Posts by sean

The Minister for Social Protection will seek Cabinet approval today for draft legislation designed to set up the new pension auto-enrolment system. If enacted, the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill will result in up to 800,000 private sector workers, who currently do not have a pension, becoming automatically enrolled in one. The aim of…

The ESRI has upgraded its outlook for economic growth this year, amid falling inflation, an expected normalisation of exports and moderate expansion of the domestic economy. In its Quarterly Economic Commentary, the institute forecasts that the domestic economy as measured by Modified Domestic Demand will grow by 2.3% in 2024, up from its prediction of…

Mortgage approvals for first-time buyers hit a record annualised high in February. Figures from Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) show that in the year to the end of last month, first time buyers were given the green light for mortgages worth a total of almost €9 billion. During the month itself, 3,582 mortgages…

The European Central Bank is increasingly confident that wage growth is slowing back toward more normal levels, potentially opening the door to rate cuts, ECB chief economist Philip Lane said in a podcast published today. The ECB has long pointed to rapid wage growth as a source of concern and said that cutting rates from…

Consumer sentiment dropped again this month, new research has found, amid ongoing caution and concern. The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index found rising living costs and another increase in fuel prices are weighing on spending plans. Sentiment fell to 69.5 in March, from 70.2 in February, which in turn was lower than January. The report’s…

Overall non-performing consumer loans at banks and credit unions remain near recent historical lows, despite a slight increase observed in new early arrears cases. That is according to a new analysis of the consumer credit market by the Central Bank, which also found that consumer debt servicing costs have not increased significantly since the ECB…

There was a decrease in the price of wholesale electricity in February 2024 with prices 15.3% lower than the previous month. The price of electricity was 46.8% lower than in February 2023. This is the lowest price of wholesale electricity since the peak in August 2022. According to the CSO Wholesale Electricity price index, prices…

A strong debut by Swiss skincare company Galderma on Friday is steadying nerves around Europe’s IPO market, a day after a poorly received listing from German retailer Douglas, bankers said. Galderma’s debut on the Zurich stock exchange marked Europe’s biggest IPO since Porsche in September 2022. Its long-awaited listing comes as billions of dollars worth…

House price increases in lower-priced counties soared above the national average in the first three months of the year as buyers chase affordability, the latest REA Average House Price Index has found. The lowest housing supply in two decades has sparked significant price competition in counties such as Longford, where buyers are prepared to move…

European Union leaders will today back a slightly tighter fiscal policy for the euro zone next year, to help bring down inflation and make public finance more stable after the excess spending of the Covid pandemic and the energy price crisis. The endorsement comes after finance ministers of the 20 countries using the euro agreed…