There is still room to lower European Central Bank interest rates further, and the 2.5% deposit rate could fall to 2% by the end of the summer, French central bank chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau told a German newspaper. The ECB has cut rates six times since last June but has given little guidance about…
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The Central Bank has published a new consumer protection code aimed at modernising the set of rules that businesses must abide by when dealing with consumers. The regulator said the code “reflects the way financial services are provided in a digital world”. It enhances consumer protections in areas such as digitalisation, mortgage switching, fraud and…
Asking prices for homes nationally rose by an average of 3.7% during the first three months of 2025, according to the latest Daft.ie House Price Report. The study suggests the typical listed price across the country in the first quarter of the year was €346,048, which is 11.6% higher than the same time last year…
The body which manages the electricity grid says demand is expected to grow by 45% from its 2023 level to 2034 and the peak requirement for power will rise by 24% over the same period. EirGrid says there will be a “challenging outlook” between this year and 2027 until new sources of power come on…
The case for another European Central Bank interest rate cut is strengthening, ECB board member Piero Cipollone said today, just days after another prominent policy dove made a similar argument. The ECB has cut interest rates six times since last June but provided few signals about its next move after the most recent reduction at…
Euro zone business activity grew at its fastest pace in seven months in March, supported by an easing in the long-running manufacturing downturn despite slower growth in services, a survey showed. The improving business climate in the common currency bloc could gain more traction over the coming months as plans for a spending splurge in…
At least half of housing commencements in 2024 were due to uncertainty over the extension of the development levy waiver or water connection charge refund, according to the latest Housing Market Monitor for the fourth quarter of 2024, published today by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. More than 69,000 new homes commenced in 2024, more…
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady today, as expected, but US central bank policymakers indicated they still anticipate reducing borrowing costs by half a percentage point by the end of this year in the context of slowing economic growth and, eventually, a downturn in inflation. Taking stock of the Trump administration’s rollout of tariffs,…
Property prices rose by 8.1% in the 12 months to January this year, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. The cost of buying a home rose by 7.5% in Dublin and prices outside the capital were up by 8.6%. The median price of a dwelling was €359,999 nationally in January, today’s…
The national commercial vacancy rate has reached its highest level on record at 14.5%, according to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report. The report, prepared by EY, shows the rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 14.5% in the last quarter of 2024, which is the highest level recorded by GeoDirectory since it began tracking…