Ireland has been named as the best country in the world at attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) for the fourth year in a row, according to IBM’s 2015 Global Locations Trends report.
The ranking accounts for the quantity, and quality of investments - Ireland emerged ahead of countries like Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
According to the report the level of job creation generated by FDI rose by 6% during the last year.
The US remains the highest attractor of foreign direct investment in absolute terms, followed by China and India.
IDA Ireland's chief executive, Martin Shanahan commented on the report:
"Ireland’s position as the top ranking destination for quality and value of investments is based on global measures of productivity, knowledge intensity and occupational profile composition represented by wages and skills, and highlights the value and exceptionally strong contribution that foreign direct investment makes towards Ireland’s economy."
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Fresh figures from the UK show that inflation edged back to 0.0% during August - down from a reading of 0.1% in July.
Falling energy prices trickled down to consumers - it is expected that there will be an increase in household spending in the UK during September as prices remain low.
Economists had forecast that the UK could have experienced deflation of between 0.1 and 0.2% during the month. April of this year was the first month in more than 60 years when prices fell.
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Cabinet ministers will get an update on Ireland's economic situation this morning, with just a few weeks to go to the Budget.
The Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will outline the details and its reported he will reinforce the message that there is no room for manoeuvre outside the planned €1.5bn spending target for 2016.
Meanwhile, legislation for same sex marriage is due to be brought to cabinet by the Justice Minister, Frances Fitzgerald.
It's reported that proposed laws could be debated in the Dail within weeks.
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Commodity trader, Glencore launched a $2.5bn (£1.6bn) fundraising effort last night to shore up its finances last night.
This morning Bloomberg reports all of the 1.3 billion shares have been sold at 125 pence per share - these funds will be used to reduce Glencore's debt.
The company has been under pressure from shareholders to improve its balance sheet - this is part of a broader programme of cuts and fundraising initiatives which are intended to bring in €11.5bn.
Glencore's share price has more than halved since the beginning of 2015.
