Posts by sean

Almost 80% of prospective homebuyers are worried about the state of the property market, new data shows. The consumer sentiment research from property website MyHome.ie reveals that just 13% believe the next year would be a good time to buy. Meanwhile, nearly half said the cost of living crisis has meant they have had to…

PTSB said today it had recorded a strong financial performance in the first quarter of 2024, including an increase in net interest income and a doubling of business lending. In an interim management statement today, the bank said its mortgage market share during the three months from January to March declined slightly from the fourth…

Over 70% of businesses expect to increase salaries this year, while 40% plan to hire more staff, new data shows. The latest KPMG Enterprise Barometer reveals overall optimism among Irish businesses, with 65% expecting turnover to increase in the next 12 months However, those surveyed highlighted a number of challenges facing businesses this year, with…

The banking industry is warning people who have previously fallen victim to investment fraud about new scams where the fraudsters are promising to recover their lost money. The scam is particularly being targeted at people over the age of 50. The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland’s FraudSMART campaign says it is seeing growing numbers of…

Private healthcare has come under the spotlight of late with the sale of the Beacon Hospital in Dublin and the planned move by Aviva back into the health insurance market. It comes at a time of sharp medical cost inflation and an apparent stalling in the proportion of the population holding private health insurance. However,…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the public-private pay differential on average ranged from 0.9% to a decrease of 6.6% in 2022. The CSO said that trends in the public-private pay differential show that public sector employees on higher incomes are worse off in terms of gross pay in comparison with private…

Smurfit Kappa shares rose this morning after its first quarter core profit fell sharply year-on-year but was higher than the final quarter of 2023 when it had signalled a dip in demand for packaging was at an end. Smurfit Kappa, Europe’s largest paper packaging producer, posted a 16% year-on-year fall in core profit to €487m…

AIB said its total income increased by 18% in the first quarter of the year on the back of the higher interest rate environment and after what it called “a very strong first quarter performance”. In an interim management statement ahead of its AGM today, AIB said its Net Interest Income was 27% higher in…

Homebuilder Glenveagh Properties said its forward order book now stand at €963m, up from €805m at the end of February. In a trading statement issued ahead of the company’s AGM in Dublin today, Glenveagh said it was well positioned to deliver over 2,700 new homes across its three business segments in 2024. It noted that…

Activity in the manufacturing sector deteriorated again in April, new data shows. The latest AIB Purchasing Managers Index shows that the fall last month was the sharpest rate of decline in nine months. The headline index dropped from 49.6 in March to 47.6. Readings above 50 indicate overall growth in activity. The drop in the…