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The line between work and home life has blurred for many over the past few months.  While there are countless benefits to remote working, turning your home environment into an office can make it harder to switch off at the end of the day.  With email and text alerts pinging on mobile phones and other…

Britain’s independent fiscal watchdog, the Office of Budget Responsibility, has said a no-deal Brexit at the end of this year will cut economic growth and increase unemployment. In addition to economic damage caused by Covid-19, which has already caused the biggest fall in UK economic output since 1709, it said a no-deal Brexit will also push up the…

The European Central Bank has said if governments withdraw financial support from households and companies too early, it could “set back the economic recovery”.  In its latest Financial Stability Review published today, the ECB says “vulnerabilities in the corporate sector are increasing as the pandemic evolves”. This could “test the resilience of euro area banks…

The Government has decided to extend two measures which were brought in to help businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.  The Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) will now stay open for new applications until the end of June. It had been due to close at the end of the year.  The suspension of redundancy provisions relating…

Last week, I spoke about making cents this Christmas. The expression ‘things are tight at Christmas’ resonates with many of us at this time though the lockdowns have precluded many from spending and there have been sizeable savings locked away. Bernard Manning once quipped: “For Christmas this year I gave my kids a set of…

A draft report from the Oireachtas Transport Committee has recommended that a traffic light system for countries outside the EU be developed before Christmas. The draft report, on issues affecting the aviation industry, has recommended 19 actions in total. It is due to be formally published later this week. Among the changes recommended is to…

The Taoiseach has said that Brexit amounts to the most significant fundamental economic change the country has faced in 50 years. Speaking at Dublin Port, Micheál Martin said he remains hopeful that a deal can be struck, adding it is in the best interests of Ireland, the UK and the European Union. He warned that,…

Consumer sentiment showed a significant and somewhat surprising rebound in November which may signal a stronger outlook for Christmas spending.  The latest KBC Bank Irish consumer sentiment index jumped to 65.5 in November from 52.6 in October, returning the index to its strongest level since March.  However, the November reading still remains substantially below both…

Consumers shopping online this week are being advised to be on the lookout for scams. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are expected to see another increase in online spending this year. Fraudsters typically target consumers at busy times, but despite that, it looks like card fraud is on the decline. Debit and credit card fraud…

Nearly 500 businesses and trade associations involved in the tourism, hospitality and events industries have signed an open letter to Taoiseach Micheál Martin calling for the sector to be allowed reopen or reopen to a greater extent than currently from December. The signatories say they recognise that although it will not be business as usual this…