McGrath hints at penalising banks, China battles deflationary spiral and paying public servants more

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A crisis in China’s property market threatens its broader economy. Photograph: Alex Plavevski/EPA
A crisis in China’s property market threatens its broader economy. Photograph: Alex Plavevski/EPA

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Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has given his strongest indication yet that he plans to raise and expand the scope of the State’s bank levy in the upcoming budget to penalise lenders for not passing on increased interest rates to savers. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

Denis Staunton, writing from Beijing, finds that the world’s second largest economy is battling to avoid a deflationary spiral as developers default, leaving in their wake personal and economic misery.

Since 2010 public sector wage rates have risen more slowly than in the private sector, writes John FitzGerald. As a result, while some lower-qualified public sector workers are today possibly paid a bit more than in the private sector, quite a number of middle-ranking and more senior workers are now paid a bit less than in the private sector. In order to maintain service we will have to pay employees more.

Inflation in the construction sector has moderated “significantly” over the past year, falling by a third in the first half of 2023, according to a report by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. Ellen O’Regan reports.

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In Any Other Business, John Burns hears that Cash no longer king when you pay for your NCT; finds Grant Thornton displaying its MVPs; understands that BusConnects is to buy Montrose land and remembers Garech Browne.

European law firm Fieldfisher has signed a 10-year lease on office space at canal-side Mespil Road in Dublin, as the firm aims to grow both Irish staff numbers and revenues by 25 per cent over the next three years, writes Ellen O’Regan.

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A record number of first-time buyer mortgages were approved in the year to the end of July, according to the latest data from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. Rory Fleming reports.

Wild Geese meets Brian Buffini for whom a serious motorcycle accident in 1986 was prelude to a classic rags-to-riches story

Ever had the feeling a colleague isn’t telling you the whole story? You’re probably right. “Knowledge hiding” or refusing to share information when asked is something roughly one in 10 employees will engage in at some point in their careers. Olive Keogh reports.

We profile four of the eight finalists chosen in the established category for this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards. They are Louella Morton and Sheena Bailey from TestReach; John O’Callaghan and John Desmond from Cygnum Timber Frame; Michael McCambridge from McCambridge Bread and David Beggs from Pure Pharmacy.

When Magali Anderson, chief sustainability and innovation officer at Swiss cement maker Holcim, recruits for a role on her team, 50-100 people normally apply. Applications come from people working in well-known non-government organisations, including those focused on the environment, she says. They are looking for a challenge: the cement industry is responsible for about 9 per cent of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions and the sector is known as “hard to abate”, meaning those emissions are difficult to cut. Attracta Mooney finds out why they apply.

As school leavers around the world get ready to pack saucepans and pencil cases for their first term at university, the perennial debate about the value of a degree has been sharpened by a number of employers announcing their jobs no longer require a degree. The cereal and snacks group Kellogg made its move in June. Emma Jacobs reports.

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