations in Ireland, with 73% saying it was either extremely or very challenging.…

The European Central Bank will be in position to discuss an interest rate cut in June, Vice President Luis de Guindos said today, joining a long list of policymakers putting the June 6 meeting on the table for a potential start of policy easing. ECB President Christine Lagarde earlier this month said the bank was…

Irish exports jumped 22% in January when compared to the same month of 2023, according to the Central Statistics Office. There were more than €18.9 billion in exports in the month – €3.42 billion more than January of last year. Most of the increase came from a pick-up in trade to the US – the…

The cost of a fry-up has risen by 3.1% in the past year, according to the Central Statistics Office. That figure is based on the data the CSO tracks as part of its monthly consumer price index. While the exact ingredients of a full Irish breakfast are often disputed, the CSO’s plate includes rashers, sausages,…

The holders of tracker mortgages in Ireland look set to benefit from a 0.35% reduction in their interest rates in September. The development follows a technical change by the European Central Bank affecting the rate at which tracker mortgages are pegged to. Tracker mortgages rates are typically made up of the ECB’s refinancing rate, currently…

The rate of inflation continued to ease last month, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office. Consumer prices rose by 3.4% in the year to the end of February, compared to a rate of 4.1% in the year to the end of January. The CSO said it was only the fourth time since…

Consumer queries to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission were up 20% last year, with faulty goods and services being the subject of most contacts. Almost 40,000 people contacted the helpline throughout the year. The CCPC has released its helpline report for 2023 to coincide with World Consumer Rights Day. Most queries to the commission…

Europe’s private credit funds are increasingly borrowing from banks to boost their performance, fuelling concerns about the wider risks posed by this interconnectedness. A record 80% of new European private credit funds borrowed from banks via ‘subscription lines’ in 2023, funding that allows them to lend before tapping their investors for cash, MSCI Private Capital…

The European Parliament has given the final nod to far-reaching rules on artificial intelligence that the EU hopes will both harness innovation and defend against harms. The law, known as the “AI Act”, was first proposed in April 2021 by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. But it was only after Microsoft-funded ChatGPT burst…

The average interest rate on new mortgages in Ireland rose in January, according to new data from the Central Bank. At the end of the month, the average rate was 4.27%, up 0.08% from a month earlier. It means rates on new mortgages in Ireland are now the seventh most expensive in the euro area,…