Vaccination Debates at the World Economic Forum

During day two of the World Economic Forum at Davos this past Tuesday, European Commission president Ursula con der Leyen announced the agenda and push towards social media and Tech Giants to publicly release their business models and their algorithms. She wishes for more visibility into these large corporations and their platforms due to the fact that certain decisions and trends on social media need explaining.

Leyen’s uses the incident of former President Trump’s account to be removed from Twitter as an example of how companies are free to act at; will and this incident was a serious violation of an individual’s freedom of expression. She wishes for companies to release their framework of laws for such decisions.

In the World Economic Forum, South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa also urges richer countries to prohibit hoarding vaccines, due to the risks of prolonging the pandemic in other poorer countries. Many African countries are being left behind in the international race of producing and purchasing COVID vaccines. There is deep concern in my third-world countries that richer countries will abuse their economic …

Read More →

Concern for Housing Supply in Ireland

COVID regulations have hit many markets hard, but possibly the worst be in the housing industry. Due to certain restrictions, the housing supply of homes built between 2020 and 2022 is predicted to be 23,000 fewer than normal. This, combined with the growing demand for housing as well as the built-up saving of household revenue during the pandemic could cause the demand for housing in Ireland to skyrocket, leading to higher pricing. Over the last year, it is predicted that over €13 billion have been saved up by families in Ireland, and with that many households are looking to improve their housing situation at the end of quarantine. The spending demand of these households far exceeds to the market supply of housing to be offered to said customers.

The Central Bank predicts that there will be 18,500 new housing completions in 2020, and in 2021 and 2022 that number will rise to around 22,000. This in total will be 23,000 fewer houses entering the market in these three years compared to the normal growth rate of housing supply prior to …

Read More →

Rapid Rebound of Economy after Covid-19

Goodbody Stockbrokers has predicted that the Irish economy is expected to see a “rapid rebound” after the COVID regulations and restrictions are lifted. In the latest report, the firms have predicted that the economy could grow by as much as 5% this year assuming that the vaccine rollout is as scheduled and efficient. The driving factors behind this predicted surge in economic growth can be attributed to two factors: the nearly €13 billion increase in household savings across Ireland during quarantine and the pent-up customer demand for services and goods.

This trend could be seen clearly in the partial reopening in December, with a huge influx in demand across the market. But with the economy reopening and people’s livelihoods returning to normal, there calls to be a careful movement towards returning to normal. It is currently estimated that around 36% of the Irish workforce are currently reliant on some form of government support. That equates to nearly 900,000 individuals that are vulnerable financially if removed from these programs too forcefully. Government implements for incentives to rehire and retaining the job …

Read More →

The Rich Becoming Richer

In the past year, the term “the rich get richer” has been remarkably accurate. We have seen the top 10 richest individual’s personal wealth increase tremendously and even witnessed Elon Musk become the richest person on earth, passing Warren Buffet on the way. This trend has not been exempted from Ireland’s billionaires. Of the 9 billionaires in Ireland, they have seen their collective wealth increase by €3.28 billion in 2020, despite going through the deepest global recession this decade. And to put that into perspective, 1/10 of that additional wealth would be able to pay for the COVID vaccine to be available to every citizen in Ireland.

Internationally, we are beginning to see a larger divide between the rich and everyone else. This move towards greater inequality has only been highlighted during the pandemic. It is said that the worlds’ one thousand richest people were able to recover from their financial losses due to COVID within nine months, while it will take more than a decade for the world’s poorest countries to do the same. And since the majority of …

Read More →

International Tariffs Affecting Ireland Marketplaces

With the switch of the presidency in the US, international trade laws are set to change. The most recent being the increased tariff on import of bread products in Brexit and increased costs. These taxes on flour imports are predicted to raise the price of bread in the area by as much as 9%.

The IBEC group has spoken out about concerns in the food and drink sector, speaking to the impact of these new regulations and the origin of said laws. Vital points they bring up include how the deal in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) that included this rising tariff for flour products will require a derogation for the Irish bakery sector in order to help with these tariffs. When tariffs like these occur, many buyers typically stockpile products to avoid the extra costs, but the shelf life of flour is generally low, lasting around 2 weeks. Meaning that any price fluctuations and their effects on the market will be seen in a very short amount of time.

The impact of the tariff is likely to …

Read More →

House Buying in Ireland

Buying a new home or property is possibly one of the most daunting tasks out there, especially for first-time buyers or international buyers. There are many regulations to keep in mind, and here is just a small list of actions to take that will make this process so much easier.

1: Builder: Contact a local builder and request them to look at the prospective property. They will be able to tell you how much additional work needs to be done for the property, and generally advise the state of the property.

2: Electrician Check: If you have the contact, call in a favor from an electrician to check the wires for issues and maintenance.

3: Structural survey: This will be an investment, and you’ll be surprised at the number of faults this check can find within a property, no matter how pretty the house may look from outside. The usual cost is around €1.5k, but worth it in the long run, if you are to meet large issues.

4: Deposit: Buying international means that you may have to put in …

Read More →

What does Quarantine’s End Mean for Property Prices?

Dublin property agents predict that local property prices can see as large as a 5% increase as the lockdown regulations are lifted in the upcoming months. Many agencies have reported a large influx of registered potential buyers, some firms even registering nearly tripe the number as the same period in past years. This rush of buyers is largely due to the pandemic putting stops to many families’ plans of setting and signing mortgages. For others, it may be the desire to invest in a discounted property before prices skyrocket. Regardless, the sudden increase in demand for properties is sure to cause discrepancies within the real estate market.

Several factors driving demand include the strength of new mortgage approvals in the last quarter of 2020, and the growing availability and willingness of mortgage-lending rule exemptions of banks to offer to potential borrowers in 2021. There has also been a large group of potential buyers who have recently obtained loan approvals and are potential targets for these mortgage-lending rule exemptions in the past 6 months.

As for the number of properties in …

Read More →

What Does the Biden Administration bring to Ireland?

With the inauguration of Joe Biden, an ending of the four years of the highly debated Trump Administration begins. Many people are overjoyed with the change in power, but there is also some doubt. The main focus of Biden, as stated in his inauguration speech is to “restore the soul of America”, but what does that mean and entail for Ireland and our relationship with the US?

The effects of US government policies have long-lasting effects on the Ireland economy. Especially changes in corporate tax code on the US international companies that operate within our borders, employing nearly 160,000 people. These businesses are the case of nearly a €7 billion unforeseen fall of Irish corporation tax receipts over the last half-decade. The Trump administration was a strong advocate for tax reforms aimed to bring said organizations’ operations closer to home in the US. This included nearly a 10.5% charge on global low-taxed income, or otherwise known as the Gilti tax. The Gilti profits tax has been set far too low, and therefore did not discourage US companies to shift their …

Read More →

Stop Overspending

Everyone is open to a great deal. If you know an item is really high quality and something you will use often there is no issue making room for that in your budget. Tracking how much you spend is something an individual should not overlook. Tracking helps people create alertness for some areas to cut back especially in the areas where you wouldn’t notice the difference.

Here some items people overpay for and how to correct them.

1: Monthly metro card.

For those who live in the city, many workers and students find it easier to buy an unlimited card rather than buying one for each trip. It may be convenient but is it really worth it? Most individuals before the pandemic would ride about 8 trips each week on the subway. Metro transportation companies know that. That is where they trick their riders. The typical individual would not calculate the ride each month and how much they could actually save if they bought individual tickets instead.

2: Dry cleaning.

All of us have special clothing we need to keep …

Read More →

An Upcoming Change in Technology

One industry that is expected to see much change as the administration in the US White House changes out is technology. As not only an industry sector but also as a tool for the public and a policy. The relationship between the government and social media, communication apps, and surveillance technologies in the world have changed vastly during the Trump administration. The sudden increase in the role of live-streaming events, whether they be violent riots and protests, or current events can’t be ignored anymore as we have the power as a society to access information from any time, anywhere just by pulling out our smartphones.

The role of technology during the Trump administration has certainly been darkened and undermined. Technologies and techniques that were meant to publicize and open doors for democracy were equally used for spreading falsehood, fake news, discrediting valid sources, and promoting hatred, violence, and racism. These actions have shown how technology itself isn’t rather bad, but it depends on the wielder. And all-in-all the wider implications of using technology have not been seen. With proper attention …

Read More →
  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. ...
  13. 215
← Older Entries
  
Newer Entries →