Financial Times (May 19)
In Ireland, “the jobless rate for the under-25s surged to 52.8 per cent in April,” up drastically from 12 per cent in February, and “the hit to young workers was not unique to Ireland.” For example, McKinsey has found that “workers aged 15-24 throughout Europe are almost twice as likely as those aged 25-54 to have jobs at risk’ 41 percent for the young; and 25 percent otherwise.
The Guardian (September 12)
“Here the issue… is that a British prime minister persists in asserting the impossible. He demands that Britain leave the European single market but with a gaping hole in its border, in Ireland. He wants a border and no border.” A no-deal Brexit would cause “chaos” in a worst case scenario, but “in Ireland it is physically impossible.”
Tags: Border, Brexit, Chaos, EU, Impossible, Ireland, No-deal, Prime minister, Single market, UK
The Irish Times (July 10)
“The Brexit planning document published by the Government on Tuesday is reminiscent of the warnings about the Irish economy and housing market that proliferated in the first phase of the economic crash a decade ago. It is one of the most alarming documents ever published by an Irish government…. Written in low-key officialise, it is a sobering read.”
Tags: Alarming, Brexit, Economic crash, Government, Housing market, Ireland, Planning, UK, Warnings
The Irish Times (March 15)
“Northern nationalism has shifted its view on the continued viability of the Northern Irish state.” A referendum is imminent and preparation essential for a unified Ireland. “A no-deal Brexit will lead to an instant call for a referendum…. If that happens, we’re into uncharted waters. That scenario is still only a few weeks away.” If there is a Brexit deal, “then the next census, due in 2021, will show a nationalist majority. At that point, it’s hard to see how a British secretary of state could resist calls for a border poll.”
Tags: Brexit, Census, Ireland, Majority, Nationalism, No-deal, Northern Ireland, Poll, Referendum, Unification
The Guardian (February 6)
“Donald Tusk should be criticised not for his malice, but his moderation. The European council president triggered a tsunami of confected outrage from leavers today when he observed, with some justice, that there should be a special place in hell for those who promoted Brexit without a plan. But he should have said far more. He should have added that, within that special place, there should be an executive suite of sleepless torment for those politicians who promoted Brexit without ever giving a stuff about Ireland.”
Tags: Brexit, Ireland, Leavers, Malice, Moderation, Outrage, Politicians, Torment, Tusk
Reuters (October 4)
Though Ireland still expects negative impacts from Brexit, the country is busy making lemonade with what otherwise might just be lemons. “Ireland’s central bank has seen a surge in financial services firms seeking to set up or extend their operations in Ireland as a result of Brexit and is processing over 100 applications.” So far, Barclays, Legal & General Investment Management and Standard Life Aberdeen are among the companies who have chosen Dublin as a post-Brexit base.”
Tags: Applications, Barclays, Brexit, Central bank, Dublin, Financial services, Ireland, Legal & General, Negative impacts, Standard Life Aberdeen, Surge
Washington Post (April 4)
“The Treasury Department on Monday took aim at U.S. companies moving their headquarters overseas to lower their tax bills, issuing aggressive new rules intended to make such moves less profitable and throwing a potential wrench into Pfizer’s recent $160 billion proposed deal to combine with Allergen and become an Irish company.”
Tags: Allergen, Headquarters, Ireland, Overseas. Taxes, Pfizer, Rules, Treasury, U.S.
New York Times (November 24)
If successful, the planned $160 billion merger between Pfizer and Allergan will “be the biggest deal in what has been a banner year for mergers, driven in part by consolidation in the health care and pharmaceutical sectors.” It also promises to focus more attention, mostly negative, on tax inversions, the practice it will be using to lower its tax bill by relocating its post-merger tax home to Ireland.
Tags: Allergan, Consolidation, Health care, Ireland, Merger, Pfizer, Pharmaceutical sectors, Tax inversions
Washington Post (October 27)
“Not many countries would cheer about an economic growth rate of one-tenth of 1 percent, sustained for a mere three months. But for Spain, which has been mired in negative growth for two years, the tiny uptick in the third quarter of 2013 represents a kind of breakthrough.” For Europe, however, this is just the slightest hint of a “silver lining in a what is still a very dense, dark cloud hanging over Europe’s economy. Spain and its fellow euro-zone debtors — Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Greece — don’t just need a trickle of growth to bring down their unemployment rates and debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratios. They need a gusher; many consecutive months of high-single-digit growth. And there is no short-term prospect of that.”
Tags: Breakthrough, Debt, Economy, Euro zone, Europe, GDP, Greece, Growth, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Unemployment, Uptick
Economist (April 28)
U.S. home prices have rapidly corrected, having “lost nearly all the real gains they notched up in the bubble period.” In contrast, the correction has been slower in Europe. “British, Irish and Spanish house prices are still well above their “fundamental” value, while those in America are about right.”
U.S. home prices have rapidly corrected, they “have lost nearly all the real gains they notched up in the bubble period.” In contrast, the correction has been slower in Europe. “British, Irish and Spanish house prices are still well above their “fundamental” value, while those in America are about right.”
Tags: Bubble, Correction, Housing prices, Ireland, Spain, U.S., UK
