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European Central Bank policymakers will discuss whether to raise interest rates by 25 or 50 points at their meeting on Thursday to tame record-high inflation, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussion told Reuters. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deliberations are private, said policymakers were also homing in on…

A new film studio in the midlands, which has been hailed as “transformative” for the region, has been given planning approval. Westmeath County Council has granted planning permission for the Hammerlake Studios project in Mullingar. The plan to build the film production facility on a 25-acre site at Lough Sheever Business Park is subject to…

Over 210 retailers are to receive €9.3m in grants through the latest round of a Government scheme designed to help businesses boost their online presence. The Online Retail Scheme is administered by Enterprise Ireland and is open to retailers who already have a website and a physical store. The grants can be used by businesses…

Oil prices have extended gains, propped up by a weaker dollar and tight supplies that offset concerns about recession and the prospect of widespread COVID-19 lockdowns in China again reducing fuel demand. Brent crude futures for September settlement rose 69 cents, or 0.7%, to $101.85 a barrel by early this morning, after a 2.1% gain…

Business confidence here has dropped sharply to its lowest level since October of 2020 as a result of concerns about the impact of strong inflationary pressures on demand, according to the latest Accenture/S&P Global Ireland Business Outlook. This drop in anticipated demand coupled with sharp price increases has also driven predictions of falling profits. Expectations…

Hiring rates in the first five months of this year were on average 27% higher than the same period in 2019, despite the economic pressures being faced by businesses here. That’s according to the latest IDA Ireland/Microsoft/LinkedIn Labour Market Pulse for the period from January to May, which also shows that the share of digital…

Medtronic is further expanding its presence in Galway with a $30m investment that will see it grow its workforce in the city by 200. The healthcare technology company is to establish a new global laboratory services team and up its investment in new product development in the city. The new roles will be in the…

Three hundred new jobs are to be created by regulatory solutions company FinTrU in Letterkenny, Co Donegal. The company is to set up a European Delivery Centre in the town, adding the new roles over the next five years. The positions will be in areas such as compliance, legal, risk and controls, operations and client…

Drinks company Diageo, which owns Guinness, is to build a new €200m brewery near Newbridge in Co Kildare. The carbon neutral facility will be used to produce lagers and ales, freeing up capacity at its main facility at St James’s Gate in Dublin to allow it to produce more stout for global markets. The brewery,…

The euro hovered a whisker above parity to the dollar today, with traders wary of the single currency being forced to levels unseen for decades if US inflation data, due to be released later today, shows a sky-high reading. The greenback was firm in Asia trade, and neither the New Zealand dollar or South Korea’s…