Irish financial sector pay rises were 1.9% above workers in the industrial sector in year to Q2 2008. Some 6000 jobs in the industrial sector were lost while 4,000 finance jobs were added, according to the CSO.
The European Commission has today presented what it termed a comprehensive plan to drive Europe’s recovery from the current economic crisis. The Commission said the Recovery Plan is based on two mutually reinforcing main elements. Firstly, short-term measures to boost demand, save jobs and help restore confidence. Secondly, “smart investment” to yield higher growth and sustainable prosperity in the longer-term. The Plan calls for a timely, targeted and temporary fiscal stimulus of around €200 billion or 1.5% of EU GDP, within both national budgets (around €170 billion, 1.2% of GDP) and EU and European Investment Bank budgets (around €30 billion, 0.3% of GDP). Every Member State is called upon to take major measures good for its own citizens and good for the rest of Europe. The Commission says the Recovery Plan will reinforce and accelerate reforms already underway under the Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy. It includes extensive action at national and EU level to help households and industry and concentrate support on the most vulnerable. It puts forward concrete steps to promote entrepreneurship, research and innovation, including in the car and construction industries. The Recovery Plan aims to boost efforts to tackle climate change while creating much-needed jobs at the same time, through for example strategic investment in energy efficient buildings and technologies. Ireland will not take part in the plan.
Home builders are railing against the FDIC, saying the agency is cutting off construction financing from seized banks and demanding early repayment of current loans.
US data signals recession as spending in the consumer and capital sectors sagged in October. Spending by US consumers fell by the most since 2001 and durable goods - - items that are expected to last at least 3 years — orders plunged in the same month. It was the third straight monthly decline. Meanwhile, jobless claims fell slightly last week but remain at elevated levels consistent with a recession. The four-week average of new claims is the highest since January 1983.
Ireland has achieved 24 places in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA ranking which is announced today. This ranks public and private technology companies from 23 countries in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region, with a minimum revenue of €50,000 in year one. It is the most objective industry-ranking standard to focus on the technology sector. The Fast 500 is researched by Deloitte’s Global Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Group, a unit of the Big 4 accounting firm.
US firm NN Inc. , which is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, today announced it will close its manufacturing facility located in Kilkenny, Ireland as part of its long term strategy to rationalise its European operations. Production will cease by early February 2009 with an orderly closure scheduled for June 2009. The closing will impact approximately 70 employees. The facility produces precision steel balls used in a variety of bearing applications for various end markets.
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Principal news stories from the Irish Independent, Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Financial Times and New York Times.
According to an annual survey by German market research group GfK, European consumers in 2008, have disposable income totaling €8 trillion to spend on consumer goods, and this includes state benefits like unemployment money, child benefit and pensions. This means that the average per capita purchasing power is around €12,500, although of course, there are considerable disparities between countries. For example, in Moldova, bringing up the rear on the league table, the level of disposable income is just under €800. Liechtenstein ranks first with a purchasing power of around €45,000, Luxembourg comes in second with a purchasing power of €28,192, followed by Switzerland with €26,842 and Germany, climbing up one place in the rankings from eleventh to tenth place with an average of €18,734 per capita.
The Federal Reserve’s attempt to stabilize the housing market set off a chain reaction that dropped rates and spurred a burst of refinancing activity by borrowers eager to lower mortgage costs.