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Trump announces 100% tariff on US imports from China
US President Donald Trump revived the trade war against China yesterday, ending an uneasy truce between the two largest economies with promises to sharply hike tariffs in a reprisal against China curbing its critical mineral exports. The US president unveiled additional levies of 100% on China’s US-bound exports, along with new export controls on “any…
Read MoreAre you pretending to work? The slow demise of the corporate job
Analysis: A growing segment of the corporate workforce know their jobs make no real contribution and that what they do each day is meaningless There is an old Soviet joke that conveys the cynicism that helped sink their economy: “they pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work”. In a recent article, Alex McCann…
Read MoreHave the low-cost retailers fired the opening shots of a grocery price war?
On Friday, Lidl reduced the prices of its own-brand milk range, claiming to be the first grocery retailer in Ireland to cut the price of the product since 2023. It’s not a major reduction, one litre of Lidl’s milk is now 6c cheaper, with the price of a two litre container coming down by 10c.…
Read MoreECB eyes keeping rates steady for now – minutes
The European Central Bank believes current interest rate levels are robust enough in “managing shocks”, minutes of its September meeting showed today, fuelling expectations of no further cuts for now. The ECB kept its key rate steady at 2% for a second meeting in a row last month, following several reductions, with inflation having settled…
Read MoreBudget measures to result in small income losses next year – ESRI
The measures announced in Budget 2026 will result in small income losses next year, according to an analysis from the Economic and Social and Research Institute. In its post-Budget briefing, the ESRI said the losses will average 2% of household disposable income. The organisation said the withdrawal of temporary cost-of-living measures is “responsible for much…
Read MoreAnnual inflation rises to 18-month high of 2.7% in September – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that consumer price inflation rose to an 18-month high of 2.7% in September, up from 2% the previous month. That marks the highest that inflation has been since March 2024 when the rate of inflation was 2.9%. The CSO said the most significant increases in the 12…
Read MoreGold zooms past $4,000 for first time in historic flight to safety
Gold raced past $4,000 an ounce for the first time today as investors piled into a historic rally in the safe-haven asset to hedge against global economic and geopolitical uncertainties, while also betting on US interest rate cuts. Spot gold was up 1.3% at $4,034.73 per ounce today, while US gold futures for December delivery…
Read MoreAverage mortgage interest rate dips in August – Central Bank
New figures from the Central Bank show that the average interest rate on new Irish mortgages at the end of August was 3.58%, down two basis points from July and down 53 basis points from the same time last year. This compares to the euro area average of 3.36%. At the end of August, Ireland…
Read MoreGoogle launches new AI mode search tool in Ireland
Google has announced the rollout of its AI mode in Ireland. The company has described the new tool as its most powerful AI search experience with more advanced reasoning and multimodality. From today, AI mode will appear as a tab on the search results page and in the Google app for Android and iOS. Google…
Read MoreCost of petrol, diesel up as some Budget measures come into effect
Some Budget measures announced in the Dáil yesterday came into effect at midnight. Yesterday evening, TDs voted to reduce the VAT rate on the sale of completed apartments to 9% from 13.5%. Also from midnight, around two-and-a-half cent has been added to the cost of a litre of petrol and diesel, while tobacco products have…
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