Archive for July 2024

European Central Bank vice-president Luis de Guindos hinted at a possible interest rate cut in September, singling out the ECB’s new projections as the “most important” factor in determining whether inflation is falling back to target. The ECB left rates on hold last week but President Christine Lagarde said its next meeting in September was…

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), part of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has announced the completion of four investment commitments totalling €229m aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes in Ireland. The new homes will be delivered for a mix of owner-occupiers, renters, students and people who need social housing. The four…

Market expectations for the path of future interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank are “rather reasonable,” ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview on French radio BFM Business today. The ECB kept interest rates unchanged yesterday, as expected, but said September’s meeting was “wide open”. “Market expectations for the path…

The number of job vacancies remained unchanged in the second quarter of 2024, the first time in two years there was no quarterly decline in vacancies. Hiring platform IrishJobs has today published its Jobs Index for the last three months which it said showed signs of a positive trajectory in the jobs market amid steadier…

Airports and airlines across Europe are experiencing technical issues as media companies, banks and telecom firms around the world also reported that system outages were disrupting their operations. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s busiest hubs, is also being affected by a cyber outage, a spokesperson confirmed. “The outage has an impact on flights flying…

The domestic tourism market grew strongly in 2023 with over 14.3 million trips taken by Irish holidaymakers which generated €3.1 billion for the economy. New figures from Fáilte Ireland show over one million extra domestic holidays were taken by Irish people in 2023, an annual increase of 8%. Related expenditure was also up by 6.5%…

The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged as expected today, with its president Christine Lagarde saying a move in September was “wide open”. The ECB cut rates from record highs last month in a move that even some of its policymakers considered rushed after progress on lowering inflation to its 2% target stalled. With…

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets later today. The likely pause follows the decision to cut rates by 0.25% at the last meeting of the bank’s chiefs in June, the first reduction since 2019. That brought the key deposit rate back down…

The annual rate of increase in the price of homes around the country picked up further in pace in May, new data from the Central Statistics Office shows. The CSO’s Residential Property Price Index rose by 8.2% in the 12 months to the end of May, compared to 7.9% in the year to the end…

New car sales in the European Union rose 4.3% in June to their highest since July 2019, driven by an uptick in major markets Italy, Germany, and Spain, while registrations of battery electric cars fell marginally, data from Europe’s auto industry body showed today. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said a rise in registrations…