The EU has rebuffed attempts by the British government to intensify and accelerate negotiations in order to reach a future trade agreement by mid-October, RTÉ News understands. The ninth round of future relationship negotiations gets underway tomorrow in Brussels, with both sides at odds over the prospects for a breakthrough. Late last week Downing Street…

Sterling edged higher today after British finance minister Rishi Sunak announced a new job support scheme, but said the government won’t save every job.  Against the dollar, sterling was up 0.2% at $1.2751, after hitting a two-month low of $1.2676 yesterday. Against the euro, sterling was up 0.2% at 91.4 pence.  In a choppy session, the…

A new survey from Chambers Ireland shows that companies are still reporting a 32% decline in turnover despite the re-opening of most of the economy after the Covid-19 restrictions. The new Chambers Ireland survey captured over 860 responses during the lead up to the imposition of new restrictions on activity in Dublin.  The survey found…

The global economic outlook is less bleak than in June, an IMF spokesman has said, signaling that the organisation’s forecast will be raised when it is released next month. “The recent incoming data suggests that the outlook may be somewhat less dire than at the time of the (World Economic Outlook) update on June 24…

More than a third of Irish businesses are looking to reduce their office space in the wake of the Covid pandemic. A survey of 325 executives by the Institute of Directors in Ireland (IoD) offers fresh evidence that commercial office owners face rising vacancies and falling demand as more companies expect more staff to work from…

Sterling extended its losses against the dollar and euro today, and is having its worst month in four years. This is due to new coronavirus lockdown measures, the looming risk of a no-deal Brexit and as talk of negative rates weigh on the currency.  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered restaurants and bars to close…

The Irish Road Haulage Association is warning trade will be “severely upset” because of Brexit and the price of some goods could double in price. President of the Irish Road Haulage Association Eugene Drennan said there could be a delay in delivering some goods and scarcity of products, which would not be acceptable. He told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland…

Construction activity plunged again last month following an earlier post-lockdown increase, as the economic impact of the pandemic weighs on the sector. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published this morning notched up a reading of 44 in August, compared to 53.2 in July. Any figure below 50 signals contraction. And worryingly for…

Proposals to tax the digital economy being brought to the G20 next month are more likely to favour large economies over small, open economies like Ireland, according to the OECD’s director of tax policy. In a webinar for the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) yesterday, Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD’s Centre for…

The Living Wage rate is to remain unchanged at €12.30 per hour for the coming year, following fresh calculations. The change to the rate is determined by the fluctuation of living costs and taxation. It is calculated by the Living Wage Technical Group (LWTG), which is made up of researchers and academics from St Vincent…