Business News

Small and medium sized companies are generally showing signs of resilience in the current challenged trading environment, but there are concerns for particular sectors. That is according to a treasury specialist who works with businesses on managing capital, cash flow and currency moves among other things. John Finn, Managing Director of Treasury Solutions, said the […]

Retail sales rose by 1.5 per cent in September boosted by car and DIY sales but several sectors, including bars, were still well behind pre-pandemic levels. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) also predate the introduction of Level 5 restrictions, which has resulted in the closure of all non-essential retail. This is […]

Stocks tumbled in the US and Europe as rising coronavirus infections and tougher lockdowns added to worries about the economic hit from the pandemic. The S&P 500 Index fell more than 2.5pc, headed for the biggest drop in seven weeks, amid a surge in Covid-19 hospitalisations, especially in the Midwest. Energy shares sank with oil […]

The average disposable income of Irish households rose by nearly 30 per cent between the financial crisis and last year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The agency’s latest Survey on Income and Living Conditions shows the average after-tax income of households here stood at €53,118 in 2019. This is 28.3 per cent higher […]

Just over 11,000 Irish customer accounts with Bank of Ireland are currently on payment breaks, as Covid-19 continues to impact economic activity. The total value of these loans is €1.9bn. Of these, 6,400 are mortgage accounts. A further 2,800 belong to small and medium businesses, according to a third quarter update from the bank. Customer […]

Ireland is one of the best places in Europe for young companies to source investment, list on the stock market and access global capital, according to a new report by the Association of Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). The report, which is an annual benchmarking of key performance indicators for European capital markets, shows that […]

There was a significant increase in mortgage approvals in September, but the value of mortgages drawn down in the latest quarter was still down significantly on the same period last year. That is according to the latest figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, which show that first time buyers still account for the bulk of […]

Tax practitioners have written to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to urgently seek some temporary mechanism to ease custom disruption between Ireland and Northern Ireland at the start of next year. Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI), which represents accountants on both sides of the Irish border, said that every option possible must now be considered given […]

THOUSANDS of self-employed people and PAYE workers with non-taxed income have an extra four weeks to file a tax return. Some 500,000 people pay and file a return each year. Brokers Ireland has advised taxpayers who are due to make payments to Revenue to take the opportunity to save some of the tax they owe […]

British retail sales beat expectations in September to cap a record quarter of growth that took total sales volumes further above their pre-pandemic level, but rising Covid cases risk crimping demand going forward.  UK retail sales volumes expanded by 1.5% in September alone and are 4.7% higher than a year earlier. This was the largest annual […]