John Simpson
Homeowners pay 24% of income on their mortgage
Many housebuilders are facing frightening losses as market prices have fallen
to the point where past costs cannot be covered at realistic prices. Where
does blame fall: greedy or careful developers trying to anticipate the
market place? Planners because they have over restricted the issue of
planning approvals?
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Inside John Simpson
Are we really getting value for money from Translink?
Monday, 22 September 2008
Translink has published its attractive annual report for 2007-8. Passenger
numbers are rising and over 70% of customers say that they are satisfied
with the services offered.
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Gas and electricity bills spark boisterous debate
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Household home fuel bills are more than 50% higher than a year ago.
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Research, innovation and business development...
Monday, 25 August 2008
Our universities have a good record in these fields, but can they deliver more
impressive results?
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Housing market must adjust to realistic prices
Monday, 18 August 2008
The housing market in Northern Ireland is suffering the pain of an inevitable
correction. For some stakeholders, there is pain, big pain, before there
will be gain! Most owners of houses purchased in 2006-7 are, theoretically,
living with negative equity. More importantly, builders and developers who
were assembling land for development in 2008-10 are facing a total capital
loss possibly in excess of £300m.
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Same credit crunch, same crisis: but what impact?
Monday, 11 August 2008
Internal action needed to save Irish housing market from global economic
slowdown. Whether there will be a recession or how much average living
standards will fall is uncertain. What is certain is that jobs will go and,
for many, living standards will fall.
Comment: 1
Executive decisions vital to safeguard NI Water’s future
Monday, 4 August 2008
NORTHERN Ireland Water (NIW) is too important as a public utility to be a
shuttlecock between uncertain political direction and aggressive regulatory
intervention.
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Let Belfast Port lift the economy to new heights
Monday, 28 July 2008
The Port of Belfast has a £630m investment plan. This is desirable investment
that should earn its own commercial return. Funding could come partly from
the reserves built up by the port and partly by commercial borrowing.
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Boom times for border as shoppers flock north
Monday, 21 July 2008
How Newry is becoming a very attractive city for southern bargain hunters
Break for the border: nearly four in 10 shoppers at one shopping centre in
Newry is thought to be from the Republic.
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John Simpson: Clutching a defeat from the jaws of easy victory
Monday, 7 July 2008
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB), with links to Tourism Ireland,
now has better market prospects than at anytime for the last 35 years.
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Just let wind huff, puff and heat our buildings
Monday, 9 June 2008
Northern Ireland, along with the Republic, is well endowed with a valuable
asset. There is sufficient potential energy from wind power to generate over
40% of the electricity needed on the whole island. That headline needs to be
qualified.
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Holding the regulator to account over gas prices
Monday, 5 May 2008
On Thursday April 24 the public was informed that, for customers of Phoenix
Natural Gas, prices would rise on May 1 by 28%.
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On the economy: Sparks between generators
Monday, 17 December 2007
Last month the single electricity market (SEM) for the island of Ireland was
launched. But now an early commercial crisis has led to complaints from
Viridian and Premier Power to the regulators about the outworking of the SEM.
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Budget hype exceeds the real allocation
Monday, 10 December 2007
The draft Northern Ireland budget has the objective of strengthening the
regional economy. However, the proposed allocations are not entirely
convincing in the current and capital budgets or departmental allocations.
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On the economy: Cash job no hanging offence
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
There is a lot of undeclared work about but no-one knows for sure how much.
Does it matter? Tax and national insurance evasion is illegal but is
sometimes ignored.
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Columnist Comments
• View from Dublin: Beware of the midnight mugging on October 14
One of many possible reasons for having an early Irish Budget in October may be contained in the fact that new taxes on the “old reliables” — drink, fuel and and tobacco — would come into force at midnight on October 14.
• John Simpson: Gas and electricity bills spark boisterous debate
Household home fuel bills are more than 50% higher than a year ago.
• View From London: Interest rate cuts will only reduce the short-term pain
Those who oppose interest rate cuts seem to base their arguments on one of three ideas. First, rate cuts won't work. Second, rate cuts will simply reignite earlier housing or stock market bubbles. Third, borrowers simply don't deserve rate cuts. Some people seem to believe in all three of these ideas, an approach which, to my mind, is nonsensical.
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Financial Crisis
Is the UK already in a recession?
Castration for Sex Offenders
Should the UK follow Poland's lead and force sex offenders to be chemically castrated?
Cancer treatment
Should cancer drugs be free for all patients?
Next US president?
Who do you think is likely to become the next president of the United States?
Who do you think is likely to become the next president of the United States?
| John McCain |
 45% |
| Barack Obama |
 41% |
| It won't make a difference |
11% |
| I'm still holding out for Ron Paul |
3% |
Sport legends
Who is Northern Ireland's greatest sports person of modern times?
Who is Northern Ireland's greatest sports person of modern times?
| George Best |
32% |
| Tony McCoy |
2% |
| Darren Clarke |
3% |
| Barry McGuigan |
4% |
| Mary Peters |
4% |
| Willie John McBride |
3% |
| Peter Canavan |
6% |
| Joey Dunlop |
39% |
| David Healy |
5% |
| Alex Higgins |
2% |
Poll: Tasers and the police
Do you support the use of Tasers by the PSNI?
Do you support the use of Tasers by the PSNI?
| Yes, it is better than using firearms |
56% |
| Yes, but only in exceptional circumstances |
21% |
| No, I'm genuinely concerned about the safety of Tasers |
8% |
| No, the police should not have these weapons |
14% |