Business News

Euro zone business activity showed surprising strength in August despite firms raising prices, a survey showed, potentially weakening expectations for two more rate cuts from the European Central Bank this year. However, the recovery was mixed as a strong rebound in the bloc’s dominant services industry offset a deeper downturn among manufacturers. HCOB’s preliminary composite…

Rising global trade tensions and direct competition for Foreign Direct Investment from large economies is already challenging Ireland’s growth potential. This is according to business group, Ibec, which is calling for a renewed focus on the economy’s long-term potential sources of growth. In its latest economic outlook, the group notes that the economy is showing…

The planning application by Dublin airport operator, daa, to raise the current 32 million passenger a year cap at Dublin airport to 40 million passengers has been hit by a fresh planning delay. This follows Fingal County Council granting daa a three month extension to the deadline by which it needs to submit a response…

Demand for gas increased by almost 6% in July when compared to the previous month, new data shows. The report from Gas Networks Ireland shows that demand was up 3% on the same month last year. Gas was the largest contributor to electricity generation, generating 45%. This was up from 42% in June, and down…

Microbusinesses with three or less employees are under severe pressure, particularly when it comes to profitability, a new survey has found. Three out of every 10 are not optimistic about trade in the third quarter of the year, tipping them into loss-making territory for the first time since the pandemic, according to the research. The…

Grocery price inflation has picked up for the second month in a row, according to the latest figures from Kantar. Prices were 2.8% higher in the 12 weeks to the 4th August – compared to a 2.6% rise in prices in the 12 weeks to 7th July. The increases follow 15 consecutive months of easing…

The European Central Bank may need to cut interest rates again in September given persistent economic weakness, Finnish central bank chief Olli Rehn has said. The ECB was among the first major central banks in the world to cut interest rates in June, partially reversing a record string of hikes, but held rates steady in…

Mortgage lending at credit unions increased by 10% to €518 million in the three months to the end of June. That’s according to the latest quarterly results from the Irish League of Credit Unions. Mortgages now make up nearly 10% of the total credit union loan book. The ILCU puts this growth down to demand,…

The sector that recorded the largest decrease in employment in June was accommodation and food services, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows. Amid claims from industry organisations of widespread closures of restaurants and cafes, employment in the sector fell by 1% in the month according to the CSO’s monthly estimates of payroll…

Goldman Sachs has lowered the odds of the United States slipping into a recession in the next 12 months to 20% from 25% following the latest weekly jobless claims and retail sales reports. Earlier this month, the brokerage raised the odds of a US recession from 15% after the unemployment rate jumped to a three-year…