‘Soft Power’ – From economic migrants to economic ambassadors.

Recently there has been lots of talk about who is buying Ireland. Foreign investors are buying Irish government debt and foreign funds are buying Irish prime property assets. Both of these developments are taken as barometers of how foreigners perceive this country. I...

Official Europe is in denial

What’s worse? Having to listen to a Portuguese communist telling us that the Euro was a victim of Ireland? Or having to listen to our own guy, when the EU has just nailed his ass to a post, telling us there is “no row” between Ireland and the EU President? I don’t...

It’s the 80s all over again as London heads for boomtime

The 328 bus from Golders Green to Notting Hill is as much a journey through the changing ethnicities of London as it is a route home. Last night I hopped on it and watched the unfolding of the ethnic map of Europe’s biggest city and possibly the world’s...

Look to Africa, it may surprise you!

Nathan Rothschild was the richest man in Britain in 1836. His wealth was enormous. He financed the British Army in its war against Napoleon and legend has it that his private system of carrier pigeons got word back to him that the British had actually won at Waterloo...

Banks should be afraid of regulator – Anglo was not

The structure is familiar to any Irish person. The stout walls, the battlements designed for heavy artillery, perched on an elevated site with good views around it, normally on a military road or overlooking a large river or a bay. The Martello Tower is something we...

The lessons of female success

In a recent survey, the British discount website MyVoucherCodes asked a group of 18 to 25-year-old women if they would trade some of their IQ for bigger breasts. Of the 1,100 women surveyed, one-third of respondents said they would. Meanwhile, in the US, a study...