THE country’s bad bank – the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) – is set to sell-off property loans worth over €300m as demand rises. The asset sale known as Project Spring and linked to developer Gerry Conlan, will be sold at a discount, news agency Bloomberg has reported. In February, the bank said it would… Read more »
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Microsoft’s boss may unveil Office for iPad on March 27
Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Satya Nadella may unveil an iPad version of the company’s Office software suite on March 27, a source familiar with the event told Reuters, and use his first big press appearance to launch the company’s most profitable product in a version compatible with Apple Inc’s popular tablet. Nadella, who replaced longtime… Read more »
Bank of Ireland first to allow yuan transactions
Bank of Ireland has become the first Irish bank to allow business customers make payments in Chinese yuan. Until now, Irish companies have been unable to receive or make payments in this currency. The facility will allow Irish companies to protect themselves from currency fluctuations, the bank said. Irish exports to China have risen by… Read more »
German court confirms legality of euro zone bailout scheme
Germany’s Constitutional Court confirmed on Tuesday the legality of the euro zone’s bailout fund, upholding a preliminary ruling from the height of the debt crisis in 2012 that gave an initial green light to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The court in Karlsruhe reiterated that the €700bn fund did not violate the rights of the… Read more »
Deflation ‘ogre’ threatens to derail Europe’s fragile recovery
ARE we facing a deflation crisis? That’s the big question plaguing Europe’s smartest economists today. The news that Irish consumer prices have swung into their first annual fall since 2010 is just the tip of the iceberg in a problem that threatens to derail Europe’s recovery and hurt retailers from Dublin to Dusseldorf. IMF boss… Read more »
Borrowing costs fall again after first bond auction in four years
THE cost of borrowing fell to a record low yesterday as the National Treasury Management Agency auctioned off government bonds for the first time since 2010. The NTMA has resumed regular bond auctions partly to prove its return to business as usual. Debt auctions are considered the ultimate indicator of how safe a sovereign’s market… Read more »
RBS looking at merger options for Ulster Bank
UK state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland has commissioned investment bank Morgan Stanley to advise it on potential merger opportunities for its Irish unit, Ulster Bank, the business’s chief executive was quoted as saying today. Ulster Bank, which is the biggest bank in Northern Ireland and the third largest in the Republic of Ireland, has racked… Read more »
Government raises €1bn in post-bailout bond auction
THE Government has successfully raised €1bn in a post-bailout bond auction. The yield on the 10-year bond was 2.967pc while the bid to cover ratio was 2.9 times with total bids of €2.8bn. “The completion of today’s auction marks Ireland’s full return to the markets for the first time since September 2010 and brings to… Read more »
Five ways to stop your company getting stung over social media gaffes
They say it’s good to talk. But is it always good to gossip online? Not if you’re the head of a company seeking to avoid legal difficulties from loud-mouthed employees on social networks. Here are five ways to guard against your lawyers having an active time because of inappropriate staff Facebook or LinkedIn chatter. 1… Read more »
Six big banks giving deals to more mortgage holders in arrears
MORE people who are in mortgage arrears have been given permanent deals by their banks to get them out of financial trouble. The Department of Finance said the six main banks have put in place close to 14,500 permanent repayment plans for residential mortgage accounts that are in arrears in January. This is up from… Read more »