View this email in your browser Business Today Wednesday, 16 September, 2026 Editor's Note Good morning, reader As the budget draws ever closer, the Central Bank did not provide much comfort to the Government in its latest quarterly bulletin. The bank revised up its inflation forecasts for this year and next, while cutting its estimate for housing completions. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the full story. Staying with the budget, the Government has already slipped out a good deal of what will be coming on October 6th. Cliff Taylor takes us through what we know so far about it. Irish Government borrowing costs spiked on Tuesday at their highest level since late 2013 – when the State was coming out of an international bailout programme – as debt investors upped their bets on a raft of European Central Bank rate increases over the next 12 months. Joe Brennan reports. Continue Reading Peter Flanagan   TOP BUSINESS STORIES Business Irish borrowing costs hit bailout-era highs as investors up bets on rate hikes Business Little justification for ‘broad’ cost-of-living supports in budget, Central Bank warns Business Ministers warned of inflation risk as public spending overruns likely to top €1.4bn Business Building a home in Ireland takes twice as long as it did a decade ago Business Quarter of mortgage holders wrongly think they must buy home insurance from their lender John McManus John McManus: Michael O’Leary’s use of the word ‘rapists’ should worry Ryanair MORE BUSINESS STORIES Business FTSE 100 bosses paid record average of £5m Business European shares fall as rising oil prices trigger rise in global borrowing costs Business Risk of decommissioned windfarm putting ships in danger ‘increasing’ Business KPMG UK to cut another 200 jobs, including roles working on AI Do you have questions about becoming an Irish Times subscriber, or about your subscription? You'll find handy guides in our FAQs, and you can manage many aspects of your subscription in the My Account section. Never miss a business story Subscribe now for just €1 for your first month SUBSCRIBE