The Irish Independent reports that Government borrowing costs remained below those of Spain yesterday, as both Dublin and Madrid prepare to face the bond markets today.
Market prices showed investors willing to lend to Ireland for 9 years at just under 6%, while the rate for Spain was 6.3%, and 5.75% for Italy.
Positive reaction to last week's EU summit -- especially the changes to bank rescues -- has seen the yield on 9-year Irish government loans fall below 6% for the first time since late 2010.
At the depth of the euro zone crisis this time last year, yields hit 15%. They had settled just below 7% before last week's EU deal. Analysts say the present premium over Spain may not last. Traders were caught out by the scale of the banking agreement and the switch towards Irish bonds may have been overdone.
While too much should not be made of the yield figures, with the Government not borrowing on the market, the chances of it being able to return to commercial borrowing later this year had improved, they said.
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The Irish Times reports that the unemployment rate inched higher in June, rising to 14.9%, its highest level since 1994.
The latest data from the Central Statistics Office show the number of people signing on rose by 2,700 over the month, bringing the seasonally adjusted figure to 440,600.
The number of men signing on increased by 800 month on month, with the number of women rising by 1,900.
Long-term claimants - those on the register for more than a year - rose by 6.8% on an annual basis to 199,249.
Short-term claimants accounted for 55.9 per cent of the Live Register, with 252,725 signing on.
The Live Register also includes casual and part-time employees. These workers accounted for 19.6 per cent of the total register or 88,465. That figure showed a rise from a year earlier when there were 85,765 casual and part-time employees signing on, representing 18.7 per cent of the register.
June saw a decline in the number of young people signing on, with the number under 25 falling by 9.1 per cent or 7,911, extending the trend seen since July 2010. The over-25 age group rose by 0.5%.
Analysts described the data as “disappointing”.
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The Irish Examiner reports that Irish consumer sentiment is now amongst the most positive, internationally, with new data suggesting May’s pessimism was reversed last month.
The latest monthly sentiment gauge from KBC Bank (Ireland) and the ESRI shows a reversal in the confidence declines that were evident in May. It claims that Irish consumers are slightly less pessimistic about their personal finances due to falling oil and fuel prices and hopes for further ECB interest rate cuts.
The "modestly improving" trend in consumer sentiment through the first half of 2012 "reflects signs of stabilisation in the Irish economy", according to the June edition of the survey, which was published yesterday.
While consumers remain nervous about the economic outlook, the survey categorised the June result as being "reasonably encouraging".
According to KBC chief economist Austin Hughes: "The June survey results are encouraging in that they suggest the extreme negative influences on Irish consumer sentiment and spending power continue to fade gradually. However, the details of the June survey also emphasise that any turnaround in the mood of Irish consumers is likely to be an uneven and extended process."
Importantly, Mr Hughes pointed out that the latest survey results show an easing of the "feel-bad" factor, rather than any real onset of a "feel-good" factor.
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The Financial Times reports that the UK’s financial regulator expressed concerns about cultural failings at Barclays under the leadership of Bob Diamond four months before the bank was hit with a fine that led to his dramatic resignation as chief executive.
The revelations came during Mr Diamond’s three-hour grilling by a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, a day after he stepped down from Barclays over the record £290m fine it received for attempting to manipulate interbank lending rates.
Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury select committee, said the Financial Services Authority was concerned about a “breakdown of trust” with Barclays and had demanded a cultural change at the bank.
“They felt there were some cultural issues,” Mr Diamond admitted. However he said these centred on the behaviour of managers further down the organisation and stressed the FSA was “pleased with the tone at the top”.
Mr Tyrie will ask Marcus Agius, Barclays’ chairman, to release a document that he said detailed the February FSA meeting, according to someone close to the situation. Mr Agius announced on Monday that he would resign later in the year.
The discussions between Barclays and the FSA emerged in a sometimes tetchy appearance by Mr Diamond during which he staunchly defended the bank’s staff and business practices.
