Ibec predicts GDP growth of 6.1% for this year
Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, today published its new Quarterly Economic Outlook which is forecasting GDP growth to reach 6.1% on the back of a broad-based recovery in the economy, which includes a 1.5% increase in consumer spending, a 14.2% increase in investment and a 12.2% increase in exports this year.
Spar to open 50 new stores with creation of 1,000 jobs
The BWG group, the owners of SPAR, are to invest €100m in store development over the next five years. The investment will see 50 new stores open around the country between now and 2016 with the creation of approximately 1,000 jobs.
Volume of Retail Trade Up in Euro Area
The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat has reported that retail sales in the euro zone rose 1.2% month-on-month in August with 1.9% year-on-year gain.
NAMA to bring five major portfolios of Irish property to the market in Q4 2014
The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has announced that it will bring five Irish property portfolios, with a combined value of approximately €600m, to the market in Q4 2014. The portfolios will comprise offices, shopping centres, hotels and apartments. This announcement is in line with NAMA’s publicly stated intention to bring property portfolio sales with a minimum value of €250m to the market each quarter.
Facebook to double its office size in Dublin Docklands
The social media giant, Facebook is doubling the size of its European headquarters in the Dublin Docklands with an adjoining office to take its total space up to 250,000 sq.ft. The deal includes the standard landlord fit-out including ceilings, floors, light fittings and air conditioning.
Retail Sales Volume decreases in August 2014
The Central Statistics Office report released yesterday shows the volume of retail sales (i.e. excluding price effects) decreased by 2.9% in August 2014 when compared with July 2014 and there was an increase of 6.8% in the annual figure. If Motor Trades are excluded, there was an increase of 0.3% in the volume of retail sales in August 2014 when compared with July 2014.
