Oil hits five year low, emerging stocks hammered

(Reuters) – Oil prices fell to their lowest in five years on Monday, hit by slowing factory activity in China and Europe and hammering emerging market stocks and commodity-linkedcurrencies. Plunging prices for oil and other commodities raised fears of deflation,...

Irish manufacturing continues to expand as orders flood in

Irish manufacturing activity increased for the 18th month in a row in November as exporters saw new orders flood in at the fastest rate in almost four years, a survey showed. The Investec Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 56.2 in November, down from...

Consumers set to spend almost €4bn over Christmas

Irish shops are bracing themselves for their best Christmas since the nadir of the economic collapse, with a new report suggesting consumers are set to spend €4 billion between now and the new year. The upbeat forecast is contained in Retail Ireland’s Christmas...

China ready to cut rates again on fears of deflation

(Reuters) – China’s leadership and central bank are ready to cut interest rates again and also loosen lending restrictions, concerned that falling prices could trigger a surge in debt defaults, business failures and job losses, said sources involved in...

EU-US deal could benefit dairy trade, says Bruton

The trade deal between the European Union and the United States could offer valuable market opportunities for the Irish dairy industry, Minister for Trade Richard Bruton has said, following a meeting of EU trade ministers in Brussels. Pointing out that the recent...