A new study shows that Irish investor confidence has hit its highest point in five years as the country's recovery gathers momentum.
93% of investors are optimistic about the state of the economy according to the RaboDirect Business Monitor - that is up from 89% in August and just 10% in 2010.
The report asked Irish investors how they feel about Ireland's economic outlook for the next three months.
"Continued improvement in the outlook for the Irish economy is reflected in sentiment among Irish investors and views about their personal finances," Killian Nolan, RaboDirect head of investments said commenting on the latest figures.
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Courier company DPD Ireland is to create 200 new jobs over the next five years.
The company is to invest €13m in its headquarters in Athlone to allow it to process more goods, more efficiently.
DPD says it is making the decision due to the boom in online shopping in particular, and the new roles will be for drivers, IT and administrative staff.
The company says it enjoyed revenues of €54.2m in 2014, and is expected to report revenues of more than €63m for 2015.
Meanwhile, 65 new jobs are being created at the Medical device company Phenox in Ballybrit, Galway.
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Business group Ibec has called on the Government to use the extra revenues from Ireland's larger-than-expected corporate tax take to fund increases in capital investment.
In its quarterly economic survey, it said that significant increases are needed in housing, transport, health and education.
The group wants public investment spending to be increased from 2% to 4% over the next five years.
“Surging corporation tax revenue should be ring-fenced for productive investment projects, not used to inflate current expenditure,” Ibec director of policy Fergal O’Brien said.
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The eyes of the financial world will turn to the US this week as the Federal Reserve's open market committee meets on Wednesday.
It is expected to announce its first hike in US interest rates since the financial crisis as economic conditions improve across the country.
This is expected to provoke panic selling in London and New York in the coming days, a rate hike is also likely to create turmoil in emerging markets where governments and businesses are dependent on borrowings made in US dollars.
