APPEARED IN THE IRISH EXAMINER NOV 9th 2018 The motor industry provides a very good barometer for the overall economy, and particularly how business and consumers view the world. Following the severe economic correction that occurred back in 2008, new car sales literally drove over a cliff and went into free fall in 2009 to […]
THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE IRISH EXAMINER SEPT 14th 2018 A few weeks back I argued in this piece and elsewhere that the Minister for Finance should adopt a very cautious approach to Budget 2019. I suggested that injecting fiscal stimulus into an economy that is growing quite strongly would not be sensible and that […]
THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE IRISH EXAMINER SEPT 21st 2019 With less than three weeks to go to the delivery of Budget 2019, the pressure on the Minister for Finance is intensifying on many different fronts. At the annual ploughing event this week, considerable dissatisfaction was expressed about the plight of farmers and many of […]
SPORT HORSE INDUSTRY APRIL 2018 4 W Bleed
THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN IRISH EXAMINER 10th AUGUST 2018 While the Irish economy is performing very strongly on the surface, it is clear on closer examination that the country does have a significant concentration risk. Last week the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) highlighted this fact in a very vivid manner. The NCC expressed concerns that […]
This Article appeared in the Irish Examiner, 3rd August 2018 If the success of a government is to be gauged by what is happening on the labour market, then the current government and its immediate predecessor should be judged as successful. The economy is now on the verge of the highest level of employment ever […]
THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE IRISH EXAMINER JULY 27th 2018 As the evolution of the Brexit process lurches from one crisis to the next, we have been reminded again over recent days just how vulnerable sterling is to the vagaries of the whole ludicrous process. Since the middle of June, the UK currency has weakened […]
THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN IRISH EXAMINER JULY 20th 2018 The world of geo-politics is in a state of chassis, with each day bringing fresh challenges to the global order. The antics of President Trump in relation to what are traditionally the two strongest allies of the US in Europe – the UK and Germany – […]
THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE IRISH EXAMINER 13th JULY 2019 We generally tend to be very critical of the Irish political system and frequently criticise our very diluted form of democracy. However, the events of the past two years and particularly the past week in the UK make the Irish political system look positively sane […]
This appeared in the Irish Examiner 6th July 2018 There was a story out of Chicago this week that such is the extent of the labour shortages in that region of the US, employers are being forced to waive drug tests and hire ex-convicts in order to fill vacancies in what is now a labour […]