What are the chances of AIB raising the capital necessary to comply with the stress test criteria laid down by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors? The banks passed, based on the assumption it will raise the capital it requires by the end of the year, but that's a tough ask in the current climate. The results of the stress tests suggest a buffer of €352m of the Tier 1 capital would exist at the end of the year, but that again assumes it raises the €7.4bn. Easier said than done, given the jitters that have re-emerged in financial markets in recent weeks.

Health problems not all public

The HSE is looking at a budget cut of €600m, which should be achievable given the sheer amount of money wasted by the executive. It again highlights Bertie Ahern's misguided policy of throwing money at the health service's problems – much of which went on wage increases as soon as anybody threatened a strike – instead of addressing underlying problems. However, the problems are not limited to the public health system. Anybody facing the ineptitude from private hospitals will know that the misinformation and inability to make appointments is as bad in the private sector as it is in the public, if not worse. Will those who piled in to private hospitals because of tax breaks now look at making similar swingeing cuts as to the public sector?

Permanent TSB interest rate rise

Permanent TSB raised ire on Friday when it announced that the interest rate on its variable rate mortgages will rise by 0.5% from August 3. On paper the impact of the rate increase on the average mortgage held by Permanent TSB will be about €17 per month. In reality though, those who bought towards the end of the house price bubble are those that will suffer the most from the move. Drowning in debt, they are also more likely to be laid off as they are also likely to be lower down the employment pecking order. Chief executive David Guinane said that the bank regretted having to make this decision but that it reflected continuing high costs of funds for the bank. Those high funding costs are the same issues facing other mortgage providers and so all homeowners with outstanding debt will face similar increases soon.

Yet more hotels in receivership

Another week and another hotel goes into receivership. On Friday Paul McCann of Grant Thornton was appointed receiver and manager to the company Naas Developments Limited, trading as the Osprey Hotel and Spa after a move by AIB. Hotel Asset Management Services will now operate the hotel. The crisis in the sector is stark as hotels in liquidation and receivership slash rates, pushing others into the red and threatening their survival. As CBRE recently pointed out, the most recent STR Global figures suggest that in the first five months of 2010, hotel occupancy in the Dublin market was 61.9%, the average room rate was €87.96 and the key revenue-per-room was €54.47.