EU – Page 79 – Slugger O'Toole

Economic Crisis Blogburst 3: Take the money or open the box?

Mick Fealty on November 17, 2010, 10:03 am

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Apart from John’s piece, one thing anyone should get a hold of after ten this morning when it goes up, is the economic crisis panel from this morning’s Morning Ireland broadcast. IN particular, Aine Lawlor’s lacerating interview with Brian Lenihan, who seems to be slowly capitulating to the international pressure, and which concluded with the rhetorical question: “Does that mean the government, the soldiers of destiny have failed us.” Okay, here’s the best of the rest this morning… – The …

Republic of Ireland (1949-2010)

John Ó Néill on November 17, 2010, 8:23 am

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Nice quote from the Irish Times to begin the morning: “When you borrow, you lose a little bit of your sovereignty, no matter who you borrow from.” So said Brian Lenihan, last Finance minister of the sovereign Republic (sic) of Ireland. From a government that had promoted reckless borrowing, a property boom and general fiscal anarchy, you can either take it as a belated admission of guilt or a unique moment of clarity. I would like to believe there has been a note of …

Economic crisis blogburst 2: Not an overnight crisis…

Mick Fealty on November 16, 2010, 3:04 pm

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Okay, the news is coming thick and fast so here’s a slice of today’s comment, bloggish and otherwise: – Ronan has a piece pointing out that whilst other periphery countries have their budgets in the public domain, Brian Lenihan is having to work with the most unbearable public scrutiny and an EU Commissioner taking in everything he does over his shoulder: Is this the crux of that economic sovereignty issue we keep hearing about: …no-one in Europe wins if, for …

Van Rompuy: “We’re in a survival crisis”

Pete Baker on November 16, 2010, 1:49 pm

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The Irish Minister for European Affairs, Dick Roche, tells European finance ministers not to “panic“… as the EU President, Herman Van Rompuy, panics? A Guardian report indicates the extent of the concern “The Irish problem is spreading, but it could get more volatile,” said Ashok Shah, chief investment officer at London Capital, a fund management firm. “They have to get this bailout, they have a period of time before it gets impossible, before nasty things happen. The longer they leave it, …

Guardian poll supports British help for Ireland

Brian Walker on November 16, 2010, 10:20 am

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Is this genuine, generous solidarity, the like of which would not be extended to any other country or a cunning Irish write-in? Ireland bailout: should Britain foot the bill? 59.2% Yes 40.8% No Bearing in mind…　 Ireland bailout: UK taxpayers could face £7bn bill But the Wall St Journal plays down the threat to sterling… Debt stresses in nearby Ireland therefore are unlikely to derail the pound’s outlook for now at least. In fact, they are “something of a small positive …

Irish showdown likely in Brussels tonight

Brian Walker on November 16, 2010, 12:25 am

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“The creditors say please take the money, and the debtor says ‘we don’t want it’. It’s very odd..” says one observer of the Irish financial crisis. Dublin is resisting an ECB-inspired bailout because it fears the likely terms will damage their holy grail, the prospects for future growth, by imposing virtually insupportable terms like ending 12.5% company tax. On the other hand, you might think it’s just as peculiar for the ECB to insist on Ireland taking the money when …

Economic crisis blogburst 1: Government in denial of bailout

Mick Fealty on November 15, 2010, 1:40 pm

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The sovereign/bank debt story has moved on over the weekend, with the Government denying it was talking about triggering a bailout, and everybody else talking about the likihood that they would. So, with little or no attempt to editorialise, here’s some of the best commentary of the day: – Dan O’Brien suggests this is no longer a domestic only issue. The question of a bail out for Ireland may be secondary to a larger crisis in the Eurozone… – As …

Latest- Pressure coming from ECB.. EU about to make an offer Ireland can’t refuse?

Brian Walker on November 15, 2010, 1:36 pm

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3 pm . While RTE reports only the Commission saying ” it isn’t us” The Irish Times reports that the pressure for a bailout is coming from the European Central Bank in order to ease pressure on Irish banks rather than the State directly.. European Central Bank vice president Vitor Constancio said Ireland could use the European Financial Stability Facility to help prop up its banking system to restore investor confidence. “The problems of the Irish banking sector are not …

The new comments system is here

Slugger O'Toole on November 14, 2010, 3:48 pm

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We’ve just added our new comments system to the site. Have a look? The thinking behind it can be seen on this post from a few months ago. It will help us do the following things: Help readers find the best comments quickly. We often have 100+ comments on a thread. You will now be able to highlight the points that you agree with and that you think are original or well-made points. See who you regularly agree / disagree …

Reuters: “Talks are ongoing and European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) money will be used”

Pete Baker on November 13, 2010, 3:43 pm

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Despite the apparent ‘good news’ yesterday, it appears the pessimists may be right after all. The BBC picks up on a Reuters report quoting “euro zone” sources Euro zone sources told Reuters that aid discussions were under way, however. One official said it was “very likely” that Ireland would get financial assistance from the EU facility set up after Greece obtained a 110 billion euro bailout in May. “Talks are ongoing and European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) money will be …

Pressure on Ireland eases as jeremiah Kelly attacked for feeding gloom

Brian Walker on November 12, 2010, 8:57 pm

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Good news. The forces of light are fighting back! Pressures on Dublin have eased slightly after the EU Finance Ministers’ reassure bond holders that burden sharing doesn’t start until 2013. Did all those hot shots not know that? Biffo is doing his best to cool persistent rumours of an imminent bailout. Meanwhile arch jeremiah Morgan Kelly is taken to task by Davy strategist Donal O’Mahoney for spreading contagion, identifying a phoney ” mortgage war” and (as I read it) taking delight …

Matching vote and belief? (we love our graphs)

Blank on November 12, 2010, 7:10 pm

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I’m not sure which topic suggestions for the unconference I’ll be supporting or attending – I’m considering removing the idea I have near the top of the list and promoting my lower rated one. That’s the joy of the format, what happens will only become clear on the day and will be defined by those that decide to attend. As part of getting in the mood and seeing if a discussion could form around it I thought I’d return to …

Financial crisis widens gap between north and south

Brian Walker on November 12, 2010, 10:29 am

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Wars , famine and internal government crises were meat and drink to my generation of journalists as we were growing up. Sure enough, we vaguely registered ” the gnomes of Zurich ” who had to be appeased moments before yet another devolution of sterling crashed over us. But the end of “Bretton Woods” and the birth of ” the snake” were all arcana from the pink pages we could safely leave to the better-dressed money people as we coped with …

“Putting Ireland and the IMF in the same sentence can trigger palpitations in the credit markets”

Pete Baker on November 11, 2010, 4:16 pm

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According to an iol report, Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is blaming German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the rising cost of Ireland’s borrowing. Perhaps he’s been channeling Sarah Carey in today’s Irish Times? Meanwhile RTÉ notes that Elsewhere, the Minister for Finance has said the main reason why Irish bonds yields are rising is because of uncertainty surrounding European Union plans for future debt. However, Brian Lenihan also said it appeared that the markets did not fully believe the bank …

The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention?

Pete Baker on November 11, 2010, 3:33 pm

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That’s the title of University of Leicester archaeologist Simon James’ book [published in 1999] in which he attempts to separate history from the myth – available on Amazon. There’s also an introduction to his argument here. And as Will Crawley notes, Simon James will deliver a free public lecture tonight at 6pm at W5 in the Odyssey Complex – tea and coffee from 5.30pm. It’s the inaugural lecture in a Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure sponsored ‘Exploring Culture’ series of lectures. Here’s …

Olli Rehn says consensus would be of great benefit to Ireland

Pete Baker on November 8, 2010, 11:05 pm

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The ECB might have “the keys to Ireland’s silver”, but there may be some loose ends to tie up. There’s also a counter-argument to Morgan Kelly’s analysis here. The European Commission’s Internal Markets Commissioner, Michel Barnier, can “see light at the end of the tunnel…” Not excluding the possibility of an oncoming train… And as RTÉ reports European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn has called for political consensus to back the Government’s four-year economic plan and the Budget. Which is …

“I see light at the end of the tunnel…”

Pete Baker on November 5, 2010, 4:09 pm

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That was the optimistic assessment the European Commission’s Internal Markets Commissioner, Michel Barnier, gave to the Oireachtas European Affairs committee today. Of course, it could be an oncoming train… Pete Baker

Karl Whelan: “They have taken far too long to admit the scale of the fiscal problem that we are facing”

Pete Baker on November 4, 2010, 4:48 pm

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Today the Irish Economy blog called for a little escapism, with Irish 10-year bonds at 7.601%… And the Irish Independent noted yesterday that Irish yields had risen for six days in a row. [Make that seven? – Ed] “The amount of selling has been relatively small, but the market is all sellers and no buyers, which drives up the yield. The ECB has come in to prevent this becoming a rout,” said Padhraic Garvey, Head of Developed Markets Debt at …

New site features – on the site and in the pipeline

Mick Fealty on November 4, 2010, 1:30 pm

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Observant visitors will have noticed our new regional and topic-based navigation. We hope you like it. It’s all part of a great job that Simon Dickson and Simon Wheatley have been doing for us over recent months. It was actually ready to go a few months ago but we were waiting for our bloggers to get into the habit of using the ‘Region’ categories. Most have started doing this but some haven’t (I’m looking at you Mr Walker!). Also, in …

O’Toole’s New Republic – unfinished business or just a dream?

Brian Walker on November 1, 2010, 8:04 pm

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More as a trailer than a review – as it’s out on Thursday– I draw attention to Fintan O’Toole’s latest polemic “Enough is Enough – how to build a new Republic“. Fintan has been promoting the book vigorously on this side of the water, on Radio 4’s Start the Week and here at greater length in an interview on Radio 3’s Night Waves (first interview)). A pity he didn’t link both parts of Ireland in his modernisation project. Note his …