Sterling fell to a 12-day low against the US dollar and the euro today as Brexit talks veered into fresh crisis after Britain threatened to undermine its European Union divorce deal. The pound was down 1% at $1.3145, its lowest level since August 26, while against the euro, it touched a low of 89.90…
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the economy contracted by 6.1% during the second quarter of 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 restrictions – the biggest quarterly drop ever recorded. This means the economy is now in recession after an initial estimate that it expanded in the first quarter was…
The UK has demanded “more realism” from the European Union ahead of crucial post-Brexit trade talks, which get under way in London. However, the mood was soured by reports that the British government was looking to rewrite the Withdrawal Agreement that the two sides have already signed. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator David…
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is working on a budget for next year that would see Berlin take on net new debt of at least €80bn to fund more measures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The move underlines Mr Scholz’s determination to move Germany further…
The amount of tax being collected by the State has continued to defy the scale of the pandemic economic crash but nowhere near enough to fund ballooning spending, new Exchequer data shows. The State recorded a deficit of €9.452bn for the nine months to the end of August as government spending dramatically outstrips income. Tax…
The euro zone’s recovery ran out of steam midway through the third quarter, with gauges of activity pointing to contractions in Italy and Spain. While manufacturing output rose markedly in August, the larger services sector saw only marginal growth, according to an IHS Markit report. Orders increased at a slower pace, job cuts continued and…
There is a lot of uncertainty around the welfare of Ireland’s economy due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These predictions could provide some clarity on the forecasts regarding the positive and negative effects on the economy for 2021 and the remainder of 2020. COVID-19 to cause an estimated 8% contraction in Ireland’s economy…
The loss of international tourists to Ireland is costing the tourism and hospitality sector €27m a day. That’s according to the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) which says 200,000 jobs are at risk if the Government does not take action to support the industry. “Tourism is facing an existential crisis and Government must listen to…
The public finances recorded a deficit of €9.5bn at the end of August according to the latest Exchequer Returns. This compares to a deficit of €625m recorded at the same point last year. The €8.8bn deterioration is largely due to increases in government spending. The increase in spending is concentrated in the departments of Health and Employment Affairs…
Activity in the services sector grew for the second month in a row in August, and at a slightly faster pace despite repeatedly stalled moves to fully reopen the economy. Ireland has opted for a more cautious exit from its coronovirus lockdown and has paused the fourth and final stage of its plan since July,…