Fears for some sort of sharp correction in global stock markets are growing this week, says the former chief of an Irish stockbroking firm, as jitters about sky-high valuations of American stocks continue.

Apple will report quarterly results later this week, covering the very important Christmas trading period, writes David Holohan.

Consumer spending this Christmas will likely be up from a year ago but not “spectacularly so”, the latest monthly reading of consumer sentiment suggests.

Irish fruit distribution company Total Produce is eyeing further North American acquisitions on the back of purchasing one of the continent’s main produce exporters for an estimated €10m to €15m.

Smurfit Kappa shares rose 3% as the international box-packaging firm posted rises in revenue and margins on the economic recovery in the EU. It said demand for recycled containerboard had reduced stock levels in Europe, while global demand for kraft liner, or packaging paper, meant supply was “extremely tight”. Shares of packaging firms such as Smurfit Kappa tend to slide during world economic downturns because it is very difficult to close capital-intensive mills.

Smurfit Kappa shares rose 3% as the international box-packaging firm posted rises in revenue and margins on the economic recovery in the EU.

CRH is still tipped to win out in its plans to acquire US cement giant Ash Grove but will likely have to pay more than the $3.5bn (€2.98bn) it had planned for it to fend off an 11th-hour from a US rival.

Sterling slid for a second day as the markets weighed up the potential Tory challengers to UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s leadership and warned of more “choppy” times ahead.

The head of the ECB has said youth unemployment across Europe remains far too high despite the marked economic recovery from the depths of the financial crisis.

The chief executive of Green REIT–the Dublin-focused commercial real estate developer — said the demand for top-grade office rentals in Cork will likely increase.

A surge in the value of sterling against the euro on increased speculation that a UK rate hike is looming has for the time being eased fears about the fallout of Brexit boosting cross-border shopping and disrupting the economy.

Providence Resources has hit a second major setback in the Porcupine Basin after summer drilling at the Drombeg well 220km off shore failed to hit oil and has been abandoned. The shares, which had one stage plunged by a third, ended the session 16.5% lower.

The first increases in interest rates still appear to be sometime in the distance despite ECB president Mario Draghi signalling that the central bank was preparing to scale back its huge stimulus programme that has helped boost economic growth in the eurozone, say economists.

Retail prices edged higher last month as the cost of hotel rooms and private rents accelerated.

A commitment to resume paying a delayed dividend, and a reassurance over how its key operations in Britain will weather Brexit, helped boost the shares of Bank of Ireland.

Costs associated with probes into corporate governance helped to damage profits at Independent News and Media, the group has said.

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.

The Consumers’ Association of Ireland has said it strongly suspects that the full benefits of the over 13% surge in the value of the euro against the sterling in the past year are not being passed onto Irish shoppers in lower prices.

The huge run up for shares of US giants, such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and the Alphabet-owned Google, as well as semiconductor stocks, may have peaked, according to the latest global outlook from Merrion Capital.

Shares in Grafton have risen 1% in London as the Woodie’s and international merchants group reassured about the outlook for its UK operations. 

The Government will need to start considering “punitive” tax measures to help resolve the worst of the housing crisis because current policies are not working, according to Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Merrion Capital.

Outstanding loans to businesses and for households to buy homes has continued to contract, prompting a leading economist to question whether the economy can prosper without more credit.

Ireland is still expected to generate a record annual trade surplus — of around €50bn — this year, despite the latest figures, which show a double-digit percentage drop in monthly export value.

House and apartment prices increased by 10.5% to the end of April this year, the biggest rise since two years ago when prices rose by 11.2%, it has emerged.

Prices in Irish supermarkets should be falling faster than they are as the huge Brexit surge in the value of the euro against sterling ought to be weighing on the grocery foodstuffs imported from Britain, according to leading economist Alan McQuaid.

A $150m (€134.7m) purchase by One51 in the US, which it has described as “transformational”, will likely boost hopes for the plastics packaging firm to eventually float on the stockmarket.

Global stock market selling and an apparent political misstep in the Dáil have raised market jitters over the proposed sale of Government-owned AIB, leading experts have said.

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.

There was no disguising the double whammy that the unexpected US election result meant for Ireland’s prosperity.

CRH is expected to make another large-scale acquisition some time next year as its cash generation improves and debt levels continue to decline.

The prospects for the Government securing more than €3bn from its sale of AIB shares could brighten this weekend if French far-right candidate Marine Le Pen polls poorly in the first round of presidential elections, according to analysts.

A surprisingly broad-based growth in exports in the first few months of the year show that the Irish economy may have weathered the initial fallout from Brexit following sterling’s drop against the euro since the UK’s vote last June, analysts said.

A potential ECB hike in interest rates in the first half of next year would hit Irish households and firms hard, Merrion Capital has warned.

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.

Strikes by French air traffic control and by ground staff in Berlin have pushed up “multiple headwinds” against Ryanair achieving its earnings guidance, according to Merrion Capital analysts.

Applegreen, the forecourt fuels and food retailer, said it sees no reason to curtail expansion plans because of Brexit, as it plans to open up to 50 new sites in Ireland, the UK and the US this year.

Shares in Aryzta fell more than 7% at one stage yesterday before sharply paring losses, as the troubled Irish-Swiss baked goods company said it plans to accelerate its management shake-up.

Boosted by domestic spending, the economy is continuing to grow strongly, CSO figures published yesterday suggest, despite the accounting procedures by multinationals distorting an in-depth understanding of what is really going in the Irish economy.

Shares in bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair fell almost 6% yesterday as brokers focused on the prospects of growth in online gaming across the industry.

There is a very low risk that political strains at home will scupper the launch of a sale of shares in AIB by early summer, analysts have said.

A decision to delay paying its first dividend since the financial crisis was mainly due to accounting issues surrounding the bank’s pension scheme, and not to do with underlying issues such as Brexit, Bank of Ireland has said.

Farmers have given a cautious welcome to Glanbia’s plan to sell 60% of its Irish dairy business to Glanbia Co-op, creating a new Glanbia Ireland joint venture in a deal worth €112m.

The Government has cut the value of AIB by a modest €900m, in a move that may signal it still eyes selling a stake in the lender at the first opportunity.