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The Covid-19 unemployment payments will cost the Government just under €5bn for three months, according to an analysis by the Economic and Social Research Institute. The ESRI also warns that the cap on higher earners in the wage subsidy scheme may encourage firms to lay off those employees rather than retaining them. The Government has introduced […]
Read MoreThe global coronavirus pandemic is causing an economic crisis unlike any in the past century and will require a massive response to ensure recovery, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said today. She warned that “global growth will turn sharply negative in 2020,” with 170 of the International Monetary Fund’s 180 members experiencing a decline […]
Read MoreThe Federal Reserve will continue to use all the tools at its disposal until the US economy begins to fully rebound from the harm caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said today, even as he acknowledged the limits of the bank’s powers. “Many of the programmes we are undertaking to support […]
Read MoreEU finance ministers have failed to agree on a bailout plan to help hard hit member states face the coronavirus outbreak, after Italy refused to abandon its plea for “coronabonds” to share the burden. “After 16 hours of discussions, we came close to a deal but we are not there yet. I suspended the Eurogroup […]
Read MoreThe number of new users and the volume of online shopping continued to increase over the last week as people became even more confined to home due to the Covid-19 crisis. New data compiled by digital agency Wolfgang Digital found that between March 30 and April 5, internet based sales traffic rose overall by 19% compared to […]
Read MoreThe Central Bank has said recent actions by the ECB will release upwards of €20bn for Irish banks to borrow and potentially loan out in non-mortgage lending. In an economic letter published today, the bank also says that actions like the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) will ensure that governments “can more easily issue debt to […]
Read MoreThe number of people dependent on income supports has soared to over 700,000, according to the latest figures from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Last Friday, payments were issued to 507,000 recipients of the €350 per week Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Support payment, which is up from 283,000 a week ago. These payments are […]
Read MoreThe number of people dependent on income supports has soared to over 700,000, according to the latest figures from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Last Friday, payments were issued to 507,000 recipients of the €350 per week Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Support payment, which is up from 283,000 a week ago. These payments are […]
Read MoreEurozone finance ministers are expected to agree to use Europe’s bailout fund to help support economies stricken by the coronavirus pandemic. However, during a video conference this afternoon they are expected to stop short of agreeing to pool European debt through so-called coronabonds, an approach favoured by a number of countries, including Ireland. During a […]
Read MoreConstruction activity fell to its lowest level in 11 years as Covid-19 restrictions halted building across the country last month. Ulster Bank’s construction purchasing managers’ index, which follows the sector’s performance every month, fell to 28.9 in March from 50.6 in February, indicating that the industry virtually collapsed. The outbreak of the virus hit all […]
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