Euro zone economic growth was stronger than previously estimated in the second quarter, data showed today. Today’s figures show that household spending recovered after a half of year of stagnation despite the squeeze on disposible income from spiraling inflation. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said gross domestic product in the 19 countries using the…
Energy related emissions were up 5.4% last year, according to new figures from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). This comes despite a commitment by Ireland to reduce CO2 emissions by 4.8% per year from 2021- 2025 under the first carbon budget. Today’s Energy Balance data show that emissions are now back at the…
Euro zone retail sales rose in July, but by less than expected because of a continued slump in demand for non-food products, data form the EU’s statistics office Eurostat showed today. Eurostat said retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro, a proxy for consumer demand, increased 0.3% month-on-month in July for a 0.9%…
Oil prices edged lower today, paring gains from the previous session, as an OPEC+ deal to cut output by 100,000 barrels per day in October was seen as a largely symbolic move to bolster prices after the market’s recent slide. Brent crude futures had fallen 49 cents, or 0.5%, to $95.25 a barrel in early…
Oil prices jumped over $1 a barrel today, extending gains as investors eyed possible moves by OPEC+ producers to cut output and support prices at a meeting later today. Brent crude futures rose $1.88, or 2%, to $94.90 a barrel in early trade after gaining 0.7% on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at…
The euro sunk below $0.99 this morningy, a 20-year-low, following the announcement last week that Russia would cut off gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline. The euro fell 0.7% to 0.9884 in early trade – its lowest since December 2002. The European currency has continued to weaken against the dollar since the…
The Richter Scale measures the intensity of earthquakes. It ranges from the unnoticeable to the highly destructive. So, when Taoiseach Micheál Martin said energy prices are “off the Richter scale”, the chosen figure of speech was more than apt. In the year to July, electricity was up 40%, gas up 56%, and home heating oil…
The most popular banks in Ireland are Allied Irish Bank (AIB), Bank of Ireland, KBC, and Ulster Bank. Although these financial institutions offer in-branch services, the banks tend to close early or are closed over the weekends. Mark Kennedy & Co. have written on the farmer’s distrust of the banks, the upskilling programme starting for…
A worker forced to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic has failed in his bid to have part of his accommodation rental bill recognised as an expense. In January of last year, the worker filed an Income Tax return and sought to have €587 of the rental cost of his accommodation treated as an…
Electric Ireland has announced further increases to its residential electricity and gas bills from 1 October after increasing them in August. The company said its electricity bills will increase by 26.7% and residential gas bills by 37.5% from next month. Electric Ireland said the price hikes were due to the unprecedented increases in international energy…