Analysis

February 2021

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Margaret Canning Opinion From small shops to big firms, no Northern Ireland business has escaped Covid pandemic unscathed

Our economy and businesses have had an extremely rough ride since the first Covid-19 case was detected here on February 27 last year.

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John Simpson Opinion A falling tide can ground many ships

The pandemic has had a sharply divisive impact in Northern Ireland. The living standards of some households have been hit hard and others have been protected to enjoy an improved standard of living.

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John Simpson Opinion Family-owned firms show resilience

The events of the last 12 months have combined to challenge all businesses to survive and try to maintain their profitability.

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Mark Ennis Opinion Time for us to tackle climate change issue

The last 12 months has seen a huge community and political effort to tackle the dangers of Covid-19.

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John Simpson Opinion Journey out of downturn will be hard

The Covid-19 induced recession has had a serious and diverse impact on jobs across Northern Ireland. Turnover has collapse for the businesses worst affected.

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Paddy Graham Opinion There will be opportunities this year

If someone had shown me the image of the Flaming Lips performing to a hall of concert-goers in their own individual 'space bubbles' this time last year and told me it was "safer than going to the grocery store" as the band's frontman Wayne Coyne claimed, I would have been more than a little confused.

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John Simpson Opinion Many uncertainties in draft Budget

Finance Minister Conor Murphy has invited opinions on the next draft Budget for the financial year commencing in April.

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January 2021

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John Simpson Opinion More banking changes are on the way

The number of bank branches scattered across towns and villages is decreasing.

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Andrew Park Opinion Same issues but there's plenty to give us hope for 2021

The end of 2020 gave us all great hope that 2021 will be a year where everything will return to some sort of normality.

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Caoimhe Archibald Opinion A clear lack of foresight and contingency plan for Covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating, over 4,000 deaths across the island, thousands ill, many facing long-term effects, and our health and social service staff under severe pressure.

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Richard Gray Opinion M&A indicators still good for companies, according to Richard Gray

As the coronavirus pandemic continue to affect all aspects of life, it might be assumed that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in Northern Ireland ground to a halt in 2020.

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John Simpson Opinion Brexit tangle thus far pleases no one

For Ministers, tackling the immediate problems posed by the pandemic must take precedence.

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Richard Murphy Opinion What lies ahead for energy sector in 2021

After the year we have all just experienced - or at times endured - gentler times ahead become very attractive again.

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Margaret Canning Opinion Tough start for Northern Ireland Protocol as Brexit realities begin to bite, from squabbles to supermarket shortages

Unseemly political rows are nothing new for us, but the start of the Northern Ireland Protocol on New Year's Eve has also ushered in delayed consumer deliveries and empty supermarket shelves.

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December 2020

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Margaret Canning Opinion How Northern Ireland businesses handled nightmare year with double whammy of Covid and Brexit

Business has faced its most difficult year, with tough decisions and nimble action required to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.

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John Simpson Opinion Let’s look ahead cautiously to recovery

Life in Northern Ireland during 2020 has not been easy. Indeed, compared to earlier years, 2020 has been uncomfortable and challenging.

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Paul Stapleton Opinion NIE Networks lighting the spark for green recovery

As year end draws near, there can be no doubting 2020 has been a year like no other.

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John Simpson Opinion Pluses of Northern Ireland Protocol remain to be seen

Next year should be less fraught than 2020. In January 2020 there was no firm evidence of the possible arrival of Covid-19 and little suspicion that a no-deal Brexit would become a major threat to businesses in Northern Ireland.

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John Simpson Opinion Mutual Energy’s journey to profits

Mutual Energy was once part of the former government owned Northern Ireland Electricity Supply Co, which was privatised into several separate businesses some years ago.

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Simon Hamilton Opinion Belfast can bounce back from setbacks

In the space of less than 24 hours last week, the tangible impact of Covid-19 and the Executive's repeated lockdown restrictions on the retail sector hit home hard.

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Ivan Little Opinion Covid's sinking Belfast faster than IRA ever could

Walking around parts of Belfast one afternoon last week, I was half expecting the tumbleweed to come rolling down the street.

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Margaret Canning Opinion Demise of Arcadia and doubts over Debenhams' future could sound death knell for Northern Ireland high street as we know it

We've been hearing warnings about the death of the high street for at least a decade now, since the ravages of the credit crunch killed off one-time stalwarts like Woolworths.

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Matthew Howse Opinion Return of 'Crown Preference' in Northern Ireland

2020 is not the only thing that is coming to an end. After a period of ranking as an unsecured creditor in the insolvency of a company, HMRC will become a secondary preferential creditor from today.

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John Simpson Opinion Still a lot of uncertainty in store for Northern Ireland economy

Even the pessimists should now plan for a new normal. The economy will function again without special Covid-19 measures and the debate will centre on how we restore output in the regional economy and find new employment and new employers to replace the businesses which have closed, or downsized.

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November 2020

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Esmond Birnie Opinion Pay freeze will hit Northern Ireland hard, but boosted defence spend may be boon

Almost 40 years ago Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said: "Pennies don't fall from Heaven, they must be earned here on Earth."

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Margaret Canning Opinion Devil is in the detail with Stormont coronavirus voucher giveaway

The question on (nearly) everyone’s lips is - how will you spend yours?

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John Downing Opinion Four possible Brexit outcomes with just 36 days remaining

"Breakthrough or breakdown by the end of this week." That is the assessment of one veteran Brussels diplomat as Brexit finally really is close to ending its noisy four-year journey of tedium.

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John Simpson Opinion Joe Biden brings new era for Northern Ireland business

US President-Elect Joe Biden could have an important role to play in helping business recovery in Northern Ireland.

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John Simpson Opinion Long-term wounds face NI economy

After Covid-19, the "new normal" for the local economy will not be as good as the "old normal". The pandemic has brought many major temporary problems from which there will be partial recoveries.

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John Mulgrew Opinion Housing market can be foundation of NI economic recovery

I've had a strange sense that I've been slowly turning into the binocular-wielding late Jimmy Stewart in the 1954 classic Hitchcock thriller Rear Window.