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More than four out of five Irish investors say they are confident about their own financial situation and the outlook for the Irish economy, according to a survey.

The survey of Rabobank customers finds economic sentiment among Irish investors has reached a four-year high.
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The survey asks respondents about their forecasts for the next three months. The 82pc of investors confident about the next three months compares with an all-time low recorded in 2010 when only 10pc of Irish investors expressed confidence in the economy.

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THE UK is aiming to push more of its exports this way, while attempting to get Irish investors to set up shop over there.

The British Embassy in Dublin is currently advertising for a trade and investment adviser whose job will be focused on getting firms to expand in to Britain, while trying to win more contracts here for UK companies. Based at the embassy in leafy Ballsbridge, the successful candidate will work for UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), a government department, and be expected to lead campaigns to connect UK companies with opportunities in Ireland. International trade is crucial to UK growth, according to the ad, so it is vital you can set up talks with potential customers.

You’ll need to be dynamic, energetic, motivated and have your passport ready as it may requite travel overseas. And while you’ll be paid well above the minimum wage, your salary – at €28,469 per annum – falls below the industrial wage which the CSO recently put at about €35,880 a year.

Are they feeling that optimistic about their trade push if they’re investing this sort of money in the team.

IRISH LIFE WINS PASSIVE GONG

It doesn’t sound like something you should win an award for – passive manager of the year.

But in the world of investing and pensions, passive managers are those whose portfolios mirror a market index. And Irish Life was beating the drum this week about how it has been named Passive Manager of the Year at the European Pension Awards.

Irish Life Investment Managers – owned by Canadian firm Great-West Lifeco – was the only Irish investment firm that won at this year’s ceremony. It was also named Equities Manager of the Year.

The awards were dished out last week in London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, with drinks, dinner, a disco and ‘fun casino’.

Irish Life has been beside itself with the excitement. To be fair, it was up against some stiff competition. On the short-list for the Passive Manager award were firms including State Street Global Advisors and UBS Global Asset Management. For the Equities Manager award, Irish Life was up against rivals including Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Blackrock, Axa Investment Managers, and Kleinwort Benson.

Judges for the awards were drawn from across Europe. They included Jerry Moriarty, director of policy and the Irish Association of Pension Funds.
– See more at: http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/the-punt-uk-looking-for-trade-boost-30405394.html#sthash.HRYzoIza.dpuf

The economy picked-up steam considerably in the first three months of the year led by strong exports.

But personal spending fell fractionally in the first quarter, painting a conflicting picture of the recovery as separate data has shown retail sales are on the rise.

The Central Statistics Office announced revisions to how growth is calculated and said the economy grew by 0.2pc last year.

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Investors spent more money on big commercial property deals in the first six months of this year than in any previous six-month period, as buyers continued to flood the market.

Research from property firm CBRE claims that more than €1.37bn was invested in the Irish market between January and June on transactions of more than €1bn.

That is the highest six-month figure on record, higher even than the peak of the boom in 2006 when investment topped €1.09bn. Indeed, the volume of investment sales recorded in the first half of 2014 is almost a fifth higher than the 10 year average annual spend for the first half of a year.

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The Irish Independent has seen correspondence from the lender written to long-standing customers with legitimate business interests in Cuba telling them it can no longer process international transactions to or from the Caribbean island.

The ban comes as French bank BNP Paribas was hit with a $9bn (€6.5bn) fine by the US amid allegations it violated US sanctions involving Cuba, Iran and Sudan.
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Bank of Ireland has a tie-up with a leading bank in the US which handles all of Bank of Ireland’s transactions under new European payment rules known as the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)

The US lender is bound by US regulations which ban payments being made to Cuba, Iran and Sudan, Bank of Ireland said.

Bank of Ireland confirmed that it had written to affected customers who are doing business with Cuba explaining that it could not process payments on their behalf.

“Our correspondent bank for all SEPA transaction is a leading US bank who must comply with its own regulatory requirements and obligations and to avoid a possible exposure to regulatory sanctions and penalties,” Bank of Ireland said in a statement.

“As a result of the decision by our correspondent bank, we are not in a position to process such transactions.

“This affects all international payments to or 
 from Cuba and also any related 
SEPA payments.”

The US government has sanctions in place against a select number of countries including Cuba, Iran and Sudan. The EU has also had sanctions in place against Iran and Sudan but not Cuba.

AIB declined to comment when asked by the Irish Independent if it was facing similar problems concerning Cuba. Read more

According to opinion polls, there is even a gender distinction of this kind in attitudes to fiscal policy – which, of course, is what we are talking about.

Having once put the car in a ditch while taking the scenic route, perhaps I am biased towards the side of caution in such matters as well.
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The one thing we can all agree upon is that, when Michael Noonan finishes his budget speech in October, the planned deficit for 2015 will be just under 3pc of GDP. The argument is mainly over which route to take to achieve that outcome, but it would be wrong to think that is all that is involved.

Some people think it is the wrong destination. Few analysts now argue that a €2bn correction is definitely needed in the Budget to achieve that magic number – but many think it would still be a good idea, in case things take a turn for the worse. Besides, they say, 3pc is no more than a magic number.

Selecting magic numbers is an old pattern in Irish fiscal policy; one which was responsible for much of the destruction of the public finances during the boom. If results were ahead of the target, policy was loosened so as to return to the original figure the following year. The result, after five years of a bubble, was an enormous deficit representing five years of slavishly following pre-determined, wildly inadequate fical balances. Read more

Speaking to the Herald, 
Ronnie O’Toole, economist with the National Payments Plan (NPP) in the Central Bank of Ireland, said the recent 
Wexford rounding trial should be rolled out nationally.

TRIAL

The results of the 
trial last year showed strong support for 
getting rid of the coins.

During the 
experiment, retailers rounded cash transactions to the nearest 5c at the cash register, removing the need for 1c and 2c coins.

According to Mr O’Toole, the 85pc of customers and 100pc of retailers said the removal of the coins should be extended to the rest of the country.

One concern consumers had was retailers would round up the price of goods, but a mystery shopping exercise found it had no inflationary effect. Read more

The planned €2bn in tax hikes and spending cuts would prolong austerity and do unnecessary damage to the economy, the trade union funded body said at the launch of its latest economic commentary.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has already said that he believes reducing the deficit to below 3pc of the value of the economy can be achieved by doing less.
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This is despite the advice of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the Fiscal Advisory Council, the State’s budgetary watchdog.

But NERI also warned that there wasn’t any room for tax cuts as this would harm public services.

“Some of the tax cuts that we’ve heard about is concerning,” said Dr Tom McDonnell of the institute.

“For example, changing the threshold on the marginal rate of income tax. That would only affect a small proportion of households, and of course those are the higher income households. Obviously that would be inequitable but it would also not be particularly effective in boosting demand. Read more

The state-owned bank said it was ready to sell €2.6bn of “non-core” loans including the old Springboard Irish subprime mortgages and has appointed advisers Morgan Stanley to find a buyer or buyers.

Improving market conditions mean the bank – once the country’s largest mortgage lender – sees a chance to off-load loans it no longer regards as “core” to its future business.
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But campaigner David Hall’s Irish Mortgage Holders’ Organisation (IMHO) said the action is being taken despite the unfulfilled promise by the Department of Finance to bring in new laws to protect consumers when mortgages were sold.

“This is a cynical exercise by PTSB/Springboard and takes advantage of the ‘heads up’ given by the Finance Department that legislation is supposedly on the way. But where is it?” asked Mr Hall, IMHO director.

“The announcement of the intention to bring in consumer protection legislation has created a flurry of activity, as now announced by PTSB, to sell mortgages ahead of the new laws being enacted,” he said. Read more

THERE has been another strong rise in property prices. They rose by 10.6pc in May when compared with a year previously, the Central Statistics Office said today.

In the month of May, prices nationally were up 2.3pc.
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But the surge in prices in the capital was double the national average.

Prices jumped by 22pc in Dublin compared with a year ago, after a rise of 4.2pc in the month.

Outside of Dublin prices were up 1.8pc compared with a year ago, and up 0.6pc in the month.

Prices over the entire country are still down 45pc from their peak in 2007, the Central Statistics Office said. Read more