A restoration of the standard Vat rate to 21%, greater help for retailers to trade online and a tackling of business rate levels have been called for as latest retail sales figures show continued volatility, writes Geoff Percival.

Cavan-headquartered specialist building materials group Kingspan is “ready to do something big” on the acquisition front, its chief executive Gene Murtagh said yesterday.

Shannon-based engineering and mining services group Mincon has acquired Swedish company Viqing Drilling Equipment for nearly €8m and is continuing to look for more acquisition opportunities.

Shares in betting services group Paddy Power-Betfair dropped a further 4% yesterday after it posted first-half earnings which fell short of analyst expectations.

A new picture of the economy shows it is much smaller and the country’s debt burden is much heavier but also suggests that the domestic economy is powering ahead.

A new way of measuring the size of the economy has shown the legacy of debt from the crash is much higher than previously estimated, and will likely hem in government spending for years to come.

Irish-controlled glass and metals packaging group Ardagh has launched a £400m (€457m) eight-year bond offering, with the proceeds set to be used for the early repayment of existing debt.

Almost all categories of retail sales are posting increases helped by the drop in the value of sterling against the euro which is pulling down the prices of many goods in Irish shops.

Shares in Permanent TSB rose 5% after it told shareholders it had taken on new business and improved its profitability in the early part of the year.

Dublin-based paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa has the ability to spend up to €1bn on acquisitions this year without harming its balance sheet or breaching its lending covenants, management has said.

Kerry Group has maintained its strong earnings growth outlook for 2017 on the back of a solid performance in the first three months of the year.

The Department of Finance has expressed disappointment at the continuing underperformance of tax revenues, but will be looking to May’s figures — traditionally a big revenue month on all tax fronts — as a better indicator for the full year.

The Department of Finance is investigating the reasons for an unexpected drop in revenues it collects from income tax revenues as it issued its exchequer returns for taxes and spending in March.

Irish exporters have been warned about further sharp currency fluctuations, should the EU-UK talks end in no trade deal and tough controls over workers.

The drop in the value of sterling because of Brexit is weighing on the purchase of new cars but spending in many other areas of the economy appears to be holding up, the latest retail spending figures suggest.

Irish miner company Kenmare Resources is expected to show further bottom line improvements this year after reporting a significant narrowing in losses and an increase in productivity in 2016. 

Irish fruit distributor Total Produce remains on the lookout for more acquisitions on the back of stronger-than-expected annual earnings.

Ostensibly booming pre-Christmas retail sales data capped a good week for the economy, as surveys on the services industry and start-ups pointed to a good start for 2017.

GDP numbers suggesting the economy leaped in the latest quarter again overstate the strength of the economy, analysts have said, as a wary eye is kept on the potential Brexit fallout in the coming months.

Shares in Permanent TSB rose more than 3% on hopes that the mortgage lender has turned a new chapter by focusing on growing new mortgage lending here after selling off a major UK loan book.

Preliminary figures published yesterday by the CSO indicate an impressive recovery in Irish export performance in August, suggesting an initial easing in early Brexit concerns.

Income tax receipts have continued to bring in less than anticipated for the exchequer, while corporate tax revenues have outperformed again, presenting a mixed bag for Finance Minister Michael Noonan ahead of his budget next week.

Providence Resources is eyeing a start date of next June for drilling at its Druid oil prospect in the Porcupine Basin off the south-west coast.

The Dalata Hotel Group is expected to have increased its UK room capacity by 15% inside the next two-and-a-half years.

Irish indigenous firms are “struggling” following the slump in the value of sterling against the euro in the wake of the UK’s vote in June to leave the EU, a leading economist has said.

Shares in leading Irish recruiter CPL Resources yesterday clawed back around half of the losses seen since June’s Brexit vote, on the back of the group posting record annual revenues.

The fallout of the Brexit vote could weigh on all three Irish lenders for some time, a leading broker has said.

Shares in leading Irish recruiter CPL Resources continued their post-Brexit vote fall, yesterday, as the group warned the impact on its business of Britain’s vote to leave the EU remains uncertain.

Tax receipts are booming, new exchequer figures have shown. 

Disappointing some expectations, S&P Global Ratings — the new name for Standard & Poor’s — left its ratings unchanged for Ireland yesterday, citing the potential washback on the Irish economy should the UK decide to leave the EU in the referendum that takes place in less than three weeks.

The Government yesterday received encouraging fiscal news as exchequer returns showed a “strong and robust” flow of tax receipts in May and on-budget spending for all but one department.

The row over the legislation on mortgage rates going through the Dáil has highlighted much more than the high costs many thousands of people are paying for their home loans.

Irish Continental Group (ICG) chief executive Eamonn Rothwell said yesterday he would be “wasting time” by planning for a possible Brexit and any implications which “might” arise.

KBC Bank Ireland is attracting new business with its low mortgage rates and will compete with any new mortgage entrants on price, its chief executive has vowed.

Some of the highest savings rates on offer in Ireland are likely to be squeezed lower, a leading analyst has said, as the political war of words over the rates lenders charge for mortgage loans hots up more.

Mounting political pressure on mortgage lenders to cut their standard variable rates could impact funding costs at Permanent TSB more than many other banks, a leading banking analyst has said.