Archive for June 2025

A new survey reveals that 29% of adults in Ireland said they could not last a full hour without the internet. The annual Connected Lives survey from broadband and telecoms provider Pure Telecom also reveals that 40% of people would turn down €5m in cash if it meant they could never use the internet again.…

Euro zone inflation is now on target and no sustained undershooting is likely but the ECB should keep all of its options open for future policy moves amid exceptional uncertainty, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said today. The ECB has cut interest rates eight times since last June but signalled a pause in policy easing for…

At the height of the financial crisis in 2009 Ireland set up the National Asset Management Agency, better known as NAMA. Its purpose was to deal with the loans given by banks to developers and builders – many of which would never be repaid. By any measure, it was one of the biggest decisions in…

The number of homes approved for planning permission fell by 2.5% in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office. The CSO said that in the first quarter of this year 8,177 homes were given the green light by planners compared to 8,387…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the annual rate of inflation slowed to 1.7% in May from a rate of 2.2% in April. The CSO said inflation was flat month-on-month while the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, which strips out mortgage interest costs, fell to 1.4% on an annual basis from 2%…

No major US trading partner manipulated its currency in 2024, the Treasury Department said in the first semi-annual currency report of President Donald Trump’s new administration. But the Treasury Department’s “monitoring list” of countries warranting close attention grew to nine with the addition of Ireland and Switzerland. While it did not label China a currency…

NAMA, the State body responsible for handling property loans from the financial crisis, plans to return more money to the taxpayer than previously expected. The organisation, which is due to be dissolved this year, plans to return €5.5 billion to the Exchequer – €300m more than previously thought. This made up of a surplus of…

The Central Bank has warned about the effects of global uncertainty caused by US tariffs and its potential impact on the Irish economy. The Governor of the Central Bank Gabriel Makhlouf said: “There has already been some softening in consumer sentiment.” Mr Makhlouf added the bank’s engagement with industry pointed to “cautiousness amongst companies, at…

Irish wind farms have produced 33% of the country’s electricity since the start of the year, new figures from Wind Energy Ireland show today. Wind Energy Ireland said around 22% of demand was meet by windfarms last month, up slightly when compared to May last year. It also said that wind farms had a significant…

The World Bank has slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by 0.4 percentage point to 2.3%, saying that higher tariffs and heightened uncertainty posed a “significant headwind” for nearly all economies. In its twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, the bank lowered its forecasts for nearly 70% of all economies – including the United States,…