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The cost of paying with plastic will be cut throughout the EU after European Parliament members voted overwhelmingly to cap their fees.

The agreement comes following a long-running battle with the main card companies that have a near monopoly and which fought against the controls, arguing they would not have the effect of reducing costs.

The European Commission, which drew up the initial proposals, says the cap on fees will save retailers around €6bn a year while consumers should benefit from savings of around €730m a year. However, the cap will not apply to ATM cash withdrawals.

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Eurozone government bonds with longer maturities surged yesterday as the region’s central banks bought sovereign debt for a second day, pushing yields closer to those on shorter-dated notes.

Euro-system central banks were said to have purchased securities, including German five-year notes with a negative yield, under the European Central Bank’s expanded quantitative- easing plan, according to three people with knowledge of the transactions.

Belgian and Italian securities were also acquired, one of the people said. An ECB spokesman declined to comment.

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There was a slight weakening in consumer sentiment in February, according to the latest consumer sentiment index from KBC Bank Ireland and the ESRI.

The index hit a nine year high in January so a decline from those levels was not unexpected.

The report’s authors point to a historic softening in the index in February as the post-Christmas festivities end and related bills arrive.

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Irish borrowing costs on the bond markets fell to fresh lows yesterday as the European Central Bank (ECB) began to implement quantitative easing.

With its first purchase of government bonds under its enhanced stimulus plan, the ECB showed its willing to be patient in its efforts to reignite the euro area’s economy.

The ECB and national central banks started buying sovereign debt yesterday under the 19-month plan to inject €1.1 trillion into the economy.

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The latest eurozone GDP data show that the economy expanded by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2014. For the full year 2014, the eurozone economy grew by a very modest 0.9%.

However, this did represent an improvement compared to the GDP declines of 0.6% and 0.4% recorded in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The Q4 data suggest that growth is broadening. Both consumer spending and investment rose by 0.4%.

Net trade also contributed to growth, with exports rising by 0.8%, no doubt helped by the weakening euro. Indeed, but for a fall in inventories, GDP would have risen by 0.5% in the quarter.

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Europe’s banks need to cut costs by a fifth and simultaneously grow revenues by 15pc just to get their profitability to match their cost of capital, a study by professional services firm EY said.

European banks’ return on equity (RoE), a key measure of profitability, is likely to average less than half their cost of capital again this year, lagging well behind US rivals as lenders struggle with high costs and weak economic growth, according to a study by consultancy EY.

That means job cuts are inevitable and restructuring is likely to gather pace this year.

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The Central Bank’s new mortgage deposit rules have been blamed for contributing to a sharp fall in the growth of construction, with house building stagnating, a survey shows.

But the slowdown has spread into commercial and civil engineering as well.

While the construction sector remains in growth mode, the pace fell sharply in February, according to the latest Ulster Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index. It is the fourth month that the pace of growth has eased.

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In urban Ireland, while evidence of poverty is there for all to see, there are also plenty of signs of economic recovery.

However, Eoin O’Leary of the School of Economics in University College Cork remains to be impressed.

Ireland is on a cyclical upswing, but sure enough, new problems await us, he believes, and this, he adds, is largely due to a “split personality” policy mindset. On one hand, we are adept at lobbying foreigners, but our policy-making at homes falls prey to influence peddling.

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Ireland has become the top destination for US multinational investment and the economic bond between the countries is only likely to intensify, according to a leading Wall Street economist.

In a report on the economic relationship between Ireland and the US, compiled for the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, veteran Wall Street global economist and strategist Joseph P Quinlan said Ireland has “done a very good job of aligning itself with key future growth drivers” in attracting investment from the leading lights of the digital economy.

Mr Quinlan said this kind of move, and ‘micro’ factors such as ease of doing business, good infrastructure and skills, and respect for intellectual property rights has boosted Ireland above and beyond its attractive corporate tax rate.

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The European Central Bank will launch into quantitative easing next week having increased its economic growth forecasts for this year and next.

President Mario Draghi said the first bond purchases with new money would take place on March 9.

The eurozone’s central bank has said it will buy €60bn a month until September 2016 or until inflation is pushed backed towards a target of close to but below 2%.

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