Archive for February 2020

The number of apartments built last year jumped by almost 60% compared to 2018, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today. The CSO said a total of 3,644 apartments were built last year, up 59.6% on the figure of 2,283 for 2018.  When measured on a quarterly basis, the number of new apartments…

Shares on the Dublin market were lower today after Sinn Féin secured the highest percentage of the first preference vote in the weekend election.  The ISEQ index closed down 1.2%. The banks were all weaker with AIB end the day 5.4% lower, while Bank of Ireland sank 8.3% and Permanent TSB tumbled 11%. Investors fear a negative impact from Sinn…

Activity in the construction sector grew in January for the second month in a row, but the pace of growth slowed from December, a new survey shows.  The latest Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers Index showed a reading of 50.9 in January, above the 50 no-change mark again but down from 52 in December.  Ulster…

Investor morale in the euro zone fell for the first time in four months in February over fears that China will not be able to contain the coronavirus outbreak, a survey showed today.  Sentix’s index for the euro zone fell to 5.2 from 7.6 in January. The Reuters consensus forecast was for a fall to…

The sale of houses in commuter counties around Dublin increased by at least 5%, according to a study based on analysis of sales recorded in the Property Price Register. Eight Leinster counties recorded increases of at least 5% in the number of sales compared with 2018. The study, which was carried out by property website…

Oil prices edged down this morning but held recent ranges as traders assessed China’s oil demand following the coronavirus outbreak and awaited a decision by major producers to cut output further to balance markets. Oil is off more than 20% from peaks struck in January after a spreading virus hit demand in the world’s largest…

Shares on the Dublin market were lower this morning after Sinn Féin secured the highest percentage of the first preference vote in the weekend election.  The ISEQ index was down just over 1.1% in early trade. The banks were weaker with AIB losing 4.9%, while Bank of Ireland dropped 4.8% and Permanent TSB lost 1.7% in…

China said it would halve tariffs on $75 billion-worth of US imports as part of its trade truce with Washington and as officials look to calm markets unnerved by the deadly virus outbreak.  The State Council Tariff Commission said the reductions would come in a month after China and the US signed a deal to dial…

The number of people signing on the Live Register fell in January to the lowest level since the start of 2008, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. The CSO said the Live Register fell by 1,300 in January to bring the seasonally adjusted total to 183,900.  On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number…

Almost 23,000 business startups were formed in Ireland last year, according to a report from company intelligence firm CRIF Vision-net. This is up 1.2pc on 2018, and is the highest number of startups over a 12-month period in CRIF’s 29-year history. Startups exceeded company closures by more than 10,400 in 2019. Firms operating in the…