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Predicting future is a leap into unknown
Here's a confident prediction. This year will be better than the current forecasts suggest. Or worse.
Beveridge's bright idea morphed into uncontrollable expenditure
It seems a long time ago, but the standard cartoon of the Minister for Finance on Budget Day used to have him dressed as Santa Claus.
Little will for reform over tax haven status
Ireland's 'tax haven' status is becoming uncomfortable but there's little sign of any real political will for reform.
End in sight but road is long and the going difficult
My favourite Churchill quotation is the one about the end of the beginning, as distinct from the beginning of the end. It is very clever - and, even more, it fits so many situations.
Devaluation's common currency but it's nothing like it used to be
Devaluation? Don't make me laugh. Let me tell you what a devaluation was.
The last laugh over crisis is still a long way off yet
There are lots of those 'good news, bad news' jokes, but the joke is always the same. The good news turns out not to be so good after all. Sometimes the bad news is better.
The human toll of a severe recession
If there is one thing worse than the severity of the Great Recession we are living through, it is its longevity.
We'll all be happy when the economy gets fixed
Sad cases, like me, who go to the regular presentations of statistics from Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO), often mingle afterwards, over the government-issue coffee, to ruminate on what we have just heard.
Olympics could've played with smaller producers
As the countdown to the Olympics begins we're all set to enjoy a few weeks of sporting competition and endeavour.
One little letter means a lot
Gimme that old-time religion, the gospellers used to sing, and I want to testify. It occurred to me last week that I had been losing the faith.
Fresh thinking could create jobs
Bicycles. That was the solution proposed by the British politician Norman Tebbit to the high unemployment of the 1980s. There was always a job somewhere if you looked hard enough.
Irish need to stand up and ask euro questions
Most people have heard of the South Sea Bubble, or even the Dutch Tulip Mania. Not so many will be familiar with the Scottish Darien Scheme.
Income research just doesn't seem to add up
Size matters. There is all the political and policy difference in the world if it is 44% or 10% of people with young children who would be better off not working.
Economy needs boost of devolved tax powers
Tax does funny things to people. Some go to huge lengths to try to avoid paying it while others will go to huge lengths to try and influence policy on it.
Let's find answer before question changes again
The Irish Question was very difficult. Every time the English found the answer, the Irish changed the question."
Thorny wage issue must be addressed
I used to get regular correspondence - as did many others - from a man who believed we were all missing the point about unemployment: that with technology it meant there was just less demand for labour.
Finding answers to debt crisis is a taxing matter
No, it wasn't Lehman Bros. The foibles of Dick Fuld and his merry band have been cited by the politicians involved as the cause of much of our troubles, from the collapse of Anglo to the bailout itself.
Messages can be confusing
Those clever communication consultants who, for a handsome fee, will train one how to do TV and radio interviews, say that one should pick only one point to get across to the audience.
Ireland and UK on different paths to same destination
It was a bit of a puzzle, following the recent British budget. The Chancellor, George Osborne, kept getting contradicted by something called the OBR and the media were quoting the contradictions more than they were the Chancellor.
Beware the hooves of great black oxen
Like great black oxen, the years trampled the poet Yeats.
Latest Business News
Pub gloom deepens as Belfast nightclub put on market for just £300,000 new
A well-known Belfast nightspot has gone on the market with a price tag of £300,000.
Ryanair tells pilots that passenger safety fears letter is ‘gross misconduct’ new
Budget airline Ryanair pilots have been told not to sign a letter to airline regulators expressing concern that the airline’s employment practices could jeopardise passenger safety.
Look to emerging markets: RICS chief
NORTHERN Ireland's construction firms should continue to look to emerging markets for opportunities, the head of a professional organisation said.
Thomas Cook in debt cutting move
THOMAS Cook took another step towards calmer waters be announcing a £425m fundraising with shareholders in a bid to cut debt.
Coach tour firm destined for growth with air travel bid
A local independent specialist tour operator has launched a new dedicated air holiday division.
A change of place but not of pace at Balmoral Show
Not actually Balmoral in Belfast – that's the smell of leafy streets and manicured lawns – but the new, vast Maze site where the show of the same name was in full swing.
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