Finance

The UK and Ireland were Europe’s biggest M&A; market, contributing 22.2pc to the total deal value, according to the latest Mergermarket’s Global Q1-Q3 2013 Financial Advisors and M&A; trend report. They were followed by the Germanic countries with a 17.9pc. Eurozone M&A values in Q1–Q3 2013 were 30.1pc higher than Q1–Q3 2012, with Q3 eurozone deal values up 49.4pc compared to Q3 2012. Total cross-border (inbound and outbound) M&A value in Q3 saw a recovery compared to both Q2 and Q, making it the highest valued quarter in 15 months. While this shift in momentum is encouraging for the rest of 2013, the Q1–Q3 2013 total of US$230bn was 24.6pc…

Inclement March weather hits retail sales – Retail Excellence Ireland The Retail Excellence Ireland Retail Sales Review for Q1 2013 shows that while the period started well, it got progressively worse. According to the organisation, retail sales were negatively impacted by the inclement weather in March, the introduction of the property tax and industrial relations uncertainty. The March weather had a significantly negative impact on garden centres (-33.82pc), footwear (-10.79pc) and ladies’ fashion (-7.94pc). The cold spell resulted in a +6.61pc lift in hot beverage sales in March. Home appliance sales jumped +18.00pc (average) over the quarter assisted by trading-up and the continued growth of coffee makers and food preparation…