Author: admin@fmb

Major technology companies have called on politicians to regulate artificial intelligence. Appearing before TDs and senators on the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee, representatives from Amazon, Google and Microsoft spoke of the negative and positive impacts that the technology might have. Kieran McCorry, National Technology Officer of Microsoft Ireland, told committee members that, at present, there is […]

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Almost €100m was stolen by fraudsters through frauds and scams last year, new data shows. That represents an increase of 16% on the previous year, according to FraudSMART which collated the information. 95% of total fraudulent transactions and 36% of gross fraud losses were accounted for by card fraud. Fraudulent card payments were up 8.2% […]

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New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that retail sales fell by 1.2% on a monthly basis in April to stand 0.9% lower than a year earlier. The CSO said that excluding volatile car sales, retail sales volumes were 0.1% higher on the month and 0.2% up year-on-year. Today’s CSO figures show that the […]

Read More… from Retail sales dip by 1.2% in April from March – CSO

The European Central Bank can gradually reduce interest rates given the decline in inflation, and decisions on future cuts could centre around quarterly meetings with new economic projections, Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot said today. The ECB has all but committed to a rate cut on June 6 when new economic forecasts will also […]

Read More… from ECB to focus on quarterly meetings with slow, gradual rate cuts – Knot

The tourism industry across the island of Ireland is worth almost €17 billion to the economy, and supports 300,000 jobs, new data shows. The report from Ulster University and Dublin City University highlights the value of both domestic and international tourism to the island. It states that the sector has bounced back from the challenges […]

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A new report has found that over two thirds of businesses are concerned about the introduction of pension auto-enrolment. The research by Aon found that more than a quarter of respondents are worried about the increased costs of additional contributions. A similar proportion have reservations about the impacts on existing contributions. 38% of participants said […]

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Lending at credit unions increased by almost 14% in the past year, driven by a significant rise in mortgage lending. That is according to figures from the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), which represents over 90% of the credit unions here. Its latest results show that around 1,800 mortgages were issued by ILCU-affiliated credit […]

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Cost-of-living measures “must once again be a focus” for Budget 2025, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said. Mr Harris made the comments during an address at the National Economic Dialogue in Dublin Castle this morning. He said that while there is a record number of people at work at just over 2.7 million, inflation is moderating […]

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The European Central Bank is ready to cut interest rates next month but policy must continue to be restrictive this year as wage growth will not normalise until 2026, ECB chief economist Philip Lane told the Financial Times today. The ECB has all but promised a rate cut for June 6, so the debate has […]

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New figures from Kantar show that grocery inflation stood at 2.6% in the 12 weeks to May 12, down from 13.3% the same time last year and the lowest level since March 2022. Today’s figures also show that take-home grocery sales rose by 4.7% in the four weeks to May 12, with volumes per trip […]

Read More… from Grocery price inflation falls to 2.6% in May from 13.3% last year