Business News

People who held back on starting a pension because of the economic downturn could be big losers when it comes to retirement, new research has found. Many people have held off starting a pension, while others stopped payments, or radically cut back on contributions, due to the economic squeeze. Now it has emerged that those […]

BWG Foods managing director Willie O’Byrne has been named as the new chairman of Retail Ireland, the Ibec group that represents the sector. He will serve a two-year term and replaces outgoing chairman Conor Whelan of Eason Group. The CEO of the Maxol Group, Brian Donaldson, is taking up the role of vice-chairman. Mr O’Byrne […]

Ulster Bank is to reduce its fixed rates for new and existing customers and make it easier for them to qualify for the new interest rates. The reductions are likely to tempt other banks to cut their lending costs. Ulster Bank said that half of all new customers – including first-time buyers and switchers – […]

The value of Irish M&A has plunged 86pc since the start of this year, with deals worth €4.1bn announced in the year to date compared to almost €29bn in the same period last year. The number of deals has held up better, falling just 12pc to 97 versus 110 a year ago, according to data […]

The Central Bank has issued a rebuke to a number of international lenders operating in Ireland for failing to meet regulatory obligations – in a sign of the watchdog’s greater focus on the sector following the fallout from the financial crisis. The Central Bank said its latest report on offshore banks focused on the “accuracy […]

Investors snapped up the sale of €1.25bn of government debt yesterday underscoring the robust demand for Irish bonds amid growing unease over the French presidential elections and receding hopes of any imminent change to the European Central Bank’s monetary policy. Yields for nine-year paper sank below the rate achieved for similarly dated debt in last […]

You may not have noticed it but you are living through an economic miracle – apparently. The chief economist of the Central Bank, Gabriel Fagan, introduced the country to a new economic term last week called a “Phoenix Miracle” which is how he described Ireland’s rapid economic recovery since the depths of the recession. Among […]

The unemployment rate is due to fall below 6pc by the end of this year, according to updated Government forecasts. The Department of Finance yesterday published the so-called Draft Stability Programme Update, outlining the Government’s projections for the economy, which will be sent to Brussels for approval later in the month. The Government is expecting […]

The Central Bank said it was considering imposing new rules on banks to make it easier for mortgage-holders to switch to another lender to reduce the cost of their repayments. The regulator said research it commissioned found that just 4pc of borrowers had moved their mortgage to a new lender. Now the Central Bank is […]

Providence Resources has announced losses of €20.5m for 2016 while operating losses for the period were €18.8m, an increase of €5.7m from 2015. In June, the oil exploration company raised $70m in a share sale in an effort to reduce the company’s debt. The company had no net debt at the end of 2016; in […]