The Economy of Czechia

Czechia is an advanced country that ranks among the countries with the most developed economy in the world. Czechia is a member of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). It is based on industry and services (60%), agriculture and other primary production.

The main industries are automotive manufacturing, electronics, mechanical engineering, high technology , steel manufacturing, transportation equipment, chemical manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

The main agricultural products are cereals, vegetable oils and hops. Key mineral resources mined in Czechia include black and brown cleansing, kaolin, building materials and uranium. The most important product of the Czech economy is Škoda Auto.

Czechia has the most self-employment per population in Europe. The average wage as of 2021 is around CZK 37,800 (EUR 1,540). It is among the countries with the lowest proportion of people at risk of income poverty in the EU. Unemployment and state indebtedness in Czechia remain among the lowest in Europe.

In the first quarter of 2015, the Czech economy grew the fastest among the EU states. The Czech economy grew by 3.3% in 2021 and the following …

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Why are house prices surging in Ireland?

House prices in Ireland have surged in the last 12 months. Two separate reports have pointed to a 13 percent increase in house prices over the last twelve months, both in Dublin and nationwide. Property website myhome.ie, which is owned by The Irish Times, pointed to a ‘red hot’ demand outpacing supply as one of the main reasons for this increase in their latest quarterly report. According to MyHome, house prices nationally increased 13 per cent to €303,000 in the second quarter of 2021, breaking the €300,000 mark for the first time in recorded history. In Dublin specifically, they found the average price to be €412,000, representing a 10.6 percent increase on the year. Daft.ie, another property website, reported similar increases in the price of homes on its website, up 13 per cent on the year to €284,000, the highest such increase since 2015.  This increase means house prices have increased for four consecutive quarters, the first time this has happened since 2014.

This substantial increase put house prices nationally 14.3 per cent lower than their highest-ever level in 2007. …

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What will the Local Property Tax changes mean for you?

On 2 June 2021, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed the details of the Local Property Tax (LPT) changes. Once the changes go into effect on 1 November, the government estimates that just over a third (36 percent) of property owners will see an increase on their bill, just over half (53 percent) will see no change at all, and 11 percent will see their tax payments reduced.

First off, what is the Local Property Tax? The Local Property Tax was introduced in 2013, and it is an annual charge on all residential properties in the State. Basically, if you own a residential property, you will have to pay this tax. The charges are currently based on self-assessed valuations carried out in 2013. The amount you pay is based on the valuation of your property, and there are 20 different LPT bands, with the lowest two having fixed rate charges of €90 and €225. The problem with these valuations is that property prices have surged since 2013, while the valuations of property for LPT purposes have not changed since 1 May 2013. …

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4 Easy Ways to Improve your Financial Literacy

Financial literacy is one of the most important and underrated skills that anyone can have. Understanding basic financial concepts such as mortgages, inflation, and interest rates is critical for financial success. Once you unlock this knowledge, you will be better equipped to effectively manage, save, and invest money for you and your family. This knowledge, combined with other good financial habits, is the key to financial well being and freedom later on in life. While everyone has varying degrees of financial literacy, there is an overwhelming amount of resources available to expand your knowledge on financial topics.

 

Read Personal Finance Books

If you enjoy reading, there is no shortage of finance books that cover a broad variety of topics, from eliminating debt to saving for retirement. One book recommended by Forbes magazine that covers the latter is Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement!, by Jaime Hopkins. This book tackles common misconceptions and bad habits that prevent people from having flexible and successful retirement plans. For a variety of books on many topics, check out Insider’s …

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How will the Government deal with the national debt

According to a recent study done, the Ireland government will be estimated to be able to absorb around 17% of the spike in the State’s level of debt predicted to occur with the pandemic. There is estimated to be a growth of €239 billion within the next two years as the economy continues to battle with COVID’s repercussions. This will not only affect government actions and reach into markets and industries but may mean that there will be uncertainties with regulations regarding COVID restrictions.

Overall, this means that there will be nearly €47,000 being owned by the government to international creditors for every citizen within the state by the end of 2020. This accumulates to billions of debt inherited by the government. This is not just Ireland, but many countries across Europe, driven mostly by the European Central Bank in its bond-buying programs.

Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, the Irish government has responded to its economic and social environment quickly in relation to countries globally and have set aside large series of supports to lessen its impacts on …

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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 …

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Higher Loan Growth Expected as the Pandemic Lifts

Spain’s large lender company: Bankinter, which currently owns Avant Money, has published new research results. These results predict the outcome of loan growth and higher lending income across its citizens and markets as lower provisions led to its 4th-quarter profits to fall less than in previous quarters.

The lender identified possible success within its Irish market business. Especially for the reason of offering credit card, home, and mortgage loans. After releasing these research results, we saw Banklinter’s shares rise by more than 7% this past Thursday after it stated that is their net interest income would be growing in 2021 despite the negative interest rates in the first half. Net Interest Income (NII) is defined by the difference between the company’s’ earnings on loans and the costs.

Bankinter’s chief financial officer, Mr. Diaz, has spoken up and told analysts that the company is expected to show strong actives of loan growth in both mortgage and consumer lending in Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. This is shown by Net profit at the bank falling to 8.7% to €97 million compared to €115 …

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Don’t let your Debt Spiral Out of Control

Many have lost sources of income during the pandemic and fear being sucked into a deeper hole. If you have been financially impacted, you are not alone. Take a step back and look at things you can implement to ease the stress.

1: Understand what debt you are in

So much news is being thrown at you constantly and many people are bogged down by debt and never understand how much debt they are in or how much it will cost them in interest. First, you need to establish and make a list of what debts you have, how much debt you have, and how much the interest rate that is debt is costing you.

2: Tracking your spending

Take time to track your spending, record all costs like rent payments and all little costs that pop up. It is an eye-opening experience for many to see how many small purchases on a cup of coffee can add up to over €50 in a month! Do you really need to spend €17.99 each month on Netflix? Using free online resources …

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Inflation Rates Return to Normal

 

The current housing prices in Dublin have been talked about extensively recently. The newest trend shows that housing prices have reached peak affordability and now some of the wealthy classes of people are having trouble affording homes. Current house prices in Dublin are more than nine times the average salary making them unattainable for the majority of people because mortgages can only be 3.5 times your salary. Additionally, these numbers have not been seen since the Celtic Tiger Era, however, the central bank has been more careful this time and increased borrowing rules unlike during the Celtic Tiger Era. Prices are now beginning to slow down because simply nobody is able to afford them.

Inflation has also cooled off recently with a decrease from 12.4% last May to 2.8% a year later. Dublin has seen a significantly smaller inflation rate with an increase of prices from the current year to May of .6%.

The region of Dublin had the highest median price of 366,000 Euros which is just over 9 times more than its average salary of 40,000 Euros. …

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Sizing up the UK’s economy

 The UK’s largest independent producer of unbiased statistical data, the Office for National Statistics, has recently released a new report claiming that through their investigations they uncovered that the economy was £26 billion larger than previously indicated. 

This nation’s economy is the fifth largest in the world, behind the United States, China, Japan and Germany. Their economic output usually comes in each year at around $2.8 trillion/ €2.5 trillion according to statistics published by the International Monetary Fund. 

Additionally, the annual gross domestic product growth has been shown to have increased by 0.1 more than what was expected every year since 1997. This 21 year lag in the updating of GDP growth has been a huge factor in the sudden uncovering of the £26 billion in addition funds. 

Although these statistics seem promising, the Office for National Statistics only included data up to a few months after the initial process of Brexit. The data that came after this most likely would have drawn down these figures, making the GDP expansion less significant than previously. 

In recent years, Britain’s GDP has …

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