As Finance Minister Michael Noonan prepares for his fourth budget speech in the Dáil, the Irish Independent today reports that three of the six shortest budget speeches since the foundation of the State were delivered by Charlie McCreevy, between 2002 and 2004. And the most readable Budgets as measured by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Index were the budgets of Brian Lenihan.
Meanwhile, changes in the Budget to boost investment in SMEs are expected to be announced today. The aims of the schemes are to address the issue of companies that are ready to grow, but find it hard to get money from banks.
John Finn, of Treasury Solutions in Cork, says changes in the Budget last year were quite positive for start-ups, adding that this year the most the Government could do for that sector would be to make sure that the Local Enterprise Offices maintain their funding or even improve this. He says this is important because these companies get "good bang for their buck" when it comes to supporting jobs. Funding for more established and growing SMEs is key, but keeping things simple is also very important, Mr Finn says. On working capital for growing firms, he notes that while banks are increasing their level of lending - especially in the area of invoiced discounting - they are still fairly cautious. He suggests that Budget 2015 could look at this issue. Another area the Government could look at is foreign exchange - most of the fastest growing SMEs are exporters and they have to manage their foreign exchanges.
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MORNING BRIEFS - Stocks around the world and oil prices having a tough time. Wall Street saw another sell-off last night as investors worried about how weak global growth would impact company earnings. The S&P 500 fell more than 1%, marking its worst three-day decline since November 2011. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell to a fresh two-month low after being closed for a public holiday on Monday. The airlines were hit hard - Delta dropped over 6% and Southwest fell 5.5% - on worries that people and businesses will curtail travel until the Ebola virus is contained. But Lakeland Industries, which makes hazardous material suits, soared nearly 50%.
*** Oil prices too are taking a hit. Crude prices have fallen more than 20% since mid-June. The global benchmark, Brent oil, dropped to a near-four-year low of $88.89 a barrel yesterday, and the US benchmark dropped to $85.74, a 22-month low.
*** The world's biggest chocolate companies are joining the fight against Ebola. West Africa produces 70% of the world's cocoa supply, and the companies are worried the virus will disrupt production. Already, prices for cocoa beans have been soaring in recent weeks. Nestlé and Mars say they have already responded to a call from the World Cocoa Foundation, a non-profit that helps small cocoa farmers. Donations will go to the International Federation of Red Cross, the Red Crescent Societies, and Caritas, a charity affiliated with the Catholic Church.
