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Rents had their highest rise on record last year, just as measures have been put in place to limit increases.

The average cost of rented accommodation shot up by an average of 13.5pc in the year to last December. Rents nationwide are at a new high of €1,111 on average.

The latest Daft.ie rental report shows the rise last year was the largest annual increase ever recorded. Daft first started tracking rental costs in 2002.

The Government extended rent caps last month in a bid to restrict rises by nominated areas designated as rent pressure zones. Landlords can only increase rents by 4pc per year for three years in designated areas.

In other areas, landlords can only raise the rent once every two years since new laws came into effect at Christmas. But landlords are free to hike rents in the case of new tenancies. The measures are set to help sitting tenants. The Daft.ie index reflects new rent deals.

Dublin saw a 14.5pc surge last year, the second highest rate on record since 2002. Rents in the capital are now €200 more than they were when the last peak was recorded in 2008. Average rents in the capital are now €1,643.
In Cork, rents rose by 12pc last year, down from 18pc earlier in the year. The average cost is €1,096. Rents in Galway are 10pc higher at €975 on average than a year previously, while rents in Limerick – at €875 – have risen 12.5pc in the past year.
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The battle between grocery chains for market share is poised to deliver big savings for consumers this year.

Research group Kantar Worldpanel said that grocery inflation is set to stay low in 2017 as the supermarket giants duke it out for supremacy.

Meanwhile, the see-saw at the top of Ireland’s grocery market league has continued, with Dunnes Stores having regained the top spot from SuperValu, figures from Kantar Worldpanel show.

However, there’s now barely any difference between the top three retailers in the multi-billion euro market.

Figures for the 12 weeks to January 29 show that Dunnes had a 22.7pc market share in the period. SuperValu, controlled by the Cork-based Musgrave Group, had 22.5pc and Tesco had 22.4pc.

The data measures the share of the value of sales, rather than the volume.

Kantar Worldpanel director David Berry said that the value of sales at Dunnes Stores in the latest period rose 3.6pc.

That was the lowest pace of increase in more than a year, which he said should be of “some concern” to the family-owned business, which is headed up by Margaret Heffernan.

The figures also show that consumers lapsed into a post-Christmas spending slowdown.

Grocery sales growth fell to 3pc in the period, down from 4.6pc in the previous 12-week period. “The slowdown in overall market growth has led to even stronger competition between the major supermarkets,” Mr Berry said.

“This points to a good year for consumers as the retailers battle each other fiercely for their all-important grocery spend, keeping price inflation low,” he added.

“Grocery prices are only 0.7pc higher than they were this time last year – which for the average shopper only amounts to an extra 17 cents per trip.”

Mr Berry said that issues affecting the supply of fresh produce have contributed to a dampening of consumer demand in the past few weeks.

Heavy rain and snow in Spain has hit supplies of vegetables such as aubergines, broccoli, lettuce and artichokes.

“Courgettes, cauliflower and spinach have all seen volume sales drop by at least 20pc, while a host of other categories including lettuce and cabbages have been affected to a lesser degree,” said Mr Berry.

Kantar Worldpanel’s figures also show that Aldi and Lidl had a combined 20.9pc of the Irish market in the latest period.

Aldi had 10.6pc and Lidl 10.3pc.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42

Political uncertainty ahead of European elections prompted nervous investors to sell the euro and kept French government debt under pressure on Wednesday while the price of safe-haven gold hit three-month highs.

Three months before the final round of France’s presidential election, investors are concerned about the strong showing of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who has promised to take France out of the eurozone and to hold a referendum on EU membership.

While polls suggest Len Pen would not win, several other frontrunners’ campaigns are in disarray.

Eurozone government bond yields fell broadly – a sign investors are buying more low risk assets, though French debt lagged the rest, with 10-year yields falling to 1.1pc but holding close to 17-month highs touched on Monday. Low-risk German equivalents fell to 0.31pc, a two-week low.

The gap between the rates investors would charge the euro area’s big two governments widened to more than 0.78pc, its widest since November 2012. That move was also fuelled by expectations the extent of the European Central Bank’s bond-buying stimulus scheme has passed.

“If you step back, the big picture still remains – that of political concerns in Europe concomitant with speculation over ECB tapering,” said Rabobank’s head of rates strategy Richard McGuire.

The premium investors demand to hold low-rated Italian 10-year bonds rather than German Bunds hit its highest since 2014.

Apart from German debt, investors also bought gold, which is seen traditionally as a safe investment in uncertain times. Spot gold hit a three-month high of $1,240.40 (€1,159.71) an ounce. The euro currency weakened a further 0.2pc to $1.0653 after a sharp fall on Tuesday.

Sterling was up 0.2pc versus the euro at 85.2 pence per euro.

The dollar, whose predicted path higher has been interrupted lately by uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s economic policies, rose 0.2pc against a basket of other major currencies.

Investors are still waiting to see whether Trump makes good on his campaign pledges to cut taxes and boost spending.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42

Office space is in such demand in Dublin that tenants are committing to lease contracts before a building has even been constructed.

A new report from auctioneers Savills shows there was a huge surge in “pre-letting” in the final quarter of last year.

Pre-lets accounted for 44pc of all Dublin office spaced leased, according to the company. Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 were the in demand areas in the capital, with a 61pc rate of pre lets.

“Although enough Grade A space is available to accommodate around 2,200 office workers, occupiers with large space requirements or very specific locational preferences are facing an increasingly limited choice of buildings,” said Savills chairman Roland O’ Connell.

Pre-letting opens up a wider set of possibilities for tenants and some are willing to forego immediate occupancy in return for buildings that tick the right boxes in terms of location, fit and finish,” Mr O’ Connell added.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42

Global web and application server Nginx is to create 100 jobs at a new facility in Cork.

The new jobs will be created over the next three years as the company seeks to expand its EMEA operations.

The Cork base will be the group’s headquarters in the EMEA region and will allow the company to reach new customers in the UK, Germany and France.

“Many of the world’s leading technology firms are expanding their presence in Ireland because of the availability of highly skilled talent, the quality of life, and its strong relationships across Europe – and NGINX is no exception,” said Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

“We welcome NGINX for both the job and economic advancement it will bring to Ireland. The company is in the midst of incredible growth, with strong brand recognition throughout EMEA, making it a natural fit to have Cork as a launching point to the Irish market, and across the entire region,” Mr Kenny added.

Nginx will be recruiting in the areas of including sales, marketing, finance, business development, software architecture, engineering, and research and development.

“Cork is strongly aligned in culture and attitude with the values carried over from our global headquarters in San Francisco, and we look forward to bringing in the best and brightest talent in the area,” said Gus Robertson, ceo of Nginx.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42

Energy firms face probe for manipulating costs to keep consumer prices high.

A probe is to be carried out by the Commission for Energy Regulation to see why retail energy prices have not fallen more for customers.

In a review of retail competition in the energy market, the regulator said wholesale energy costs had fallen sharply in the past three years.

Despite this, price falls for householders have been much more modest. At the same time, the energy companies claim their supply costs and the funds needed to maintain their networks have gone up.

The rise in network and supply costs has led to suspicions that energy companies are deliberately bumping up some of their costs to avoid deeper cuts in the price of electricity and gas for householders.

Energy Regulation Commissioner Aoife MacEvilly said: “While retail prices have fallen in recent years based on falling wholesale costs, we have also seen network and supply costs increasing. We understand the drivers for increasing network costs but more work is needed to understand why supply costs have risen and to ensure that customers are getting best value.”

The regulator’s report shows wholesale electricity costs fell by a cumulative 39pc between 2013 and 2106, due to lower costs for wholesale gas and falls in the cost of a barrel of oil.

But consumers saw prices fall by just 3pc. Those availing of a discount saw prices fall by 4pc. At the same time, electricity supply costs shot up by 46pc, raising fears that energy suppliers may be inflating their costs to avoid passing on larger price reductions to consumers.

The regulator’s report states: “While wholesale energy costs have been decreasing on average from 2013, network costs (both transmission and distribution) have generally increased.”

The questioning of how energy prices are set comes after the most recent results for the ESB show it made operating profits of €635m in 2015, an increase of €83m from the previous year.

The ESB cut electricity prices by just 4pc for households.

Asked whether ESB/Electric Ireland is manipulating its network and supply costs upwards to avoid deeper retail cuts, a spokesman for the semi-State company denied the accusation.

“ESB Networks is a fully regulated business, transparently regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation,” it said.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42

Consultancy giant Accenture is to add 300 jobs to its Dublin operation in a move that will increase the size of the firm’s headcount in the capital to 2,500.

The new positions are to be filled in the areas of design and technology. One third of the jobs will specifically focus on the Internet of Things, analytics and Artificial Intelligence.

“Accenture continues to make significant investments in Ireland, and we are delighted the company has made the country its centre of innovation, which further cements Ireland’s position globally as a technology hub,” said Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

The new jobs will be located at Accenture’s new technology facility at Grand Canal Dock which will be known as ‘The Dock’. The building will be officially opened later today.

Located in Dublin’s Silicon Docks, the company say The Dock is one of the world’s most connected and intelligent buildings. It uses sensors to learn from occupant behavior and to react to user feedback .

Our talented professionals across Ireland are imagining the future every day to solve some of the biggest challenges facing businesses, governments and consumers,” said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s chairman and ceo.

“We are proud to build on our long history in Ireland with today’s official opening of The Dock and investment in new jobs to drive innovation that helps our clients meet the demands of a rapidly evolving digital world,” Mr Nanterne added.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42

Revenue Commissioners have issued a warning about the latest email scam to hit people’s inboxes.

Their security team has advised anybody who followed up to the email to contact their bank or credit card company immediately.

The fraud email and texts purport to come from Revenue and claim they are looking for an update on your personal information in connection with a tax refund.

“These emails and text messages did not issue from revenue,” a statement from Revenue reads.

“The Revenue Commissioners never send emails or text messages requiring customers to send personal information via email, text or pop-up windows.”

Revenue are now advising anyone who receives an email or text message purporting to be from Revenue and suspects it to be fraudulent or a scam to simply delete it.

“Anyone who is actually awaiting a tax refund should contact their local Revenue Office to check its status,” they added.

**Clarification: An earlier version of this story referenced a legitimate email from Revenue, – an ‘Important notice for PAYE workers’. – which is genuine. We apologise for the confusion
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The total cost of the bank bailout is now likely to fall “comfortably” below €30bn, taking into account a surplus from Nama, Investec’s Philip O’Sullivan said yesterday.

The State bad bank said yesterday that it had paid off a further €1.09bn owed to banks whose property loans were transferred into the agency in 2010.

Nama said it is on course to clear all of its original €32bn of debt by the end of the year.

That would clear the way for the agency to close by its original deadline of 2020.

It paid for the loans taken from the banks with €30.4bn of senior bonds, or IOUs, and €1.6bn of subordinated bonds.

The loans had a face value of €70bn, and the difference translated into losses in the banks themselves.

As Nama sold off property it used the money to redeem the bonds.

The senior bonds are guaranteed by the State, so taxpayers were on the hook if Nama failed to repay the banks.

The latest redemption means 95pc of the guaranteed Nama bonds have now been paid off. Nama still holds billions of euro of assets, meaning it is now certain to more than cover its start-up costs, Mr O’Sullivan said.

“We’ve been saying for two years now that we expect Nama’s surplus to exceed €3bn, and this bears that out,” he said.

An original expectation that Nama would make a single payment to the Exchequer when it is wound up has changed, however, Mr O’Sullivan said.

The agency used low tax Section 110 companies to hold some assets. That structure became controversial last year after it was found to have enabled vulture funds to slash their tax bills in Ireland despite owning billions of euros worth of property and loans and was effectively scrapped in Budget 2017. As a result, Nama is expected to make annual tax payments ahead of its final surplus, though the total received by the State won’t be affected.

“The net cost of the bank bailout – taking into account returns from the banks, the IBRC liquidation and Nama – will be comfortably below €30bn,” Philip O’Sullivan said.

“€30bn is still a hell of a lot of money, but Nama has done a sterling job in difficult circumstances,” he said.

Earlier this month Nama made a €158m preliminary tax payment related to the closure of Section 110.

Yesterday, the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan confirmed that both State owned IBRC – the former Anglo Irish Bank, and the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) have both also used Section 110 companies to hold assets.

It was confirmed in a Dáil reply to Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath. IBRC used Section 110 before its 2013 liquidation, the minister said. The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) had backed investments that used Section 110 structures, including in connection with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), the €8bn State investment fund.

While Section 110 has been used by private investors to slash their tax bills, Government agencies ultimately pay their surplus back to the Exchequer through dividends.
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GIBRALTAR’S top insurance regulator has insisted that companies there operate at the same standard as others in the EU, including Ireland.

She was responding after the Irish Independent revealed that senior Central Bank staff here had raised repeated concerns with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission in relation to some motor insurers selling in Ireland.

The Irish officials fear not enough has been done by regulators in Gibraltar to prevent a repeat of last year’s collapse of Gibraltar-based Enterprise Insurance, which hit 14,000 Irish motorists.

Central Bank staff are understood to have raised issues around the financial viability of some insurance providers with both regulators in Gibraltar and at the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).

The situation is understood to have caused frustration for officials here because under EU ‘passporting’ rules, Ireland cannot preventing any insurance company operating here if it is approved by regulators elsewhere in the EU, regardless of their own fears about particular operators.

However, the chief executive of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC), Samantha Barrass, has insisted that insurers under her watch comply with all EU standards. She said her agency cooperates with the Irish authorities.

“We proactively share information with all the host state regulators of the jurisdictions in which our Gibraltar insurance companies operate and we participate in joint supervision activity. We consider that we have a strong working relationship with the CBI,” she said.

Gibraltar’s Samantha Barrass said there shouldn’t be any grounds for concern.

“We are a National Competent Authority (NCA) in the EU, operating as a part of the EIOPA group of insurance regulators. A very important part of the work we do is the close and collaborative work with EIOPA and the other regulators in all jurisdictions within which our firms operate. This includes the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI),” she said in a statement.

Gibraltar has implemented tough new rules, dubbed the Solvency II Directive, governing the financial health of all insurers, she said.

“An important outcome of this Directive is for host jurisdictions and consumers to have confidence that the provision of insurance services is delivered to the same consistently high standards across the EU and from firms that passport into their territory,” she said.

Gibraltar’s insurance regulators are especially important to Ireland. Data from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland shows 11 companies based in Gibraltar sell motor insurance here, including through Irish brokers. In most cases such external insurers, the bulk of the market, operate without raising any Irish concerns.

However, we now know that officials here do not have full confidence in some operates, and therefore with the wider Single Market system.

The case cuts to the heart of the Single Market. For it to work Irish consumers must be able to trust that any EU compliant service sold here meets the same standard as those originating and regulated in Ireland. Similarly, any manufacturer from across the EU is free to sell their product here without being subject to local quality testing – with consumers taking on trust that high standards apply.

Irish drivers have now been left in a near impossible situation – knowing that senior Central Bank staff in Dublin are concerned about some insurers that are operating here, but without clearer guidance on which.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42