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European shares slumped in opening trade this morning as the rapid spread of a new strain of the coronavirus led to a more stringent lockdown in England and a travel ban from many countries, while a Brexit trade deal still hung in the balance.  More than £33 billion was wiped off the FTSE 100 within…

Talks on a post-Brexit trade pact between Britain and the EU are expected to continue today as “significant differences remain”. A senior UK government source said: “Teams have been negotiating throughout the day and expect to continue tomorrow. Talks remain difficult and significant differences remain. “We continue to explore every route to a deal that is…

Ireland is the fifth largest exporter of financial services in Europe, according to a new report on the contribution of international banking to the economy here. The report was carried out by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland in conjunction with its affiliate, the Federation of International Banks in Ireland (FIBI). It concludes that financial…

The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified a trend of chronic and worsening shortage of housing and this is already being reflected in house prices and rents. This is according to the Trinity College economist Ronan Lyons who, in his latest report for the property website, daft.ie, says the low volume of properties for sale coming onto…

Chief European Union negotiator Michel Barnier has warned that post-Brexit trade talks were at a “moment of truth” with just hours left to reach an agreement with Britain. “It’s the moment of truth,” Mr Barnier told the European Parliament this morning. “We have very little time remaining, just a few hours to work through these negotiations……

Despite the impacts of Covid-19 and the uncertainty surrounding the prospects for a free trade agreement between the EU and the UK in the coming weeks, it appears that workers in the private sector can look forward to pay rises in excess of 2% next year. This is according to the latest Willis Towers Watson…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he hoped the European Union would “see sense” and agree a post-Brexit trade deal. He said all the bloc needed to do was recognise Britain’s right to sovereignty. Speaking in the House of Commons he said: “Every hope I have (is) that our friends and partners across the…

The Economic and Social Research Institute has forecast that the economy will end up growing this year by 3.4%, despite record unemployment. In its latest Quarterly Economic Commentary, the think-tank said exports by pharmaceutical and IT companies have remained strong but the shock of Covid-19 will impact the domestic economy for some time to come. The…

Consumer sentiment rose strongly for the second month in a row to reach its highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold after the reopening of large parts of the economy at the start of December, a survey found today.  The KBC Bank Ireland consumer sentiment index rose to 74.6 in December from 65.5 in…

An exit by Ulster Bank from Ireland could lead to a concerning reduction in competition in the SME lending market, the deputy governor of the Central Bank has said. Addressing the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach, Ed Sibley said that, for reasons of confidentiality, he could not comment on the…