Author Archives: splash

Almost three-quarters of workers aspire to retire by age 60 or sooner

Almost three-quarters of Ireland’s working population would like to retire by age 60 or sooner, according to new research. The latest Retirement Aspirations survey commissioned by pension company Royal London Ireland, shows that four in ten respondents would like to retire by the age of 50 or even sooner if they could. 7% of those […]

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Employment in construction down in February

Employment fell in the construction sector last month, ending a five-month period of jobs growth. The AIB Ireland Construction PMI report in February shows staffing levels were scaled back midway through the opening quarter of the year. It comes at a time when there are significant concerns over housing output, with CSO figures showing there […]

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Euro zone 2024 economic growth revised up to 0.9%

The euro zone economy grew by 0.9% in 2024, revised data showed today, higher than a previous estimate of 0.7%. The EU’s official statistics agency also revised growth for the fourth quarter of 2024 for the second time to 0.2% in the 20-country single currency area, from 0.1% estimated in February. Eurostat in January had […]

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Airport strike to all but freeze German air travel today

More than half a million people are facing travel disruption at German airports today where a 24-hour strike has led to thousands of flight cancellations in a dispute about workers’ pay. The operator of Frankfurt airport, Germany’s busiest, said no passenger flights would depart from there today, with delays and cancellations also possible tomorrow. Of […]

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Domestic economy posts ‘healthy’ growth of 2.7% in 2024 – CSO

The domestic economy grew by a healthy 2.7% last year, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. Gross Domestic Product, which includes the multinationals activity, rose by 1.2% in 2024. Personal spending on goods and services, a key indicator of the domestic economy rose 2.3%, while wages grew by 2.9%. Modified investment […]

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Trump signs order to establish strategic bitcoin reserve

US President Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, a day before meeting with executives from the cryptocurrency industry at the White House. The reserve will be capitalised with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, the White […]

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Steady growth in mortgage approvals continued in January – BPFI

January saw the first year-on-year decline in first-time buyer approval volumes since June 2024, new figures from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland show today. Today’s figures show that a total of 3,395 mortgages were approved in January 2025, down by 5.5% on a monthly basis but up by 4.1% compared to the same time last […]

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Tax receipts in year to February up 12% on last year

Tax receipts in the first two months of this year are up 12% on the same time in 2024, indicating that the economy continues to power ahead. In addition, the State’s coffers benefitted from a €1.7 billion payment which was part of a settlement made by Apple. The payment related to the Court of Justice […]

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