Victims of text message scams were left out of pocket to the tune of €1,700 on average during the first six months of this year, according to FraudSMART – a fraud awareness initiative led by the Banking and Payments Federation. Businesses suffered an average loss of €14,000 as a result of invoice fraud but in…

The Department of Finance will publish its Tax Strategy Group papers this morning, which will outline options for next month’s Budget. The papers are expected to cover a range of issues including income tax and environmental taxes. Every year the Department of Finance prepares briefing notes for the Minister of Finance on the potential options…

The number of termination notices received by the Residential Tenancies Board in the first half of the year rose by 58%, compared with the latter half of 2021. Almost 3,000 notices of termination were received in the first half of 2022, compared to over 1,800 in the final six months of 2021. According to RTB…

There was a €40 difference in the cost of wholesale electricity here in July between the days on which most energy was generated from wind and those with the least. According to Wind Energy Ireland, the average wholesale cost of electricity was €267.19 per Megawatt Hour (MwH) during the month. The price varied from €256.66…

Spending on groceries, restaurants and fuel is increasing month-on-month, according to banking app Revolut, as consumers prioritise while inflation surges. In contrast, spending on clothes shopping, and leisure activities such as sports clubs and cinemas has dropped. Supermarket spending was up 6.6% per consumer in July, compared to June. However, looking back since last year,…

Three ships loaded with grain, one of which is bound for Ireland, have left Ukrainian ports under a recently concluded safe passage deal, the Turkish defenсe ministry said. The first grain ship to set sail from a Ukrainian port since the start of the Russian invasion, departed Odesa on Monday. “We expect that the security…

Oil prices rose today, bouncing off their lowest levels since February in the previous session, as supply shortage concerns were enough to cancel out fears of slackening fuel demand. Brent crude rose 55 cents, or 0.6%, to $94.67 a barrel early this morning while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 65 cents, or 0.8%,…

Lidl Ireland has removed its mandatory retirement age clause for current and new employees from today. This means the company will give all employees the option to continue working beyond the age of 65. The retailer said its decision will allow the company to attract more “mature” and “life-experienced” talent, as well as offering more…

Growth in the country’s services sector picked up in July, amid a sharp uplift in new work. The AIB Services PMI rose to 56.3 last month, from 55.6 in June, though this was still below the May reading of 60.2. Readings above 50 indicate overall growth in activity. By comparison, the flash July Services PMI…

Consumers in the euro zone are bracing for the economy to shrink and for high inflation to continue eating into their income in the next year, a European Central Bank survey shows. The Consumer Expectations Survey is used by policymakers for input in their deliberations and was published today for the first time. It showed…