It may be the dog days of August, but the Exchequer Returns remain one of the most closely watched indicators of the Government’s finances. The latest numbers published on Tuesday will have made for happy reading for the Government, with the tax take up and VAT in particular coming in strong. Barry O’Halloran has the details.
A decline in the number of homes changing hands has failed to stem the tide of rising prices this year so far with the number of second-hand homes for sale declining to new lows, according to two new industry reports. In its latest residential buildings report published on Wednesday, property database GeoDirectory said the total number of residential property transactions in the Republic had slumped by 5.8 per cent to 47,686 in the 12 months to the end of May. Yet, the national average house price had increased by 4.3 per cent to €381,749 over the same period with prices up in every county in the Republic except Monaghan. Ian Curran reports.
In Money Matters, Joanne Hunt explains why if you’re in your 30s it’s time to get serious about your pension.
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has launched High Court proceedings against Twitter International Unlimited Company over concerns about how the personal data of millions of European users of X, as the social network is now called, is being processed. Aodhan O’Faolain was in court.
Celtic Football Club expects profits to be significantly higher than previously expected amid player sales and winning the domestic double. Barry J Whyte reports.
Headline unemployment in the Irish economy edged higher for the fifth month in a row in July but remained close to the record low of 4 per cent, the Central Statistics Office said on Tuesday. The unemployment rate rose to 4.7 per cent – the highest level since March 2022 – from 4.5 per cent in June and from 4.3 per cent in July 2023, according to the latest data. Ian has the details.
Businesses in Northern Ireland said they had a “steady” performance between April and June, with signs of growth in the economy, according to a new study. Some 83 per cent said they were trading well or reasonably in the period. Still, cash flow is a concern across manufacturing and services industries according to the study from the Northern Ireland chamber of commerce and industry and BDO Northern Ireland. Fiona Keeley has the story.
Fiona also reports that close to half of all job ads posted to LinkedIn in June offered remote or hybrid working, according to a new report from LinkedIn.
Galway-based water and wastewater engineering company Glanua has bought UK-based industrial operations and maintenance firm Aqua Operations for an undisclosed sum. Colin Gleeson reports.
Colin also reports that Bus Éireann halved it losses last year as its passenger numbers topped 100 million for the first time. The company carried out 107 million so-called passenger journeys in 2023. That was up 19.5 per cent over the previous year.
Finally, in his column, Mohammed El Erian argues why rigid rules are rarely fit for purpose. That’s especially important when it comes to economic policy and market regulation.
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