SLOWDOWN EASES IN MORTGAGE MARKET - A survey from KBC Bank shows that the pace of decline in the mortgage market has slowed.
KBC says house prices have fallen by 36% on average from peak, and the mortgage brokers surveyed say there are clear signs that a bottoming out has begun, but they do not expect the market to improve much next year.
Austin Hughes, KBC's economist, says that the dramatic falls of recent times have dissipated and there are some tentative signs of recovery.
He says that the Dublin market, in particular, has begun to improve over the past couple of months.
The residential market remains quite weak, he said, and there is reluctance on the part of both borrowers and lenders to engage over rural properties.
Mr Hughes said that - ahead of Wednesday’s Budget - mortgage brokers are concerned that any income tax increases would have a debilitating effect on the housing market.
*** AER LINGUS CARRIES MORE NOVEMBER PASSENGERS - Aer Lingus travel statistics for last month show its total number of passengers carried, at 776,000, was 4.7% higher than in November last year.
The number of short-haul passengers grew by just over 9% to 704,000, while long haul fell to 72,000, a drop of 25% compared to November 2008.
The airline's load factors fell in both short haul and long haul.
*** On the currency markets, the euro is trading at $1.4885 and 90.29 pence sterling.
