The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has called on the Government to abandon plans to introduce €1.2bn to €1.5bn in tax cuts and spending increases in the Budget in two weeks time.
The body says that given the expansion which we are seeing in the economy, there is no need for further stimulus - it says that a neutral budget should be introduced.
With the economy growing at close to 6%, it argues that we need to move towards counter-cyclical policies to build up reserves that can be used to stimulate the economy during the next slowdown.
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The final figure for property price growth in Ireland is set to be 5% in 2015 according to a new survey from MyHome.ie.
The report says that improvements in supply, and the Central Bank's new mortgage lending restrictions, have led to an easing of price increases.
During the third quarter Dublin prices were almost stagnant, with the price of new listings falling by 0.1% - this was the first price decline recorded in the capital in three years.
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The International Monetary Union (IMF) has warned that an interest rate hike in the US could cause a new credit crunch.
It says that businesses in emerging markets have embraced the availability of cheap money to increase debts, and that they will be pushed towards a credit crisis if the Fed increases rates.
Debts in non-financial firms in emerging markets have increased by 400% between 2004 and 2014.
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Germany is reported to have broadened its investigation into the car emission-cheating scandal to include Audi.
Wolfram Herrle, chief prosecutor in the region where Audi is based told German media that a preliminary investigation had been launched into the company's conduct.
"We are currently reviewing all the facts in order to decide whether an investigation should be initiated," he said.
Audi has previously said the 2.1 million of its cars were affected by the diesel scandal, including the A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, TT, Q3 and Q5.
