Business News

The Exchequer recorded a surplus of €1.2 billion in 2023, according to figures released by the Department of Finance. This compares with a surplus of €5 billion in 2022, with the decline driven by factors including increased public expenditure and the transfer of €4 billion to the National Reserve Fund (NRF) in February last year.…

Irish firms continued to report rising levels of new business, but the pace of growth slowed in December to the second weakest in 2023. The AIB Irish Services PMI for December showed a continued expansion in business activity in the sector, but as has been the case for most of the year, the pace of…

US Federal Reserve officials expect interest rates will need to remain high “for some time” to tackle stubborn inflation, according to minutes of the most recent rate decision published last night. The Fed announced last month that it would continue to hold interest rates at a 22-year high, and penciled in up to three rate…

The European Central Bank’s cyber resilience stress test in the coming months will not affect bank-specific capital requirements but instead form part of a broader supervisory assessment, the ECB said in a statement today. The long-planned stress test, which will involve 109 of the bloc’s biggest lenders, will assume a successful cyberattack that disrupts daily…

There was a slight deterioration in business conditions in the manufacturing sector in December, the latest AIB Purchasing Managers Index showed. The headline index – which is measured on a scale of 1 to 100 – fell to 48.9 in the month from the 50 breakeven point in November. The outcome – while signalling a…

Taxpayers could be leaving up to €1,800 on the table by not availing of a range of yearly tax refunds, a consumer tax specialist has warned. Marian Ryan of taxback.com is reminding consumers that money is there to be claimed but the vast majority are missing out on the returns. Taxpayers – including PAYE workers…

Oil prices jumped 1.5% in the first session of the New Year, due to potential supply disruptions in the Middle East after a naval clash in the Red Sea, and hopes of strong holiday demand and an economic stimulus in China, the top crude importer. Brent crude rose $1.20, or 1.5%, to $78.24 a barrel…

Hundreds of companies here will be liable to pay 15% corporation tax, as the biggest shake-up in the State’s corporate tax system in three decades is implemented. It follows the introduction of the new minimum effective rate of tax for big multinationals under the terms of an agreement struck by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation…

The rate of growth in prices being sought for properties listed on the market slowed in 2023, despite a significant drop in supply, according to the website, Daft.ie. Its latest analysis captured growth in listed prices of 3.4% in the year – almost half the 6% growth rate in 2022 and well below the increases…

Up to 188,000 non-domestic customers of Uisce Éireann are facing higher bills for water and waste water treatment from October, if proposals from the regulator are adopted. The changes would see the annual bills of 172,837 or 91.6% non-domestic customers rise less than €250, while 8,100 or 4.3% would face annual bill increases of between…