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Sterling steadied near two-week lows against the dollar and euro as fears of a second wave of coronavirus hit risk sentiment and global markets. Investors were also nervous ahead of a key meeting on Brexit negotiations. A fresh coronavirus outbreak in China and rising infection numbers in the United States – even as major economies…

Companies that reopened under the first phase of the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions are experiencing less than half their usual level of business activity for this time of the year, a new survey has found. The survey of businesses across the country also found that a quarter of respondents expect to have earnings that will be…

Retailers in Dublin are reporting steady progress in opening up the city centre since Covid-19 restrictions on all shops were lifted on Monday. Today footfall was around 160,000 people, up from 100,000 on Monday. However, although footfall today was up substantially on the almost 95,000 of Wednesday last week, it is still down considerably on the 400,000 on…

The OECD has said that the Irish economy is set to contract strongly in the first half of this year due to the Covid-19 lockdown as it urged the Government to be prepared to extend existing support measures if required.  In its latest economic outlook, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that GDP…

Thousands more businesses across the country have opened their doors for the first time in nearly three months, as the second phase of the Government’s plan to get the economy moving again gets under way. All retailers with their own on-street entrances are allowed to resume in-person trade, but opening times and how they operate…

The Director of Consumer Protection with the Central Bank said new rules for licenced moneylenders will enhance and strengthen protections for customers of these services. Under the new measures, all advertisements for high cost loans with an APR over 23% must include “prominent warnings” and prompt consumers to consider alternatives. While the majority of the regulations will…

The National Treasury Management Agency has this morning started the sale of a new 10-year bond, its third so far this year via a syndicate of banks. A market source said the new bond could raise €4 billion to plug the country’s growing budget deficit.  The NTMA has been tasked with raising €20-24 billion this…

A major expansion of the Trading Online Voucher Scheme to help small and micro enterprises to get online quickly has been announced today.  The scheme is being expanded by €14.2m after the Local Enterprise Offices received three years’ worth of applications in three months following the outbreak of Covid-19 here.  There were 1,218 applications for…

A plunge in household spending and investment pulled down euro zone gross domestic product in the first quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic struck. But the fall was slightly smaller than first estimated, the European Union’s statistics office said.  Eurostat said GDP of the 19 countries sharing the euro contracted 3.6% quarter-on-quarter for a 3.1% year-on-year fall. …

The State has been criticised for offering micro finance loans at an interest rate of 4.5% at a time when the country can borrow on international markets at an interest rate of zero. Speaking before the Dáil Special Committee on Covid-19, the secretary general of the Department of Enterprise, Business and Innovation, Dr Orlaigh Quinn…