Britain’s government borrowed less over the first two months of the 2025/26 financial year than official budget forecasters had expected, helped by an influx of taxes paid by businesses after a recent hike in social security contributions. Official data today showed public sector borrowing for May stood at £17.686 billion. While a Reuters poll of […]
European officials are increasingly resigned to a 10% rate on “reciprocal” tariffs being the baseline in any trade deal between the US and the European Union, five sources familiar with the negotiations said. President Donald Trump has announced wide-ranging tariffs on trade partners and wants to reduce the US goods trade deficit with the EU. […]
One in three first time buyer (FTB) homes were valued over €400,000 in 2024, three times the 2019 share, according to the latest BPFI mortgage report. The Mortgage Market Profile Report H2 2024, by Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows that there has been a significant increase in FTB property and mortgage values between 2019 […]
Wealth grew disproportionately quickly last year in the US, where over 379,000 people became new US dollar millionaires, more than a 1,000 a day, a new report shows. Private individuals’ net worth rose 4.6% worldwide, and by over 11% in the Americas, driven by a stable US dollar and upbeat financial markets, the 2025 Global […]
The Swiss National Bank cut its interest rate to zero today in response to falling inflation, appreciation pressure on the Swiss franc and economic uncertainty caused by the US administration’s unpredictable trade policy. The SNB reduced its policy rate by 25 basis points from 0.25%, as expected by markets and a Reuters poll. It was […]
The Central Bank is revising downwards its forecast for how many homes will be built this year and over the following two years. It expects 32,500 will be finished this year, a reduction of 1,500 on its previous forecast last March. It says 37,500 will be completed next year, down 2,500 from its last projection, […]
The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) is recommending that the Government provides an additional €10,000 in grants to low income households for the purchase of electric vehicles, particularly in areas with limited access to public transport. It is also calling for scrappage schemes and other transport-related incentives to help accelerate the switch to battery-electric vehicles […]
Airfares from Europe to the United States have dropped to rates not seen since before the Covid-19 pandemic, as travellers from Western Europe lead a pullback in travel to the US that is expected to continue until at least next month. Overseas arrivals to the United States fell 2.8% in May from a year ago, […]
Rollout of generative AI and agents will reduce Amazon’s total corporate workforce in the next few years, Andy Jassy, CEO of the online retailer has said in a note to employees. Artificial intelligence is reshaping the global workforce by automating routine and repetitive tasks, and industry leaders expect this to prompt a reduction or transformation […]
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that households saved 14% of their income in the first three months of this year. This saving rate was down from 14.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The CSO said the saving adds to overall household wealth in the form of buying new homes, growing bank […]
