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September 30th, 2009
Why economic recovery can be bad for business
One thing the Lisbon debate has done is distract us from the juggernaut that is NAMA. In Laois today, speaking to a large group of retailers — who can sense the credit crunch in their bottom lines — the only topic was the banks, the bailout and what is going to be left after NAMA.
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September 28th, 2009
Say Yes, then sort out our own mess
Last weekend, Jim O’Hara, the no-nonsense boss of Intel in Ireland, suggested to me that one way to think about the Lisbon vote was through the prism of Monty Python’s brilliant ‘”what have the Romans ever done for us?” sketch.
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September 23rd, 2009
Chinese takeaway is paid for with American dollars
The great and the good of the world are meeting in New York to discuss climate change today. This meeting is intended to clear the air before the Copenhagen Summit in December. Already the signs are that the Europeans and the Asians are annoyed with the Obama administration which, they argue, is foot dragging.
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September 21st, 2009
Global Irish Economic Forum: Your Thoughts
The Global Irish Econmic Forum took place over the weekend. A number of video clips and views from forum attendees are available online.
Please feel free to add your comments and thoughts below, as David is keen on reading them.
Audio/Video clips of the conference on RTE.ie -
September 21st, 2009
The past can save our future
Eight years ago while working for Jack Welch, the legendary chief executive of GE, we were chatting about his parents and upbringing in Salem, Massachusetts. His grandparents on both sides were from Cork and he was talking about how he loved coming ‘‘home’’ to Ireland. I asked whether his Irish ancestry might have been a factor in deciding to locate GE Capital in Ireland.
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September 16th, 2009
We’re the hostages to fortune in NAMA drama
It is hard not to feel like you are watching a Bond movie or a hostage drama when looking at how NAMA is playing out. Hostage dramas are compelling, which is why they make such good television.
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September 14th, 2009
Time to wind down the banks
Last Thursday, the share price of Bank of Ireland rose by 10 per cent following the announcement by the Green Party that it had secured amendments to the Nama bill, which might allow the party to support it.
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September 10th, 2009
Leviathan: Are Most Liberals just Champagne Socialists?
Leviathan teams up with the Dun Laoghaire Mountains to Sea Book Festival to bring you a fizzy debate on Sat 12th September at the Royal Marine Hotel, Carysfort Suite 9pm.
David McWilliams hosts the discussion; Are Most Liberals Just Champagne Socialists? With panelists CEO of TV3 David McRedmond , Green TD, Ciaran Cuffe , Founder member of pro free market Think Tank – Open Republic Institute Paul McDonnell and Professor Mary P. Corcoran, Sociologist.
Plus musical satire from Paddy Cullivan; comedy sketches from The Emergency: Live; and film from Doris/McGee Productions.
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September 9th, 2009
Greens turn their back on cheap land of opportunity
What part of cheap land does the Green Party not understand? The Green Party values the land we walk on, not in the way Fianna Fail does, not for its price but for its value. And the cheaper our land is, the more value it has for the collective good. The more expensive the land is, the more value it has for individual owners.
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September 6th, 2009
Dissenters may call it right again
At the height of the boom, I got used to being accused of ‘‘talking down the economy’’. In fact, this was almost a weekly occurrence as the old vested interests tried desperately to squeeze their last greasy fiver out of the population. Back then, questioning the credit binge was dismissed as ‘‘unpatriotic’’.
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September 2nd, 2009
NAMA money pit could be our economic Stalingrad
The collapse in property values, the fact that the market here is in free-fall and developers and banks are bankrupt presents the single biggest opportunity this country has had in a generation.
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