Consumer sentiment dropped again this month, new research has found, amid ongoing caution and concern. The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index found rising living costs and another increase in fuel prices are weighing on spending plans. Sentiment fell to 69.5 in March, from 70.2 in February, which in turn was lower than January. The report’s…

There was a decrease in the price of wholesale electricity in February 2024 with prices 15.3% lower than the previous month. The price of electricity was 46.8% lower than in February 2023. This is the lowest price of wholesale electricity since the peak in August 2022. According to the CSO Wholesale Electricity price index, prices…

A strong debut by Swiss skincare company Galderma on Friday is steadying nerves around Europe’s IPO market, a day after a poorly received listing from German retailer Douglas, bankers said. Galderma’s debut on the Zurich stock exchange marked Europe’s biggest IPO since Porsche in September 2022. Its long-awaited listing comes as billions of dollars worth…

House price increases in lower-priced counties soared above the national average in the first three months of the year as buyers chase affordability, the latest REA Average House Price Index has found. The lowest housing supply in two decades has sparked significant price competition in counties such as Longford, where buyers are prepared to move…

Notices that work was beginning on 3,699 new homes across the country were received in February, new data from the Department of Housing shows. This is up 85% on the number of new homes commenced in the same month last year. The Department said this is the highest number of units started in the month…

Euro zone inflation is set to fall back to the European Central Bank’s 2% target by next year so an interest rate cut could come possibly as soon as June, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said today. “The probability is increasing that we will see the first rate cut before the summer break,” Nagel told an…

European Union leaders will today back a slightly tighter fiscal policy for the euro zone next year, to help bring down inflation and make public finance more stable after the excess spending of the Covid pandemic and the energy price crisis. The endorsement comes after finance ministers of the 20 countries using the euro agreed…

State-induced employment support measures will increase payroll costs for the tourism sector by €456m this year, a new analysis claims. Between now and 2026, the cost of the policy changes for the industry, which employs nearly 285,000 people, could be up to €1.4 billion, the report finds. “Such an increase in payroll costs, above and…

Britain posted a larger budget deficit than expected in February, boosted by cost of living payments and the effect of past inflation on the public finances, official data showed today. Public sector net borrowing, excluding state-owned banks, was £8.40 billion last month, down from £11.84 billion a year ago, the Office for National Statistics (ONS)…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that residential property prices rose by 5.4% in the 12 months to January, up from 4.1% the previous month. The CSO said that Dublin residential property prices saw an increase of 4.5%, while property prices outside Dublin were 6.1% higher than a year earlier. Today’s CSO figures…