The Other Hand

The world is changing. Rapidly. Have we noticed? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish employment is still growing - at another all-time high. Not unrelatedly, house prices are also booming. UK farmers are protesting about inheritance taxation. What are the issues and do they have wider resonance? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Budget 2025 has been derailed by Project 2025 - the radical agenda denied by Trump during his campaign (it really is so extreme even he had to disavow it). Notwithstanding the denials, Project 2025 is now being implemented. But few Irish or European politicians seem to have noticed. Latest EU Commission economic forecasts are pretty dire. The US is leaving the EU for dust. And a new gap has emerge...

Trump is impossible to forecast - so should we stop trying? Is talking about him merely enabling him? Colluding with him? There is a spiders-web of connections between Trump and Brexit. Farage, Le Pen and Orban have a new spring in their step. Brexiteers still hanker after a free trade deal with the US. They must confront the reality of a protectionist US President - and government. One way Trump...

The list of reasons why Trump won is getting longer. Some make sense, some do not. We look at the evidence-based ones. One very stark conclusion: not every Trump voter thinks all that positively about the President-elect. It's simply that they find the Democratic Party even more repulsive. The Trump trade is on. The stock market loves the prospect of trade wars, budget-busting tax cuts and mass de...

Well, we said it was the year of election. Now we live with the consequences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fabulous US economy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first UK budget ever delivered by a female Chancellor was presented with aplomb and panache. A pity the details didn’t match up to the presentation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Germany is in economic trouble. Its car industry - 7% of the economy - is being squeezed by struggling exports (to China in particular) and a poorly handled transition to EVs. Add in problems that go back decades and maybe its time to become a Eurosceptic again. If Trump wins, the Democrats need to look in mirror. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Loads of men (mostly) say their favourite movie is The Godfather. Plenty also rate the Sopranos as the best TV series ever. Is that because they secretly (and not so secretly these days) would love to have a Mafiosi's unchecked power? Brexit is the most contemporary example of people saying the system doesn't work for them and then replacing it with something far worse. The US appears to be on the...

It's easy to conclude that we are a violent species. Just look at the state of the world. In a quite brilliant book, Professor Christopher Blattman argues that history books can give a misleading impression: on most days, war doesn't happen. Blattman has read everything. He has talked to the street gangs of Chicago and drug lords in Colombia. He summarises his vast knowledge with five main reasons...

Irish house prices are now well in excess of their pre-financial crisis peaks. Is the only thing that will get them down an old fashioned recession? More supply is certainly needed but it is far from clear that more houses equals lower prices - other things are not equal Why do we still bang on about a cost of living crisis when inflation has fallen towards zero? If not actually zero. May be the a...

The arguments over the help needed for the domestic economy run and run Is Sinn Fein just a reunification party with a few half-hearted populist policies thrown in to get elected? Neither Chris nor Jim won the economics Nobel Prize. And much more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the Irish inflation rate too low? All economists bar one or two say that the economy is over-heating. Could the opposite be true? Latest data certainly hints in that direction. Inflation disappoints, ever so slightly, in the US, where interest rate expectations have shifted again. The European interest rate outlook hasn't shifted at all - rates are coming down. Very soon. An important debate is...

Is Keir Starmer up to the task? The early evidence suggests not? Are bankers worth it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has the coalition blown it? Or does the outpouring of budget criticism from official Ireland miss the point: it's what the people wanted? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will the electorate be grateful for budget 2025? Where was the long-term strategy and/or vision? So little for Irish businesses, particularly indigenous SMEs Tax base narrowed again Infrastructure mentioned loads of times with few details, let alone plans Not nearly enough focus on return on invetsment Will it work? In political terms at least. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

As we approach Budget 2025, we reflect on the usual leaked measures and suggest we are just children looking for the keys to the sweet shop. And yet so many of us say we want more houses, better health and high-quality schools. And then we elect politicians with a mandate to do none of those things. Is democracy structurally incapable of delivering much needed change? Or is just a system that deli...

A prominent ex central banker has suggested that Ireland should spend the money: it's time, he says, for 'Jam today'. That's our interpretation, at least, of his only slightly coded remarks. Trumponomics: it's time to take them seriously, if not literally. Another Chinese economic stimulus: bazooka or pea-shooter? Your weekly reminder about the global nature of the housing crisis Hosted on Acast....

There is a building slowdown in global manufacturing that is starting to look serious. This is a Chinese problem that is fast becoming a major issue for Germany. That's one explanation for the rise of the right in Germany. The new UK government is beginning to look like a bewildered bunch of not very good middle managers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US central bank goes large and delivers a big interest rate cut. Thereby admitting it should have cut sooner. The Irish property market moves into double figure price inflation. And mortgage rates are only going to fall further Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the right level of interest rates? While discussion of 'R-star' might seem esoteric, they do say one important thing: Euro interest rates are way too high. The Federal Reserve has achieved its price stability mandate and is now switching to focus on employment. Growth is now front and centre of all European economic policy debate. Even - especially - in the UK. The new chancellor is going...

Irish inflation this week confirmed that the economy is showing few, if any, obvious signs of overheating. Prices are still going. up but at their slowest pace in a long while. That said, prices are 20% higher than we saw pre-pandemic. Memo to economists: don't pretend you know what causes inflation. European interest rates are still too high. When does government debt matter? 100% of GDP? 300% of...

In this podcast special Jim talks with Alex Denning, a 25 year old racing superstar. The business of modern racing is all about money, contacts and driving talent - in that order. Alex talks about doing exactly what his parents didn't want him to do. Making it with McLaren! But it costs anything between 5-15 million to break into Formula 1. Sometimes more - your dad has to buy the car company! Wan...

To the surprise of many observers, Europe's top court has told Apple it must pay Ireland €13.1 billion in back taxes. In a case that dates back to 2016, it's partly a history lesson about dodgy practices - the double Irish and all that. Those days are long gone. But there is also an investment lesson here, one that is not just of historical interest. The outcome of the original investment was €14....