Archive for June 2024

Is it too early for Irish retailers to start preparing for Christmas? Not according to An Post. It has published its first eCommerce Index which shows that 95% of adults shopped online illustrating the potential for businesses to bolster and expand their ecommerce offering. The period from October to December, is known as the peak…

The European Central Bank will cut its deposit rate twice more this year, in September and December, according to a significant majority of economists polled by Reuters who said the risks were skewed towards fewer rate cuts than expected. That outlook was broadly unchanged from a survey conducted before the ECB delivered its widely telegraphed…

Dublin is the fourth most expensive city in Europe to build, a new survey shows today, while it also makes it into the top 25 most expensive places to build globally. The International Construction Market Survey 2024 Report, from global professional services company Turner & Townsend, shows that Switzerland remains the most expensive country to…

Oil prices were stable today, as traders awaited signs of a hoped-for summer demand boost to prop up prices even as strong supply threatens to blunt gains. Benchmark Brent crude futures were down two cents to $84.23 per barrel this afternoon after climbing in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures which also…

The Central Bank has reduced its forecasts for economic growth this year. In its latest Quarterly Bulletin, the bank predicts that Modified Domestic Demand will expand by 2.1% in 2024, down from its forecast in March of 2.2%. It has also cut its forecast for Gross Domestic Product to 1.8%, down from its previous projection…

Fiscal policy has a “major role to play” in broadening the financial gains from generative AI technology and preventing a spike in wealth inequality, the IMF today. Left unchecked, generative artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to amplify job losses among white collar professions, International Monetary Fund staff wrote in a new paper. The technology forms the…

The European Central Bank’s chief economist said today he remained confident inflation will fall back to the ECB’s 2% target in 2025 after four years of unusually brisk price growth following the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker interview, Philip Lane also played down the need for the ECB…

Dublin ranks as the 41st most expensive city in the world for international employees, the 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking survey from Mercer shows, ten places higher than last year. This means that Dublin is more expensive than cities like Edinburgh, Milan, Rome and Madrid, but it is still behind major European cities like…

The European Central Bank needs to see momentum in services inflation come down this year in order to confirm its disinflation narrative, the ECB’s chief economist said today, adding it will not have much new information by its July meeting. “It’s fair to say momentum at the start of the year in services was relatively…

Nearly half of Irish jobseekers would refuse a job offer if there were no hybrid or fully remote working options offered, according to new research from The Stepstone Group, the parent company of jobs website IrishJobs. This compares to a global average of 29%. The study found that 61% of jobseekers would turn down an…