Archive for March, 2008

After a few years of indebted instability, Iceland’s economy is set to undergo a short sharp shock. We are in for a much more protracted downturn. Exactly two years ago this weekend, this column focused on the strange and rapidly growing economy of Iceland. It seemed likely that, because the Icelandic economy was becoming rapidly…

This week, as financial markets recover their balance somewhat, millions of investors are trying to make sense of the past few weeks. Why did bank shares collapse so much? Can any rebound be sustained and what might be around the next corner? Before we try to answer these questions, it is important to appreciate that…

Could one of the Irish banks meet the same inglorious fate as Bear Stearns? It’s unlikely, but not out of the question.

Am I the only person to have missed the left turn to Galway north on the M50? With typical disregard for locals, let alone foreigners, the NRA (or whoever is responsible for signage) puts a tiny sign signalling one of the country’s main transport arteries, not 100 metres, not 50 metres, not 10 metres but two metres from the turnoff.

On Sunday nights, ‘The George’ on Dublin’s George’s Street hosts a drag queen evening. Shirley Temple Bar, of telebingo fame, MCs the spectacle. The bingo is followed by a drag-fest, where wannabe drag queens get put through their paces. This might not be everyone’s idea of a night on the tiles, but research from the US indicates that shows like these are crucial to the economic fortunes of the nation.

The Federal Reserve’s decision to give a $200 billion loan to the US banking system does not signify the end of the credit crisis.

This St Patrick’s Day, consider: What exactly constitutes an Irishman?

Is it enough to have Irish blood or do you have to be born in Ireland? What about those Irish who live in Brooklyn or Boston, who speak with Cockney or Australian accents?

I am writing this from Boston. Boston, ‘the next parish over’, is home to the Boston Celtics, JFK, Southie, the Dropkick Murphies, the Red Sox and possibly the finest collection of high-tech companies, the most impressive cluster of top-grade universities and the most active venture capital community in the world.

It’s funny how an economic slowdown can crawl up on you – a missed fare here if you are a taxi man, falling tax take there if you are a revenue official, declining houses prices if you are a seller and ultimately, a P45 if you are a worker. Like a domino, one thing knocks into another and slowly but surely the links in the chain begin to reveal themselves. The headline figures, which seemed so impressive only this time last year, are not so stellar anymore.

Newry is not the sort of town that you’d automatically expect a dynamic, home-grown multinational to spring from. Yet, in a converted old corn warehouse at number 3 Canal Quay in Newry, a company called First Derivatives is doing just that. This is one of only three listed companies in the North and its business extends out from the centre of Newry to Tokyo, Singapore, New York and across Europe.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Venice was the centre of the trading world. Crusaders on their way to and from the Holy Land came through the great city, as did merchants of all sorts.