Sitemap - 2022 - The Other Hand

Central bankers spook the markets - will they cause a crisis? Housing looks very vulnerable. Pensions & old people pulling up ladders. Stellar Irish exports. NHS in 'systemic failure'.

Has inflation peaked? Beware 2023 outlooks - who forecast oil prices would end 2022 unchanged over the year? IDA has a good year. Fine Gael is actually left-wing. Germany's Ukraine wobbles.

A sideways look at Ukraine war news

Irish inflation falls but electricity prices are up 62%. Where is the push for more alternative energy sources? OpenAI's chatbot will change the world. And is a real threat to Google.

The lean, mean tax machine that is the Irish economy. Tamper with it at your peril. The US economy is not following the script. US petrol prices now lower than before the war started. And much more!

A conversation with Noah Smith. Polymath, renaissance man: neither description does justice to this extraordinary writer. Intelligence, wit and wisdom in abundance. And optimism.

A sideways look at Ukraine war news

Is there a bubble in predicting Armageddon? Latest economic data suggests the end of the world is still a while away. Lots of inflation and interest rate news

Centuries of the patriarchy. Listening to our listeners. What’s going on in China? Latest economic data

MORE OPTIMISTIC THAN PESSIMISTIC ABOUT IRELAND IN 2023 - BUT CAUTIOUS

Ireland' s 'failed state' narrative gets another boost from record employment numbers. The strange behaviour of MEPs and oil prices. The Man Utd share price gets a boost.

A sideways look at Ukraine war news

Latest OECD forecasts for Ireland, U.K. & the world. Starmer mimics Sunak - both are a disgrace. Brexit is back - but only as one of several deep U.K. problems. Which nobody is going to solve

In conversation with Professor Chris Grey. The state of play 6 1/2 years since the Brexit referendum. Spoiler alert: It isn't pretty

The UK: run by two posh boys who don't know the price of milk? The gap between Britain and Ireland is now truly remarkable.

A sideways glance at Ukraine war news

Ireland might be the best placed economy in the world to withstand the coming global recession. The UK is in one of the worst places. And it's time to get very angry about the state of UK politics.

Brexit, my Brexit

Could the peak in interest rates be close? Why have collapsing natural gas prices not led to lower household bills? Could Twitter really go bust?

A sideways glance at Ukraine war news

Will tech job cuts help solve the house price problem? Another bubble deflates further: Bitcoin.

HOW WORRIED SHOULD WE BE ABOUT TECH WOES?

Join our new subscriber chat. An alternative to Twitter, a way of snubbing Musk.

The great monetary policy mistake of 2022: raising interest rates to get oil & gas prices down.

A sideways glance at Ukraine war news

THE REMARKABLE BUOYANCY OF CORPORATION TAX

Joining the dots between Liz Truss and Sinn Fein. Loads more interest rate rises coming. But to what end? UK immigration debacle: another resignation is overdue

The end of the tech boom? The end, therefore, of Ireland's boom? Social media business model is showing signs of fatigue - at the very least.

The week in Ukrainian war news

Could the energy crisis be approaching the end?

Sunak will fail. Xi Jingping: doing a Liz Truss? EU & UK in recession. Drone wars.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it does. The UK government loses its mind.

Lessons from a small island. This could get really nasty if we are not careful.

What on earth is going on the UK? Is the bank of England making a proper mess of things? Losing credibility? Causing a global problem?

Mortgage rates up in the UK (thanks Liz). Mortgage rates hit 7% in the US. The start of the big housing correction? Another Lehman moment?

Why is Ireland drowning in cash? Why is the UK not? The connection between low UK growth and the blow-up in the government bond market.

A tale of two islands. One well run, the other not so much.

BUDGET 2023 THROWS MONEY AT EVERYTHING THAT MOVES

Remember the PIGS? Now they are the UPIGS. The UK becomes a submerging market. The political centre is collapsing everywhere.

Budget 2023. Infantilised societies. Being poor in Ireland means you are 63% better off than your equivalent in the UK. Central bankers playing Tarzan risk swinging into a tree.

Absolutely nobody thinks that Ireland needs a tax cut. Absolutely everybody thinks somebody else's taxes should go up. Is King Charles up to the task? Probably not.

The US 'Civil War' & the kip that is San Fransicko. Macho central bankers? Dystopian Ireland: edition 42.

Central banks warn of significant and painful rate hikes to come. Another Lehman moment? Time for policymakers to wake up to the enormity of the energy crisis.

Is Ireland really so unfair? Some facts that will change no populist minds. Danger ahead from PM Truss. Time to worry about China?

Rents go nuts on both sides of the Atlantic. Shinners display their dislike of anyone making a few quid. Some rare good news about the US economy. Some less good news for the UK.

Is Ireland destined to follow the populist path? Energy bills to hit €5000? BoE outlook is terrifying. Liz Truss is the continuity Johnson PM. Pelosi: right or wrong? Windfall energy profit taxes?

GLOBAL IMPACT ON IRISH TAX REVENUES NOT APPARENT IN JULY - THANKFULLY

Recession on both sides of the Atlantic - so stock markets go up. "Cakeism goes full gateau" in UK politics

How will stock markets perform when democracy collapses?

How high will European interest rates go? How much of a mistake is the ECB about to make? Italy's existential threat to the euro; the UK's existential problem. The problems with free market ideology.

Britain's broken politics: the Tories are a pound-shop version of Trump's Republican party. The world's inflation problem just keeps getting worse.

Johnson's populism has wrecked the UK. Fixing it is beyond any of his likely successors. Ireland's peculiar populism - Shinners in power but not (yet) in office - will lead to a fiscal crisis.

Reposting my thoughts on Johnson. Written a while back but kinda still feels relevant

THE SUMMER ECONOMIC STATEMENT & MID-YEAR EXCHEQUER RETURNS

Reposting an article I wrote a year ago about proper saving & investing. Before stock markets fell 20%. The piece still stands.

Rip-off Ireland? The end of he celebrity central banker. £ sterling crisis on he way? Will global property follow Bitcoin & stock markets down? BJ stories just get worse.

A piece I wrote a while back about crypto & Bitcoin & Niall Ferguson. Reposting - Yes it's a victory lap of sorts. Probably a buy signal!

Everyone is forecasting recession. Be careful what you wish for. UK politics make great entertainment for the outside observer but try living there.

Interest rate rises everywhere: recession next? House prices forecast to fall 20% in at least one country. Why a sovereign wealth fund would be a good idea.

Corporate BS: Why nothing works any more

Interest rates set to rise by more than expected: will they kill the housing market? Is the ECB about to make yet another big mistake? 'Boris Johnson is like a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel'.

NAVIGATING THE IRISH ECONOMIC TEA LEAVES

Why does nothing work any more? Economic weather warnings raised from storm to hurricane. A Dublin restaurant experience. Gate 355: Dublin Airport's entrance to hell.

Ireland booms, UK grinds to a halt. US housing market joins Canada's and starts to slow - signs of things to come?

Rents & the housing crisis. Stock markets in a different kind of crisis: strong signal that global recession is now the big worry for investors.

Is the solution to the housing crisis both simple and obvious? Will higher interest rates burst the global and Irish housing bubbles? Dark warnings of financial stress from crypto.

They haven't gone away you know: water charges. Ireland's dystopia: incomes up, poverty down, inequality down. Truths that can never be told.

An economic storm is heading our way. Ireland is in much better shape than the UK to deal with it. But everyone will be hit.

Electric stats, carbon capture and why we need to take energy price rises on the chin. We are repeating the mistakes of the 1970s. Odd happenings in every corner of financial markets. Trouble ahead?

How much damage has social media done? What will Elon do? What should we do? Stock markets look to be in a bit of bother.

'Aggressive' rises in interest rates on the cards. So is showering together - energy conservation is now imperative. Putin looks unwell? Some survival tactics in tough times.

Global growth forecasts slashed by IMF and World Bank. Life in Ireland isn't the dystopian nightmare many journos and politicians say it is. Shinners slip in the polls: start of a welcome trend?

'Crisis upon crisis means the end of globalisation'. Is the dollar heading for parity against the euro? Which large country has an inflation rate of 62%. How high will US (and our) interest rates go?

Global recession on the way? Via a wage-price spiral? Criminals running the UK government? Covid corner: lab leak or not?

The Other Hand returns! Ukraine, inflation and why we should shut off Russian gas now.

EXCHEQUER FINANCES STRONG, BUT COST OF BORROWING RISING

Ukraine: fascists are not just in the Kremlin. Sanctions should be expanded to a total ban on Russian oil & gas. Central bankers now dealing with fundamental uncertainty, not just risk.

Ukraine: peace, escalation or stalemate? The answer lies with China

Ukraine: hopelessness and (a little) hope

Ukraine: humanitarian disaster and global economic shock. Domestic energy bills to triple? Recession inevitable? Policy mistakes inevitable? Is the West as decadent as the despots think?

STRONG GROWTH IN 2021, BUT REQUIRES DEEP COMPREHENSION

Ukraine: it's existential for both their way of life and ours.

Happy Birthday

Ukraine: are financial markets getting it wrong?

Jim denies going soft on the Shinners. Ukraine, sanctions & energy prices: the potential economic implications. Is a global recession on the cards? Who would be an economic policy maker today?

Latest Economic news: Ireland is booming. The price of a pint revisited: it's gonna go up a lot. Ireland really is an expensive country - why?

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY CRISIS WORSENS AND WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH A CERTAIN AGE COHORT TOWARDS SINN FÉIN

Brexit is dramatically altering Irish trade. Demography might be destiny but don't try forecasting it. Housing & voting for the Shinners.

Inflation, inflation, inflation. US used car prices lead the way - up 41%. Wage inflation: problem or solution to inequality? Europe and US now on a very divergent interest rate path?

The Father Ted approach to policy. MMT - Magic Money Tree? Populism: playing to tribal & atavistic instincts - be very careful.

Cost of living crisis: how can it be the government's fault? Giving away borrowed money makes little sense. It just means higher future taxes or less money available for housing & health.

The empire strikes back - at least, Bitcoin enthusiasts try to

Britain's meltdown. Interest hikes for everyone. Facebook, Apple and Amazon: winner takes even more. Is Facebook for oldies only? Tax luck, not genius.

Johnson goes full Trump

Electric cars go mainstream. Tech earnings still booming - put windfall taxes on those profits in a Sovereign Wealth Fund. Euro interest rates up twice this year?

We are nowhere near building enough houses - blame the NIMBYS. Pension or Party? Jim does damp January

IMF admits a big forecast error - stagflation beckons? Britain is no longer a serious country - beware electing populist politicians bearing simple solutions.

Stock markets to fall 50%? Bitcoin signals risk ahead. Disappearing cash. Inflation: cost-of-living crisis looms. Who will replace Boris Johnson?

Bitcoin & Crypto: a response to our critics. Wealth taxes: now is the time? We try to avoid it but it isn't possible not to talk about Johnson.

Boris Johnson: The Summary (Verdict)

Our top financial tip for 2022! What about crypto? Johnson's latest gamble - could it save him? Covid is so much worse in Ireland, why? And an apology for tech glitch.

How many times can we use the word boom? 2021 tax take reaches €68bn.

America's next civil war: has it started? 10% of Londoners had Covid on New year's Eve. If hospitals fall over, blame the anti-vaxxers.