Author Archives: splash

‘Significant’ drop in job openings in first quarter

There was a “significant” drop in job openings in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest Quarterly Employment Monitor from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley. The research showed a 13.8% decrease in job openings compared with the previous quarter and a year-on-year decline of 29.6%. The first quarter of the year saw a […]

Read More

ECB could cut rates more than three times in 2024 – Simkus

The European Central Bank could cut interest rates more than three times this year and the reductions should not be held back if the US Federal Reserve delays its own cuts, Lithuanian policymaker Gediminas Simkus said today. Simkus, making some of the most dovish comments since the ECB’s policy meeting on Thursday, also said the […]

Read More

Construction activity returned to growth in March

Construction activity rose in March for the first month since June of last year and at the most marked rate for nearly two years, new data shows. The BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland Construction Index hit 51.6, just above the 50 mark that signals no change. The growth was propelled by renewed expansion in both […]

Read More

AI-enabled workforce critical for future investment – IDA

IDA Ireland has said that an AI-enabled workforce is critical to transforming Ireland’s enterprise base and supporting future investment in the country. The agency has published its latest Labour Market Pulse report in collaboration with Microsoft and LinkedIn. The research, entitled ‘Unlocking the Future: Ireland’s Prosperity with Generative AI’, is focused on artificial intelligence skills […]

Read More

Households saved €19 billion in 2023 – CSO

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that households saved 12.09% of their income in the last quarter of 2023 – and 12.4% in 2023 as a whole. The CSO noted that the saving rate has averaged over 12% in the last two years, above the long-term pre-Covid average. The saving rate has declined […]

Read More

Global IPO activity ‘cautiously optimistic’ in Q1

The global IPO market began the year on a cautiously optimistic note, according to analysis by EY, with activity declining in volume in the first quarter of the year, but increasing in value. 287 initial public offerings (IPOs) to the value of $23.7 billion were launched in the first three months of 2024, the report […]

Read More

ECB expected to hold rates steady when it meets today

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) will consider whether to make any changes to interest rates at a meeting in Frankfurt later today. But markets are not anticipating any alterations at this point, despite steady falls in eurozone inflation. Analysts do expect though that the ECB will begin trimming rates back from […]

Read More