Ian Curran

Dublin

Efforting to take learnings going forward... Business reporter @IrishTimes. Ex @thejournal_ie. @Fora_ie and @ThePhoenixMag. Email: [email protected]

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Articles

Tariff relief hopes boost recovery in global stocks

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

Global shares edged higher on Tuesday, boosted by reports that the Trump administration could offer some relief from tariffs for certain industries and a rally in big bank stocks fuelled by positive updates from a trio of US lenders. DublinFollowing up Monday’s 3 per cent gain, the Iseq index moved almost 2.3 per cent higher as the pillar banks jumped in line with similar moves in the US and Europe.
Insurer RSA Ireland to be renamed Intact Insurance by the end of this year

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

The Irish subsidiary of UK insurer RSA is to be renamed as part of a rebranding of the wider group by its Canadian owners. RSA Insurance Ireland, which owns the online insurer 123.ie and was once the largest general insurer in the Republic, will be called Intact Insurance by the end of the year, the company confirmed in a statement on Monday. Canada’s Intact Financial Corporation and Danish insurer Tryg took over the group in 2021 and split the operations.
Kennedy Wilson refinances €472m of Irish apartment portfolio debt

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

Kennedy Wilson, the US-based property investment giant, has secured a refinancing deal for $510 million (€472 million) related to debts secured against a portfolio of Irish apartments that were due to mature this year. The group, which last year sold its stake in Dublin’s five-star Shelbourne Hotel to Archer Hotel Capital for around €260 million, said the new five-year deal replaces an existing $537 million mortgage, which represented around 40 per cent of its total debt maturities for 2025.
Receiver appointed to builder behind Ivan Yates-linked Cork housing scheme

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

A receiver has been appointed to a builder acting as the main contractor for the Ivan Yates-linked property development firm behind a large-scale housing scheme in Midleton, Co Cork. Ingram Homes, where the broadcaster and former Fine Gael minister is listed as a director, is understood to be replacing the construction company, BPH Construction, after it entered receivership this week.
Irish headline inflation rises to 2% in March

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

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Health insurer VHI swings back to profit as premium prices rise

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

Health insurer VHI swung back into profit last year despite paying out more for claims after it raised premiums again in 2024 and reaped strong returns from its investment portfolio. The State-owned group said on Wednesday that it paid out a record €1.74 billion in claims last year, up from €1.68 billion in 2023 and 26 per cent since 2019.
Irish mortgage rates continue to fall but remain higher than EU average

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

Irish lenders offered the fifth-highest average interest rates on new mortgages in the euro area in February as borrowing costs for homebuyers continued to fall, the Central Bank of Ireland has said. The weighted average interest rate on a new mortgages in the Republic was 3.79 per cent, down 0.03 per cent or three basis points from January and 0.5 per cent or five basis points from the same month last year.
DCC Energy chief to depart amid leadership shake up

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

DCC, the conglomerate that owns Flogas, has announced the departure of its energy division chief, months after unveiling plans to focus on the sector and simplify its operations. The Dublin headquartered but London-listed group, which sells everything from catheters to hospitals to audiovisual equipment to events companies, also revealed on Thursday that Kevin Lucey will step into a newly created chief operating officer role in July.
Government grants to Giraffe Childcare doubled under Core Funding scheme

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

Ireland’s largest private childcare company received more than €8 million in State funding in 2023, more than double the previous year’s figure, as the Government rolled out its Core Funding scheme. Eagle Target Holdings, a holding entity in the Busy Bees group that owns the Giraffe Childcare and Park Academy network of crèches and preschools in the Republic, reported in newly filed accounts a 19 per cent jump in turnover from €35.1 million to €41.7 million in 2023.
European shares plunge as markets choke on Trump’s tariffs ‘medicine’

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Ian Curran

Global shares extended last week’s losses on Monday as a rout that began in early trading in Asia spread to Europe amid growing concern about the risk of a global recession stemming from US president Donald Trump’s tariff agenda. The Euronext Dublin and other European stock exchanges were a sea of red at lunchtime on Monday as investors pulled money out of risk-sensitive assets after Trump and his officials showed no signs of backing down on the measures announced last week.