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Barry Dooley's avatar

That was great Jim & Chris.Very informative if not a tad depressing.And those two MEP are an embarassment.

Hope all is well

Barry

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Jim Power & Chris Johns's avatar

Thanks barry, much appreciated.

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ThermalMammal's avatar

Alright lads, another great podcast.

First and foremost, do keep replying to feedback during the podcast. It's a great way for us to engage with you both and keeps us coming back.

Thanks for highlighting the food inflation issue again. I agree with Jim it's going to be a big issue soon and no one seems to recognise it.

Great to hear Irish people are happy and satisfied. I agree healthcare is a challenge in most countries. Perhaps, have Singapore solved it? Small country with a similar population to Ireland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKjHvpiHk3s

Interesting you talked about the American stock market not really reflecting the slowdown in economic growth. But I wonder is Netflix the canary in the coal mine here? Has it flagged the end of growth stocks? It has certainly kicked itself out of FAANG. Lost 200000 subs in Q1 and predicted to lose 2.5mil in Q2.

What I really wanted to get to is, Wallace and Daly. I'm going to play devil's advocate here. In relation to Ukraine what is it exactly you don't agree with them on? I didn't want to just blindly go with the mainstream Irish narrative, so I read what they've stated publicly and I've listened to their podcast (I4C Trouble) to see can I understand them a little better. I don't agree with them on everything, but I have to say I can completely understand where they're coming from. The crux of their argument is the war will eventually have to end, likely in some form of peace talks. The sooner this happens the better for everyone and hence, this is where all the efforts should be applied. The re-arming of Europe and sanctioning Russia will only prolong the war, push peace talks further away and cause even more death and suffering. We all know what happens when you sanction and ostracise a country (Germany, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela), more hatred, famine and suffering. Their view on Ukraine is very similar to Richard Boyd Barrett's, which he shared recently on Dunphy's The Stand podcast. I don't think they're portrayed fairly in Irish media and they certainly don't come across as the stars of authoritarianism or Putin sympathisers as the media would make us believe.

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Jim Power & Chris Johns's avatar

Thanks Steve, much appreciated. On Ukraine, we support them and oppose Putin. I’m not sure that’s the position of those MEPs. Moreover, it’s up to Ukraine what happens next, not us. They decide their own future. Otherwise we are as imperialistic as Russia. They have tried to sit down with Russia and so far failed to achieve anything. Ukraine is sovereign on this one.

Maybe Netflix is the Canary. Nothing would surprise me, apart from whatever the stock market does!

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Sean's avatar

Hi Steve.

On tech stocks, the expected payout is the most long term of sectors in the equity asset class, whereas for the likes of utilities you expect very little capital growth and large dividends, making it a shorter term expected payout. So when long term interest rates rise, you should see tech stocks to be affected the most I think. Net present value.

On Ukraine, I appreciate your point. But I think Wallace/Daly/Boyd Barrett’s stance on the war has more to do with their attitudes towards America. They believe this is a US vs Russia proxy war, which I think completely ignores the fact that Ukrainians are willingly fighting this all by themselves, albeit with western made weapons. And a negotiated outcome is dependent on Russias willingness to negotiate, which they won’t do if the war is going swimmingly well for them.

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ThermalMammal's avatar

Hi Sean,

Yeah I agree with you on tech stocks. As markets are forward looking I would have expected the tech stocks to fall a lot harder than they have to date considering the economic news coming out. But, it seems to be earnings that’s causing the biggest drops. All eyes on Meta who report next week I suspect we’ll see a slow in users and advert revenue.

I agree with you, I feel those politicians are very anti NATO and blame its expansion for the situation. My own personal views are I agree with the Russian sanctions and with the help the West is giving. There has to be consequences for invading a country. I suppose my point above was I can understand where their argument comes from; they’re anti-war and suffering. I feel the media persecutes them too much for having these views and lazily brands them pro-Putin as a result. I feel their problem is more that they’re not realists. While their anti-war views are well intentioned, the reality is it’s not going to stop poor Ukraine being bombed back to the Stone-Age. When I listened to what they actually say in their EU parliament and Dáil (Boyd Barrett) speeches and their podcasts I found myself understanding their point of view. But hey, what do I know? I suppose the lesson here is that war should never be an option. Unfortunately, I don’t see any quick win for Ukraine I feel this will be a very long and protracted war of attrition with terrible devastation and suffering.

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Sean's avatar

Interesting points Steve.

On the tech stock, perhaps the nuance is mature tech versus less so. For Meta and Netflix, I’m guessing their values are more linked to earnings because they’re seen as being at the peak of their growth potential.

I take your point on PBP being anti-war in general, not wanting the wars to escalate, and that their position is somewhat naive. I think that’s giving them the benefit of the doubt, but let’s do it for argument’s sake. If so, surely they’re also guilty of being needlessly gobby and forceful in their opinions.

Being less kind to them, they believe NATO is an imperialist power expanding its influence rather than being defensive. Mick Wallace said that the US bombed the Afghan’s back to the Stone Age, ignoring the investment that went in to the country. Boyd Barrett cannot seem to discuss Ukraine without discussing Palestine and Iraq. The result is them not helping Ukraine fight against Russia who are burying civilians in mass graves.

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Deirdre Mooney's avatar

Really liked the uplifting bit about the Irish people & their level of satisfaction

Want to give our two strange MEPs a severe “kick up the ar@e” … totally disrespectful of the institutions & people they claim to represent.

To me they are constantly looking for attention.

Sadly I agree with your economic outlook

I have see the sanitised work of the SF party. We don’t forget quite that easily🤣

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Jim Power & Chris Johns's avatar

Thanks Deirdre!

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Sean's avatar

Great podcast again.

Don’t mind that commentator who took issue with replying to feedback. You’re not obliged to discuss all the feedback nor should you be mandated to ignore it all. I would suggest simply talking about whatever you find interesting, feedback or otherwise, and the rest will take care of itself.

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