RTE Business

The French government's borrowing costs have surpassed Spain's for the first time in almost 18 years as investors worry about France's yawning public deficit.

The State agency embroiled in controversy concerning the taxpayers' spend of €1.4m on a security hut and €335,000 on a bike shelter for Leinster House is now seeking to spend an estimated €600,000 (excl VAT) on a new PR contract.

The US economy grew faster than initially thought in 2023 amid upgrades to business investment and consumer spending despite hefty interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve, revised government data showed today.

Solar panel company Activ8 has called for the full solar grants to be reinstated in the upcoming Budget.

Airline e-commerce platform Datalex has raised €25m through a share placing, in its latest capital raising initiative.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the job churn rate for the second quarter was 11.5%, down from 13% on the same time last year.

Germany's leading economic institutes have downgraded their forecast for 2024 and now see Europe's largest economy shrinking by 0.1%, they said in their autumn joint economic forecasts.

Commerzbank will hold a first round of talks with UniCredit tomorrow as the Italian lender presses for a possible tie-up, the German bank's designated CEO, Bettina Orlopp said today.

The Swiss National Bank reduced interest rates by 25 basis points today, echoing steps to lower borrowing costs by the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve, and left the door wide open for more rate cuts as inflation cools sharply.

Sinn Féin's finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty has said his party's alternative budget is about making an immediate and lasting benefit to workers and families during a cost-of-living crisis.

Guinness owner Diageo said some of its strategic initiatives were starting to pay off, prompting the world's largest spirits maker to stick to its outlook in a challenging environment and sending shares up 3% in early trade.

Vodafone Ireland has signed a new Corporate Power Purchasing Agreement (CPPA) with energy supplier Flogas, along with its infrastructure partner Vantage Towers - the first telco in Ireland to sign such an agreement.

Online bank Revolut, which has over 2.8 million customers in Ireland, said its savings balances grew at an average rate of more than 50% between June and September after an influx of deposits from its customers.

Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon has agreed a deal to lease five Airbus A330neos to South Korean low-cost carrier T'way Air.

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is working on a plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation that will no longer be controlled by its non-profit board, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a move that will make the company more attractive to investors.

H&M, the world's second-largest listed fashion retailer, said today it no longer expected to reach its full-year earnings margin goal, while reporting a lower than expected operating profit for the June-August period.

AIB has announced some cuts to its mortgage interest rates for both new and existing customers.

A young baker from Co Kildare is hoping to turn her recipe for success on TikTok into a viable business.

European discount retailer Pepco Group said its fourth-quarter underlying revenue was lower than the prior year, partly reflecting ongoing supply chain disruption.

Our fiscal history tells us much about our past and the business of government over many centuries