Firms ‘facing tougher times’

THE going will get tough for Irish business in the months ahead, Ulster Bank warned yesterday.

The bank’s latest economic assessment predicted a stronger euro making life harder for exporters, higher interest rates squeezing cashflows by increasing debt repayments and slower growth hurting demand.

Ulster Bank financial markets strategist Niall Dunne said the US dollar was set to slide towards the end of the year and that the American economy’s recent strong performance was not guaranteed to continue.