Strong demand for NTMA's first 30 year bond

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="main-image" style="height: 374px;"> <a href="http://articlesoninformation.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Irish bond yields have fallen sharply in the past year, aided by a rebound in the economy" border="0" height="344" src="http://img.rasset.ie/0008e7a9-642.jpg" title="Irish bond yields have fallen sharply in the past year, aided by a rebound in the economy" width="642" /></a><figure style="height: 374px;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div> <figcaption style="text-align: justify;" title="Irish bond yields have fallen sharply in the past year, aided by a rebound in the economy">Irish bond yields have fallen sharply in the past year, aided by a rebound in the economy</figcaption> </figure> </div> <br /> <div class="storyBody"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The National Treasury Management Agency saw strong demand for its first ever 30-year bond today. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The NTMA is trying to lock in record low interest rates that have followed the European Central Bank's announcement of a €1 trillion quantitative easing programme. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Managers saw more than €11 billion of demand for the benchmark issue, far in excess of the €2 billion deal size that market participants said would be typical of a benchmark 30-year issue. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Lead managers set the guidance at 90 basis points over mid-swaps, implying a yield of just below 2.1%. The transaction was expected to be priced later today. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Like most of their euro zone peers, Irish bond yields have fallen sharply in the past year, aided by a rebound in the economy, which probably grew faster than any other country in the European Union in 2014. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2015/0203/677506-centralbank/">Central Bank</a> today raised its forecast for 2015 economic growth to 3.7% from 3.4%, on the back of stronger consumer and investment spending. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Last month, the European Central Bank said its quantitative easing (QE) programme would involve the purchase of sovereign bonds with maturities of between two and 30 years. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The NTMA last month sold €4 billion in a syndicated seven-year sale, out of planned issuance of between €12-15 billion of long-term bonds this year. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The agency fully pre-funded for 2015 last year. It plans this year to cover funding requirements for 2016 and to refinance bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Barclays, Credit Agricole, Danske Bank, Davy and Royal Bank of Scotland have been appointed as joint lead managers for the transaction.</div> </div> </div>

Strong demand for NTMA's first 30 year bond

Irish bond yields have fallen sharply in the past year, aided by a rebound in the economy The National Treasury Management Agency saw strong demand for its first ever 30-year bond today.  The NTMA is trying to lo…

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Minister disappointed school cancelled bullying workshop

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan said there were no sides when it came to homophobic bullying" height="344" src="http://img.rasset.ie/0009d419-642.jpg" title="Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan said there were no sides when it came to homophobic bullying" width="642" /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan has said she is disappointed that a school in Dublin called off a workshop on homophobic bullying.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0127/676035-school-homophobic-talk/" target="_blank">Coláiste Eoin cancelled the workshop by the group Shout-Out yesterday</a>, saying that the "other side" needed to be represented.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Speaking at the opening of a school in Kildare, Ms O'Sullivan said there were no sides when it came to homophobic bullying.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>HSE to investigate four cases of syndrome in small area</strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The HSE will investigate concerns that environmental issues could be behind four confirmed cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome in the Duleek area of Co Meath.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Local environmental groups say four cases of such an unusual condition in four years in an area with as small a population as Duleek (around 2,500) is highly unusual.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all. Most individuals make a good recovery.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> After meeting local environmental groups in Navan today, the HSE said it would now talk to individual patients to investigate further.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Irish Water registration levels 'improving', says Kelly</strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has told the Dáil that 1,030,000 people had registered with Irish Water by yesterday.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Minister Kelly said: "The registration levels are improving all the time."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> He also said that Irish Water expects to take in €500m in 2015 - €271m in domestic water charges and €229m in non-domestic charges.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Answering a question from Sinn Féin's environment spokesperson Brian Stanley, the minister said the costs of Irish Water's cost and billing will be €22m.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Kenny hopes referendum passes 'strongly'</strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taosieach Enda Kenny has said that the referendum on same-sex marriage is a straight question about equality, dignity and love.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Mr Kenny told Newstalk FM this morning that he hopes it is approved strongly.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> He said the issue of children is not involved in the referendum.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Clare Daly initiates legal action against Garda Commissioner</strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Clare Daly has told RTÉ News that she has initiated a civil legal action against the Garda Commissioner in connection with leaking of information to journalists about her arrest on suspicion of drink-driving two years ago.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Tests subsequently showed that Ms Daly was not over the legal alcohol limit.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Ms Daly said she is still waiting for a decision from the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) on a complaint she has made about her arrest.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> She had hoped to wait for that decision before lodging a complaint but says that as the second anniversary of the incident fell this week, her legal representatives have lodged papers with the High Court initiating the civil action.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> She does not know when the action will be heard.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Man recovering following shooting incident in Clare</strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> A man is recovering in hospital following a shooting incident in Co Clare last night.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> A second man has been arrested in connection with the incident which occurred at a house near Tulla.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Gardaí are investigating all the circumstances of the matter, including whether the men had been engaged in a disagreement at the time or if the shotgun was accidentally discharged.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The injured man, believed to be in his 30s, sustained a gunshot wound to his upper leg.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The other man, who is in his 50s, was arrested at the scene and is being detained at Ennis Garda Station.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Kim to attend WWII anniversary ceremony in Moscow</strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accepted an invitation to attend a ceremony in Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The trip would be Mr Kim's first foreign visit since taking power in the reclusive state in 2011.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "About 20 state leaders have confirmed their attendance, and the North Korean leader is among them," said a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Australia's detention of asylum-seekers at sea ruled legal</strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Australia's detention of 157 asylum-seekers at sea for weeks in June was legal, the nation's High Court has found in a win for the government's hardline immigration stance.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> In a tight 4-3 decision, the court ruled the government was entitled to hold the group of Tamils from Sri Lanka on a customs ship with a view to return them to India, where they had set out from.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The ruling means they are unable to seek compensation for their month-long detention.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "I am pleased with the result," Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told reporters in Canberra. "It has vindicated the government's position and we welcome the result."</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://articlesoninformation.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://img.rasset.ie/000a146d-614.jpg" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Syrian opposition and Assad officials meet in Moscow</strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Syrian opposition figures and representatives of President Bashar al-Assad started talks in Moscow aimed at restarting long-stalled peace negotiations to end the country's brutal war. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The Kremlin-sponsored talks are not expected to yield a major breakthrough as the main opposition group, the exiled National Coalition, has refused to attend.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>At least 100 killed in Mozambique floods</strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <strong><a href="http://articlesoninformation.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://img.rasset.ie/000a1479-614.jpg" /></a></strong></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> More than 100 people have been killed and 150,000 displaced by  floods in Mozambique, a senior government official said.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The United Nations said last week the rains in early January had triggered floods affecting nearly one million people in Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar and Zimbabwe.</div> <br /> <div style="text-align: justify;"> About a quarter of a million people in total were forced to leave their homes.</div> </div>

Minister disappointed school cancelled bullying workshop

Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan has said she is disappointed that a school in Dublin called off a workshop on homophobic bullying. Coláiste Eoin cancelled the workshop by the group Shout-Out yesterday, saying that the "other side" needed to be represented. Speaking at the opening of a school…

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