UK trade with the EU will face “significant disruption” when the Brexit transition ends, regardless of whether a trade deal is agreed, the UK government spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said preparations for the new border controls – which had already been rated “high risk” – had been further hampered by…

Credit and debit card spending dropped following the introduction of Level 5 restrictions, according to the latest data from the Central Bank. As seen with the original restrictions in March, the figures show that spending increased in the days leading up to the new restrictions being introduced, and in this case peaked on the day…

Prime and secondary retail rents could fall by 11pc and 13pc respectively over the 12 months to the end of September 2021 according to the latest survey of Irish chartered surveyors. At the same time prime and secondary office rents are expected to fall by a respective 5pc and 7pc over the same period according…

Former head of the Revenue Commissioners Josephine Feehily is to head up a new commission that will make recommendations to the Government on the age that people will qualify for the State pension. Ms Feehily has also chaired the Policing Authority since she stepped down from her role leading the tax authority. The new Commission…

Housing output was not as severely affected by the pandemic restrictions as previously thought, according to Goodbody. Its latest BER Housebuilding Tracker – which it calculates using data from Building Energy Regulation certificates – estimates that 5,500 units were completed in the third quarter of the year. That was up from 3,290 in the second…

Business activity for Ireland’s services sector suffered a second monthly decline in October as uncertainty over the pandemic and Brexit hit expectations, according to the AIB Ireland Services PMI. The “renewed downturn” in activity followed a brief period of growth in July and August after the economy re-opened following the first Covid-19 lockdown. The rate…

Almost 330,000 people will receive the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week – up over 11% in the last seven days, according to the latest Department of Social Protection figures. The figure reflects the continuing upward trajectory of unemployment since Level 5 restrictions were imposed by the Government in a bid to quell the latest surge…

European stocks slid this morning in early trade as the race for the White House remained too close to call.  London’s FTSE index had dipped 0.1%, while the Paris CAC was down 0.3% and the Frankfurt DAX dropped 1.1% in early trade. Dublin’s ISEQ index was also lower, dropping 1% in the first half hour…

Shares recovered globally from one-month lows yesterday as strengthening factory data in China and Europe offset news of new virus lockdowns, while investors prepared for more volatility arising from the US presidential election. A boom in eurozone manufacturing in October helped Europe leave behind a cautious start after the UK became the latest country in…

The Cabinet meets this morning with Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys expected to bring a memo proposing the formal establishment of a Commission on Pensions. Under the Coalition’s programme for government, the pension age will be maintained at 66 pending the completion of the Commission’s work – a position confirmed in last month’s Budget speech…