2008 February | David McWilliams

February 27th, 2008
The global pendulum is now swinging to the left

Barack Obama is both the symbol and the messenger of the change under way in American — and, indeed, global — politics and society. This change, put most simply, is the swing to the left in socioeconomic policy that has already begun, and that is likely to gather speed quickly, accelerated by the worldwide downturn.
February 24th, 2008
Time to follow the money

The people who benefit from the spike in the price of oil are the ones who are really in charge of the world economy.
February 20th, 2008
How Serbia lost out in the EU numbers game

Vesela arched her black eyebrows, dragged deeply on her contraband Marlboro, narrowed her dark eyes, and snarled, “David, Kosovo is Serbia and Serbia is Kosovo”.
February 17th, 2008
The Irish are treated as second-class EU citizens

While the government may be appealing for a Yes vote on the Lisbon Treaty, it consistently prevents us from benefiting from the common market.
February 13th, 2008
Don’t panic . . . but a flu pandemic is inevitable

Looking at the global economy, one way to describe the fallout of the last few months is to see the world banking system as having been attacked by a virus.
February 10th, 2008
Hypocrisy rules in the US

The US should be running a current account surplus, have a very strong currency, have no debts and enjoy permanently low interest rates, kept down by its huge savings – but the opposite is the case.
February 6th, 2008
Silver lining for Ryanair in economic turbulence

There is something so appealing about the candour of Ryanair. On Monday, first Michael O’Leary and then Michael Cawley, mentioned the R word.
February 3rd, 2008
Ireland must enhance its own industries as US firms pull out

Forty-three per cent of Ireland’s exports are dependent on the sexual urges, flabby boobs, thinning lips, laughter lines and crumpled foreheads of America’s millions of insecure baby boomers.