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The European Central Bank is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point later today. The move would bring its main rate to 2% which would automatically benefit tracker mortgage customers and feed through to many other borrowers. The ECB’s move comes after inflation in the countries that use the…

Bulgaria has met all criteria to adopt the euro currency from 1 January 2026, the European Central Bank said after assessing progress on a host of indicators from inflation to central bank legislation. “This positive assessment of convergence paves the way for Bulgaria to introduce the euro as of 1 January 2026 and become the…

The pace of growth in the country’s services sector picked up in May, according to the latest purchasing managers index from AIB. The seasonally adjusted index rose from 52.8 in April to 54.7 last month – with any figure above 50 representing growth. But export growth was more subdued, while optimism around activity in the…

Euro zone inflation eased below the European Central Bank’s target last month on surprisingly benign services costs, underpinning expectations for further policy easing even as global trade tensions fuel longer-term price pressures. Consumer price inflation in the 20 countries sharing the euro slowed to 1.9% in May from 2.2% a month earlier, below expectations for…

New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show that while new car registrations overall slowed in May, the number of new electric car registrations increased. The SIMI figures show that new car registrations for May were down 8.8% to 5,832 from 6,398 the same month last year. However, registrations so far this…

IDA Ireland said Ireland was losing ground to other EU countries and the US because of the high cost of energy. In a series of briefings for the Government, the investment agency said strong security of power supply was “imperative” for enticing companies into Ireland. It said the operating environment for foreign direct investment was…

The country’s manufacturing sector grew at a solid pace in May as strong domestic demand offset a second successive monthly decline in export orders due to subdued sales into the US and Britain, a new survey showed today. AIB’s Manufacturing PMI fell slightly to 52.6 from April’s 53, but was above the 50 threshold indicating…

The OECD has slashed its annual global growth forecast today, warning that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz will stifle the world economy – hitting the US especially hard. After 3.3% growth last year, the world economy is now expected to expand by a “modest” 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic…

Business group Ibec has warned that Ireland’s current public investment model for research and innovation does not match the country’s ambition to become a European Innovation Leader. In a new report published as part of its Business Ambition campaign, Ibec said Ireland must increase public investment in research and innovation to 1% of Gross National…

There were 2,922 first-time buyer (FTB) approvals valued at almost €1 billion (€965m) in April, according to the latest figures from the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland’s Mortgage Approvals Report. The report shows the highest April FTB levels since the data series began in 2011. The number of mortgages approved rose by 4.7% month-on-month…