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The Other Hand

Jim Power & Chris Johns

Economics and finance demystified.

A recent listener's comment:

"I first heard about ChatGPT on your podcast and immediately started using it. I’m 73 and wrote my first program at 16. Having witnessed all developments in computing down the years I think this is the greatest since www. Your pod is informative in many different areas, politics, economics, society changes, housing crisis etc but at times goes beyond that. This episode tying up all this but also the implications of AI with a knowledgeable guest. ENTHRALLING! Keep it coming."

cjpeconomics.substack.com

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560 - Time to end Trump's normalisation? UK budget: why did they bother? Natural Gas prices take off.

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560 - Time to end Trump's normalisation? UK budget: why did they bother? Natural Gas prices take off.
Tech bubble deflates a little further. More to come?
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Sun, 01 Nov 2026 - 40min
559 - The ECB will have to choose: rescue France or sink the Euro: Brazil, France & the world's debt problems. Have adults really taken over the UK government?
Has the old Vs young war started?
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Wed, 28 Oct 2026 - 38min
558 - The future has arrived. Hard and fast. Ungovernable France, oil back up, Putin's beatification.
Market shocks, AI anxiety, cyber risks, and a shaky European backdrop
This episode covers a fast-moving mix of markets, macroeconomics, and geopolitics. Chris and Jim move from oil and AI-driven equity volatility to cybersecurity scares, European weakness, UK consumer strain, and the growing pressure on France and the European car industry.The conversation is wide-ranging but tied together by one theme: the future is arriving faster than markets, governments, and businesses seem ready for.
Key topics
In this episode, Chris opens with oil at $114 a barrel and argues the move may reflect supply-demand tightening, stock drawdown, or delayed effects from earlier war-related shocks.They discuss the recent sell-off in AI-linked stocks and the simultaneous rally in US bonds, with lower Treasury yields driven by weak tech sentiment, extreme bearish bond positioning, and a search for safety.Jim highlights Meta’s quarterly results and the market’s growing focus on capital expenditure, compute infrastructure, and return on investment rather than revenue growth alone.The pair examine AI’s role in cybersecurity, including the discovery of major vulnerabilities and the alarming claim that 60% of British SMEs that suffer a successful cyberattack go out of business within six months.They note how AI is being used both to find vulnerabilities and to patch them, raising questions about whether the industry is getting a free marketing boost from each new security scare.Jim brings in inflation and PMI data from Japan and the euro area, showing that price pressure remains persistent while growth is slowing across the continent.France becomes a major focus, with weak PMIs, a budget deficit around 5% of GDP, debt near 119% of GDP, and 10-year borrowing costs above 5%, prompting comparisons with Greece and Spain.The discussion turns to UK consumers, with retail sales down 0.4% on the month and consumer confidence falling sharply, reinforcing the pressure heading into the next budget.They cover the UK mortgage market recovery, with first-time buyers accounting for 57% of Q3 mortgage drawdowns, while also contrasting current activity with the far larger pre-crisis peak.The European car market is framed as being under structural stress from Chinese competition, tariffs, raw material costs, and the EV transition, even as battery electric and hybrid sales continue to grow.Chris and Jim also discuss US tourism weakness, concerns about travel under Trump, and the political and reputational damage this could do to inbound visitor numbers.The episode closes on Ireland’s energy dependence on imported fossil fuels, planning resistance to renewables and data centres, and a furious condemnation of the Trump administration’s rhetoric on Putin.
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Sun, 25 Oct 2026 - 39min
557 - Upload your country's tax code to AI? Ask for personalised (legal) tax avoidance tips and tricks? Mental health issues in Ireland have little to do with the economy?
In this episode, Jim outlines the backdrop to the UK autumn budget: inflation rising to 3.5%, transport inflation at 6.6%, higher borrowing, and the likelihood of another Bank of England rate increase.The pair discuss the argument that the UK’s strength lies in high value professional services, including consulting, legal work, computer programming, and AI related business investment.They note that UK innovative companies have absorbed more than one-third of European venture capital in the first nine months of the year, reinforcing the case for not damaging the sector with heavier taxes.Jim and Chris revisit the debate over tax complexity, using Tim Harford’s critique of Britain’s “bad taxes” and examples like VAT oddities, National Insurance, and the enormous length of the UK tax code.The conversation highlights how complexity creates demand for tax lawyers and accountants, while AI may eventually let ordinary people search for loopholes or understand the system more easily.In energy, they discuss the UK government’s approval of the Jackdaw gas field and the proposed Rosebank oil field, framing both as pragmatic responses to energy security, jobs, and winter heating needs.They debate the tension between climate goals and the reality that the UK still needs fossil fuels, especially when domestic supply may have lower carbon consequences than importing liquefied gas from overseas.Chris explains that high oil and gas prices may partly reflect countries quietly rebuilding strategic reserves after running them down.The second half shifts to youth mental health, prompted by a Jigsaw report showing increased demand in Ireland for services and a deterioration in young people’s mental health.They explore possible causes: mobile phones, social media, war, housing pressure, job insecurity, AI related anxiety, and the weakening of friendship and community networks.Chris argues that data on mental health is hard to interpret because increased reporting may be driving some of the apparent rise, but he also notes there are real service backlogs, including 400,000 children waiting for mental health support in the UK.The discussion ends on a broader reflection that material living standards have improved over decades, so the explanation for worsening wellbeing may lie more in social connection than in economics alone.
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Thu, 22 Oct 2026 - 42min
556 - France's problems are unsolvable. Surprisingly, the UK's might not be. France and Germany cede the EV market to China.
Markets, France, AI, Billionaires, and the UK Welfare Crisis
This episode ranges from market history and Irish trade data to France’s fiscal bind, the geopolitics of AI infrastructure, billionaire wealth, and the UK’s welfare system. Chris and Jim move quickly between economics, politics, and technology, with a recurring theme: systems that look stable on the surface are under far more strain than most people realize.They also cover the strategic risks of AI and data centers, the pressure on Europe’s car industry from China, and the scale of the UK’s benefits problem, especially for younger people. It’s a wide-ranging conversation anchored in hard numbers and blunt political judgments.
Key topics
In this episode, Chris and Jim revisit Black Monday and how shocks in markets can create outsized winners in bonds when equities sell off.Jim walks through Ireland’s merchandise trade data for the first eight months of the year, including a 23.9% drop in exports overall and major swings in chemical and pharma trade.They discuss China’s stronger than expected Q3 growth, driven by policy easing, exports, high-tech manufacturing, AI-related components, and EVs.Chris argues that some of China’s export strength likely reflects dual-use trade tied to Russia and Iran, especially military components.The conversation turns to France, where protests are framed as a symptom of a deeper fiscal and pension crisis rather than only street unrest.Chris says France’s pay as you go pension system, low pension age, and rising bond yields point to a real debt and fiscal problem.They examine the Franco-German push to soften the 2035 internal combustion engine phaseout, which Chris and Jim both view as a strategic retreat in the face of Chinese EV competition.AI infrastructure becomes a major focus, with concern over delayed data centers, financing pressure, community backlash, and whether current AI revenues can justify the investment boom.Chris raises a strategic security concern: if AI and cloud systems are controlled by a small number of US tech oligarchs, they can be used as leverage through a simple off switch.They discuss the moral and economic case around billionaires, including arguments that innovators create large social value even if wealth is also shaped by privilege and unfair tax treatment.The episode closes on the UK welfare system, where Chris lays out alarming data on sickness benefits, young people being written off, and a system that appears to trap people rather than help them back into work.
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Tue, 20 Oct 2026 - 43min
555 - The coming battle for Europe. Will the right triumph in the upcoming wave of elections? Frankenstein unleashed?
Will 2027 see a General Election in the UK?
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Fri, 16 Oct 2026 - 43min
554 - Is home ownership overrated? Will the turmoil in bond markets 'cure' the house price problem?
This episode covers a wide-ranging macro and geopolitics conversation, starting with Irish residential property prices and the affordability squeeze, then moving into China’s pressure on the European car industry, IMF growth and fiscal warnings, and finally the security risks created by everything being connected to the internet. The discussion closes with the Nobel Prize in Economics and why Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford matter for modern central banking.
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Wed, 14 Oct 2026 - 35min
553 - Should the fiscal watchdog be anxious? Many others are. American psycho?
In this episode:
Chris argues the Irish government is spending too much of temporary corporation tax revenue on permanent commitments, citing IFAC’s warning that the state is spending six out of every seven euros from corporation tax.
Jim pushes back on the budget politics
saying ministers faced strong departmental pressure and that the six percent spending target, even if imperfect, may be a reasonable outcome in context.
Tax policy gets a mixed verdict:
both agree the budget was better for taxpayers than last year, but Chris says the increases in thresholds and credits still lag inflation and do not restore real purchasing power.
Capital gains tax is singled out as a growth lever
with Jim welcoming the cut from 33 percent to 31 percent but arguing it should eventually return to 20 percent.
Irish inflation is still running hot
with Jim noting September CPI at 4.1 percent, driven by mortgage interest, electricity, and home heating oil rather than the domestic economy.
Manufacturing output shows a split economy
, with overall output up 5.8 percent year on year, but the modern sector down 6.8 percent while the traditional sector edged up 0.8 percent.
The conversation turns to youth mental health
after Chris cites a UK report showing a 50 percent increase in reported autism and ADHD among young people since 1993.
They connect mental distress to wider social pressures
including long waiting lists, NEET levels, poverty, housing, screen addiction, environmental anxiety, war, and fear of AI-driven job loss.
Jim argues intergenerational inequality is worsening
saying many young people expect to be less well off than their parents because they struggle to build assets, especially through housing.
Inheritance tax becomes a flashpoint
with Jim calling it reprehensible and arguing for a far larger increase or abolition, while Chris notes that only 4% of estates in the UK actually pay any inheritance tax.
US politics comes under fire
especially the planned live-streaming of a firing squad execution and restrictions on skilled immigration through H1B and green card sponsorship pathways.
A provocative argument about porn and social media
suggests modern platforms inherited their attention-grabbing mechanics from the porn industry, helping explain addictive scrolling and algorithmic design.
The Green Party’s momentum appears to have collapsed
with Chris and Jim noting Zack Polanski’s by-election setback and criticising the party’s shift away from environmental politics toward hard-left activist positions.
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Mon, 12 Oct 2026 - 37min
552 - Podcast special: A fireside chat between Jim, Minister Jack Chambers, Cormac Fitzgerald & Cróna Clohisey
In this episode, Minister Jack Chambers says Budget 27 was built around balance - protecting long-term capital investment while responding to cost of living pressures.Chambers says next year’s capital investment will exceed 20 billion euro, and that day-to-day spending growth has been brought down from an average of 9% to about 6%.Jim Power argues the budget is positive overall, especially on personal tax relief, the investment account, and the reduction in capital gains tax from 33% to 31%.Power warns that Ireland’s public finances depend heavily on a small number of multinational firms, pointing to concentration risk in corporation tax receipts and the need for prudent spending.Cormac Fitzgerald says SMEs remain under pressure from labour costs, energy costs, PRSI increases, auto-enrolment, and rising compliance burdens.Fitzgerald welcomes the new investment savings scheme and says SME support should be strengthened in the Finance Bill or Budget 28.Cróna Clohisey says the budget’s administrative simplification measures matter, especially the removal of real-time benefit reporting requirements.Clohisey also stresses that labour costs are the biggest issue for SMEs and says employers’ PRSI relief would have helped.Chambers repeatedly returns to the need for public spending efficiency, saying the state must deliver better outcomes rather than simply spend more.The panel agrees that simplification, predictable regulation, and better delivery from the state are essential if Ireland is to support both business growth and public trust.
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Sun, 11 Oct 2026 - 49min
551 - Podcast special: initial reaction to the Irish budget
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Tue, 06 Oct 2026 - 15min
550 - Budget week is here. Simple narratives versus complex reality. And some method acting.
In this episode, Jim breaks down the Irish Department of Finance white paper and says the public finances still look strong, with a forecast general government surplus of 6.9 billion euro this year and 13.5 billion euro in 2027.The conversation focuses on corporation tax, which is forecast at 34.1 billion euro this year and 39 billion euro next year, but below an earlier projection of 35.3 billion euro.Jim stresses that October and November are still crucial months for corporation tax, so the apparent undershoot may not tell the full story yet.Chris raises the warning - yet again - that Ireland’s corporation tax base is becoming dangerously concentrated, with a small number of multinational companies accounting for a huge share of receipts.Jim notes that income tax, corporation tax, and VAT make up 89.9% of total tax take, showing how much the budget depends on a very small number of revenue streams.The discussion turns to the government’s likely 8.5 billion euro budget package, and the political impossibility of satisfying workers, businesses, unions, students, welfare recipients, and public service groups at once.Chris argues for a long-term strategy of explaining fiscal reality to the public, especially the danger of using temporary tax revenues for permanent spending.Jim pushes back, saying political reality makes that kind of strategy hard to deliver, especially under pressure from industrial action, election incentives, and short-term budget politics.We move to housing, using Spain’s snap election and housing protests to show that housing affordability is a global issue, not a uniquely Irish or British one.The episode includes a broader reflection on how people and politicians handle complexity, whether on immigration, Israel-Palestine, or fiscal policy, and how often narratives overpower data. And extra holes in belts.
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Tue, 06 Oct 2026 - 37min
549 - Financial repression in all our futures? Faling real wages in the US help explain the Trump slump. A Burnham bounce?
This week, Chris and Jim unpack a volatile run of economic data and what it means for markets, growth and household finances.
US jobs and wages:
A weaker-than-expected employment report shifts expectations for interest rates, while falling real wages raise questions about living standards.
Growth, inflation and rates:
Why resilient growth alongside renewed inflation is making the outlook harder for central banks to read.
The bond-market story:
Rising government borrowing costs, fiscal pressure and the unusual resilience of equity markets.
Financial repression explained:
How inflation and negative real interest rates can quietly reduce the burden of government debt.
Europe’s fiscal fault lines:
Why debt dynamics look different across the US, UK, France and the eurozone.
A brighter UK outlook:
Improved growth data, the role of AI investment and whether confidence could help sustain momentum.
Ireland ahead of the budget:
Labour-market signals, consumer spending, tax receipts and the changing car market.
Electric vehicles and China:
The rapid rise of EVs, used-car imports, Chinese manufacturing and the battery race.
Wider political risks:
Reflections on Northern Ireland, US political rhetoric and escalating threats around Ukraine.
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Sun, 04 Oct 2026 - 38min
548 - The alien spaceships have arrived - it turns out that we built them
This episode ranges from the latest AI headlines and the existential risk debate to the way AI investment is showing up in inflation, bond yields, and central bank thinking.
It also turns to Ireland’s budget season, EU budget tensions, and why both speakers think fiscal policy has become too much of a political circus.
Chris and Jim argue that the big story is not just productivity from AI, but also the inflationary pressure from massive data centre investment, energy demand, and supply constraints. They also dig into why governments keep treating budgets like a one-off spectacle instead of a long-term strategy.
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Wed, 30 Sep 2026 - 39min
547 - The Times They Are A-Changin' - especially if AI represents a new, second inflationary shock.
This conversation breaks down the latest economic data and what it means for markets, inflation, and central bank policy. Jim and Chris focus on the surprise strength in US, European, and German indicators, then dig into whether the AI investment boom is no longer just a productivity story but a broader inflation and wage impulse.

They also cover soaring bond yields, the OECD’s mixed forecasts, record global debt, and the growing risk that geopolitical tensions and war could reshape the economic outlook.
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Fri, 25 Sep 2026 - 35min
546 - House prices, performative fiscal theatre and the existential threat facing the EU.
This episode ranges from a personal Camino de Santiago walk to a hard-edged discussion about housing markets, public finances, and political risk in the UK and Europe. Chris and Jim connect the dots between weak growth, planning bottlenecks, budget theatre, and the social strain that builds when economies stop expanding.We discuss Ireland’s housing market cooling, the UK’s fiscal outlook ahead of the budget, and why policy uncertainty is making long-term investment harder. The conversation also widens to Germany, France, the EU budget, and the bigger question of whether Western political systems can still sustain growth.
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Wed, 23 Sep 2026 - 38min
545 - Interest rates on the up. Carney sticks it to Trump - and the UK
UK's moron premium proves very sticky
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Sun, 20 Sep 2026 - 32min
544 - Can an array of Nvidia chips really be conscious? And kill us all?
In conversation with Professor Shane O'Mara
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Fri, 18 Sep 2026 - 47min
543 - Donald Trump says it is as big a hoax as climate change. But there are now real fears about our AI future
In this special edition of The Other Hand, host Chris is joined by journalist Sarah Carey and AI entrepreneur Sean Blanchfield (CEO and co-founder of Jentic) for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence. Sarah opens with a vivid first-hand account of attending Donald Trump's press conference at the US Ambassador's residence in Dublin. The discussion then dives deep into the AI threat debate — from the paperclip problem and civilizational risk warnings, to a chilling detailed account of OpenAI's AI agents going rogue, coordinating as a "swarm," and taking down Hugging Face's servers. Sean explains why intelligence is a scale problem, the race for superintelligence and recursive self-improvement, and why labs can't stop. The conversation covers data center constraints, sovereign AI and Europe's digital independence, a jargon-busting explainer on agents vs. LLMs vs. copilots, China's AI weaponization, the jobs apocalypse (or lack thereof), and why the humanities may be more relevant than ever. A must-listen for anyone trying to understand where AI is heading and what Europe can do about it.
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Wed, 16 Sep 2026 - 52min
542 - The rise of the right: It's all about immigration. And modern Caligulas.
Wildfires have been diminishing in size. Who knew?
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Sun, 13 Sep 2026 - 30min
541 - Are we getting dumber? Almost certainly, as AI is going to kill us all. Apparently.
Will the universe miss us?
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Fri, 11 Sep 2026 - 26min
540 - House prices will stay elevated until the economy tanks. Will Uncle Sam ask Ireland for its money back?
Peak stuff
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Sun, 06 Sep 2026 - 37min
539 - Interest rates going up on both sides of the Atlantic. Bonds crash and could spark a real problem - for everyone
Don't mess with Canada
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Thu, 03 Sep 2026 - 38min
538 - Big Tech's Britney Spears defence. Proving we are human is becoming increasingly difficult.
In conversation with Joan Mulvihill
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Wed, 02 Sep 2026 - 44min
537 - US, UK and Irish political scene setting. In conversation with Sarah Carey
Occasionally sounding rather unsound....
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Sun, 30 Aug 2026 - 41min
536 - The forever war in Ukraine. The death of the pub? Where is the cheapest pint in London? Marking AI's homework
The new war between Canada & The US
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Wed, 26 Aug 2026 - 40min
535 - AI will get you 80% of the way there. Economic D-day declared by Trump. US bond buying bombs.
All the latest data
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Sun, 23 Aug 2026 - 32min
534 - Higher interest rates on the way? Japan to blow up the financial world?
Who is responsible?
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Wed, 19 Aug 2026 - 37min
533 - Banks are destined to go the way of video stores and travel agents. In the age of AI are we also living in the stupid age?
Jim finishes up in Wales
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Sun, 16 Aug 2026 - 38min
532 - Inflation is the dog that is yet to bark - loudly anyway.
Is Jim in denial?
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Fri, 14 Aug 2026 - 32min
531 - Does education pay off? What is education for anyway?
Will it ever rain again?
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Wed, 12 Aug 2026 - 42min
530 - Cost of living crisis, inflation & debt. The Finance Minister is drowning (in cash) not waving.
Why are we so bad at planning, procurement & budgeting?
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Sun, 09 Aug 2026 - 43min
529 - Ireland-UK vibes. A rapidly changing world. AI hysteria
All the latest data
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Thu, 06 Aug 2026 - 39min
528 - Plato said we should be ruled by philosopher kings. The Tech Bros seem to agree. Democracy is so over.
Ireland distorts the economic data, again.
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Sun, 02 Aug 2026 - 48min
527 - Is the AI bubble bursting or just deflating? What will a stockmarket crash do to the Irish economy?
Does regional development ever work?
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Tue, 28 Jul 2026 - 39min
526 - Ireland's budget circus rolls into town. No strategic thinking wanted.
Rain is in the forecast
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 - 35min
525 - Does 'The Odyssey' predict we are going the way of the ancient Greeks? Is Trump riding our version of the Trojan Horse?
Tariffs are back....
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Wed, 22 Jul 2026 - 37min
524 - Is Trump about to rig the next election? 2028: will there ever be better year for China to seize Taiwan?
Tech rout? Correction? Another 'buy the dip'?
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Sun, 19 Jul 2026 - 42min
523 - Does immigration cause high house prices? The role of luck and policy in economic destiny
Argentine finances and football
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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 - 33min
522 - A Kremlin insider speaks - we should all listen. Latest IMF forecasts.
Ireland's massive miss on carbon emissions
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Sun, 12 Jul 2026 - 25min
521 - A deep dive into the Irish economy - from the bottom up.
Jim in conversation with Stephen Cass
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Fri, 10 Jul 2026 - 43min
520 - Corporation taxes: Boom or bust? Both? Farage begins his long goodbye
AI's losers
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Wed, 08 Jul 2026 - 34min
519 - The largest indigenous Irish business is......Tourism. Bigger than construction, bigger than agriculture.
In conversation with ITIC's CEO, Eoghan O'Mara Walsh
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Thu, 02 Jul 2026 - 36min
518 - Jobs apocalypse for the car industry? Pensions apocalypse? BIS warns (again) about AI bust.
Ukraine vibe shift
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Tue, 30 Jun 2026 - 33min
517 - Burnham's impending coronation and Brexit's 'Assault on thinking'.
Can AI count?
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Fri, 26 Jun 2026 - 40min
516 - Is humanity a bump in the road for AI? Ethics & the tech bros.
In conversation with Joan Mulvihill
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Wed, 24 Jun 2026 - 40min
515 - Donald Trump loses the war. Some AI slop. Risk Vs Uncertainty
All the latest data
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Sat, 20 Jun 2026 - 38min
514 - They think it's all over. Society: is there such a thing? A White House cage fight.
A Presidential shower
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Tue, 16 Jun 2026 - 36min
513 - Hoping for the end of the war. Higher interest rates in Europe but not the US?
The Other Hand discovers it is a humanist podcast
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Sun, 14 Jun 2026 - 36min
512 - Brexit has failed. Everything going wrong in the UK is now connected to that simple fact.
In conversation with Professor Chris Grey
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Fri, 12 Jun 2026 - 54min
511 - The UK is not the country that J D Vance and Farage says it is. The Irish economy did not shrink by 12%
All the latest data
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Tue, 09 Jun 2026 - 36min
510 - The biggest and hardest questions. Perhaps some answers? In conversation with Sarah Carey.
It's all about connection
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Thu, 04 Jun 2026 - 59min
509 - Has the UK rejoined the EU already? Interest rates are going to rise. Should they?
Does Trump care about the mid-terms?
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Fri, 29 May 2026 - 35min
508 - The Pope & Jim offer differing perspectives on tech. The robots are coming and they are Chinese
Social media is the new smoking
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Tue, 26 May 2026 - 35min
507 - Are you lower value human capital? Ireland's Labour market is slowing.
London is hated.
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Sat, 23 May 2026 - 33min
506 - Is AI coming for your job? US petrol stations can't handle $10 gasoline. Neither can its economy.
The UK is no longer a serious country
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Wed, 20 May 2026 - 33min
505 - From moron premium to plonker premium: UK borrowing costs soar. Global inflation and interest rates are on the up
It's all beginning to feel a bit dot.commy
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Sat, 16 May 2026 - 37min
504 - Ireland's budget circus resumes. Productivity growth finally starts again in the US
The UK is ungoverned, not ungovernable.
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Wed, 13 May 2026 - 37min
503 - The past ain't what many of us remember. Populists promise a return to the good old days.
Follow their money
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Sat, 09 May 2026 - 38min
502 - Rising racism, rising bond yields, rising populism: the UK is in a terrible place
We can't handle the truth
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Wed, 06 May 2026 - 36min
501 - What happens when only 4 trillionaires have all the income? And our parliaments are occupied by chatbots?
No representation without taxation
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Fri, 01 May 2026 - 35min
500 - UK to get Irish green credits? We could have cheap EVs but instead face multi-billion fines.
All the latest economic news
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Wed, 29 Apr 2026 - 33min
499 - Podcast Special: In conversation with Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment
Ireland's Economic Future
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Thu, 23 Apr 2026 - 39min
498 - Podcast Short: Jim on the Summer Economic Statement
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Wed, 22 Apr 2026 - 11min
497 - Wanted: grown up politicians willing to have adult conversations.
AI: good or bad for interest rates & inflation?
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Tue, 21 Apr 2026 - 30min
496 - Peace in our time? Keir Starmer needs to go.
Ireland buys off the mob - there will be consequences
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Sat, 18 Apr 2026 - 32min
495 - They think it's all over. FOMO, TINA, markets & the $. China & Iran are the big winners of the war
Standing our ground on the fuel protests
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Wed, 15 Apr 2026 - 34min
494 - IMF explains why cutting fuel taxes now is a dumb idea. Is war coming for all of us?
Markets cannot price disaster properly
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Sun, 12 Apr 2026 - 34min
493 - Inflation up, more to come? US petrol over $4 a gallon. Ours is over double that.
What, exactly, do the fuel protesters want?
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Fri, 10 Apr 2026 - 38min
492 - Stagflation: more flation than stag? Or just bad? How much evil can we tolerate?
A mad, bad world.
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Tue, 07 Apr 2026 - 36min
491 - Trump surrenders to Iran? From TACO to WACO.
Iran is now one of the most economically powerful countries on earth
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Wed, 01 Apr 2026 - 27min
490 - The dogs of war - mostly barking, one or two surprisingly quiet
Will Farage's links to Trump hurt Reform?
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Mon, 30 Mar 2026 - 38min
489 - Brexit - for the first time in ages. And the war.
Is the US economy in worse shape than we thought?
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Fri, 20 Mar 2026 - 35min
488 - Here we go again - supply chains. From Urea to Silicon Chips.
"Iran is winning"
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Thu, 19 Mar 2026 - 29min
487 - The world has changed. For central bankers especially. But also for everyone
An early St Patrick's Day greeting
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Mon, 16 Mar 2026 - 28min
486 - Tick Tock. Each day things get a little worse.
Interest rates might be heading up
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Fri, 13 Mar 2026 - 32min
485 - Don't panic! Not yet, anyway
Markets are worried, but not particularly so
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Mon, 09 Mar 2026 - 31min
484 - What's the plan? Gaza writ large?
And all the latest economic news & data
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Sun, 08 Mar 2026 - 35min
483 - Podcast special: War, AI, Slow Learners and Art with Joan Mulvihill
First live podcast (a recording)
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Wed, 04 Mar 2026 - 44min
482 - War. Is the energy price shock the least of it?
Geopolitics. Again
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Mon, 02 Mar 2026 - 37min
481 - Shadow banks: another crisis brewing? Is AI good or bad?
Is your job safe?
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Fri, 27 Feb 2026 - 34min
480 - Trump throws a tantrum Markets yawn.
Money, Andrew and the British monarchy
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Tue, 24 Feb 2026 - 35min
479 - Europe deserves much a better press. As does liberal democracy
Weep for it when it's gone
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Wed, 18 Feb 2026 - 36min
478 - Why have the Epstein files only snared European Royals and Politicians? Conspiracy or coincidence?
British politics are beyond redemption
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Tue, 10 Feb 2026 - 32min
477 - Jim's update on the Irish & world economy & markets
A solo run
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Sun, 08 Feb 2026 - 15min
476 - Is the AI race winnable?Where is the ROI & productivity?
In conversation with Joan Mulvihill
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Mon, 02 Feb 2026 - 34min
475 - Is Trump just another mad mullah?
Strange goings on in financial markets
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Thu, 29 Jan 2026 - 29min
474 - Europe must now decide. Reality has bitten
Carney was right.
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Sun, 25 Jan 2026 - 32min
473 - A new Berlin Wall moment. Just not quite so good as the last one.
TACO Trump - the last hope?
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Tue, 20 Jan 2026 - 31min
472 - World economy in great shape? Not so fast!
Things look great. Until we look deeper.
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Wed, 07 Jan 2026 - 30min
471 - Looking backwards, looking forwards.
Thanks to all our listeners
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Mon, 29 Dec 2025 - 38min
470 - 'A numbed & dumbed generation'. Is it too late to regulate tech? Or is it now too big to fail?
In conversation with Joan Mulvihill
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Mon, 22 Dec 2025 - 46min
469 - Give the task of managing the domestic economy to the IDA. Restrict the Finance Ministry to bean counting
Bought a book lately?
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Fri, 19 Dec 2025 - 28min
468 - The assault on Ireland's reputation and soft power.
Some of the punches are landing
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Tue, 16 Dec 2025 - 33min
467 - Is inflation on the rise again? Britain to rejoin the EU? ChatGPT looks tired.
Starmer looks finished
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Sat, 13 Dec 2025 - 34min
466 - Trump declares war on the EU. It's time for someone to stand up. Anyone.
It's time for rage
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Wed, 10 Dec 2025 - 31min
465 - Maybe Irish corporation taxes are destined never to collapse? Famous last words? The Department of Yes and No
A big week for economic data
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Sat, 06 Dec 2025 - 33min
464 - An American Oligarchy takes shape. Russia leads, Trump follows.
OECD economic forecasts
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Wed, 03 Dec 2025 - 31min
463 - UK & Irish tax & govt. spending: a real drag. An explanation of the the USA - Russia bromance
Vance & co hate Europe because......
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Sat, 29 Nov 2025 - 32min
462 - Could anybody get elected in Ireland on a platform of fiscal restraint? Reeves last budget?
A tale of two budgets. Or not.
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Wed, 26 Nov 2025 - 30min
461 - Ukraine is sold out by America. The weird connections between Hobbits, right-wing nutjobs and Moscow.
All the latest data
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Mon, 24 Nov 2025 - 31min