Business and Finance News
Irish broad level of unemployment at 416,474 in October
The Irish broad level of unemployment was at 416,474 in October — about 19% of the workforce. The narrow level of unemployment in October was at 203,000 in October at a rate of 9.3% — this rate is the same as the average for the EU28: The EU-28 unemployment rate was 9.3% in September 2015, down from 9.4% in August 2015, and from 10.1 % in September 2014.
UK EU Brexit could cut Irish trade by 20% or maybe not
A report commissioned by the Department of Finance on the impact of the UK exiting from the EU after a referendum, says Irish trade with Britain could be reduced by 20% or more. However, this week George Osborne, UK chancellor of the exchequer, spoke i…
Ireland: Apple’s foreign tax rate rises to 6% from 2% in 2012
Ireland: Apple’s foreign tax rate on its overseas earnings rose to 6% in fiscal year 2015 that ended on 26 Sept 2015, and this compares with a rate of 2% in 2012. Total net income jumped from $53.5bn in 2014 to $72.5bn in 2015. Net income was at $50.1bn in 2013 — the headline corporate tax rate in Apple’s main overseas markets is at least 20%.
Mathematician George Boole as father of digital age
George Boole, the mathematician who was born 200 years ago this week (2 Nov, 1815) in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, was the son of a shoemaker, left school at the age of sixteen, never attended a university but would become the architect of what we c…
ESRI: Back To Education Allowance for Irish unemployed useless
A research report on the Back To Education Allowance (BTEA) for Irish unemployed, produced by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and published Wednesday says the scheme was in effect useless as there is no evidence of improved employment…
Returns on Irish pension managed funds up 6%+ in October 2015
Returns on Irish pension managed funds in October 2015 were above 6% in November offsetting the losses in the previous month.
Irish Innovation/ Entrepreneurship needs more focus than tax
Last week we wrote that tax breaks remain the main Irish policy tool: they are easy to implement; without having to worry about evidence, they can intuitively seem wise and in accord with the conventional wisdom, and they are always welcomed by vested …
Europe had a growth crisis long before launch of euro in 1999
Growth decelerated in several European countries before the launch of the euro in 1999; some countries had persistent problems with their public finances and the single currency was a continuation rather than a structural break in trade patterns with f…
Euro Area manufacturing weak in October despite ECB’s stimulus
The growth rate of the Euro Area manufacturing sector ticked higher in October, as the final PMI (purchasing managers’ index) data for output, new orders and employment all came in stronger than the earlier flash estimates. However, the sector remained…
Chinese manufacturing slips; Japan up; India weak; Korea dips
Chinese manufacturing has contracted for the third month in a row, according to the official monthly factory survey that mainly reflects the activities of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) while a survey of private sector companies shows that operating co…