Ireland repays additional IMF bailout loans

Ireland on Friday repaid a further 3.5 billion euros ($3.9 billion) to the IMF several years early, as the eurozone country replaces expensive bailout loans with more favourable debt. A further 5.5 billion euros will be repaid to the IMF in the coming months, minister for finance Michael Noonan said. "Lower rates lead to lower interest bill on the national debt thus reducing the amount of tax revenues and borrowing that go towards financing the debt," Noonan added. Ireland's econo