Archive for August 2025

Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, posted a 698 billion Norwegian crowns ($68.28 billion) profit for the first half of the year, lifted by strong returns among stocks in the financial industry, it said today. The fund’s overall return for the January-June period was 5.7%, which was 0.05 percentage point lower than…

Almost 12,000 home energy upgrades were carried out in the first three months of the year through Government funded grant schemes. This is up 2% on the number of upgrades carried out during the same period last year. New figures from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) reveal that Government expenditure across all schemes…

Irish consumers last year turned their back on €66.7m when they failed to cash in their deposits for drink containers through the Government’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). That is according to the 2024 annual report for Re-Turn which shows that the failure by consumers to redeem the €66m worth in deposits for their drink containers…

After months of negotiations, on again-off again tariffs, delayed implementation dates and threatened higher levies, Donald Trump’s 15% tariff on most imports from the EU to the US took effect at midnight on Thursday. It means many Irish products being exported to the US now face a tariff of 15% with, so far, very few…

The unemployment rate increased slightly in July when compared to the previous month, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. The seasonally adjusted rate was 4.9%, up from 4.6% in June. The monthly youth unemployment rate for those aged 15-24 jumped to 12.2%, from 11.3% the previous month. The rate for those aged 25-74…

Food prices increased by 4.7% in July when compared to the same month last year, new data from the Central Statistics Office shows. The Consumer Price Index reveals that the average price of two litres of full fat milk jumped by 28 cents in the past year to €2.47, while a pound of butter increased…

US trade partners such as Switzerland, Brazil and India were still scrambling to get a better deal as President Donald Trump’s higher tariff rates on imports from dozens of countries kicked in, raising the average US import duty to its highest in a century. The US Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting the higher…

The Bank of England looks poised to cut interest rates for the fifth time in 12 months today but nagging worries about inflation are likely to split its policymakers and cloud the outlook for its next moves. Governor Andrew Bailey and most of the Monetary Policy Committee are expected to favour taking Bank Rate to…

The Revenue Commissioners has written to almost 70,000 pensioners over issues relating to incorrect tax payments. The retirees are among around 260,000 taxpayers who may have overpaid or underpaid tax for the year 2022. Revenue said the group includes about 68,000 people aged over 65, but it insisted it has not launched a campaign specifically…

The amount of tax collected by the State between January and the end of July was up by 7.5% on the same time last year, when once off payments related to the Apple tax ruling are excluded. The latest Exchequer Returns show that so far this year, €56.2bn in tax receipts were collected, an increase…