Tag: Central Bank
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Veni, Vidi, Vitavi – Jean Claude Trichet and Ireland
The departure of Patrick honohan from the central bank caps a week where the Irish public saw the true reality of central bank independence.
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Interrogating God, the Central Banking Version
Today at the banking enquiry in the Irish parliament parliamentarians will get a unique opportunity, to interview and interrogate God. I say God, but whom I really mean is Patrick Honohan.
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Why are Buy to Let Mortgages being allowed fester?
The mortgage crisis is the rancid gift that keeps on oozing. The publication this week by the Department of Finance of mortgage arrears figures highlights the festering lethargy that has characterised much of the Irish response to the financial crisis. That it publishes slightly different figures on the same issue as the central bank highlights the embedded…
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None so deaf as those that will not hear….(AKA Irish Elites)
There was an interesting book launch last night at the Long Room in TCD. Phillipe Legrain is on a tour of various places, doing local and localized launches of his new book. He, and Senator Sean Barrett who gave the launch, delivered very strong, impassioned speeches. In his book Legrain lays a large quantum of the…
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The ECB experiment
This is a version of my column in the Irish Examiner of 26 April 2014. Macroeconomics is hard. Its hard because there are actually few coherent theories, such internally coherent theories as we have oftent tend to be at odds with reality, data are of fairly low frequency (monthly usually) and we cant run experiments…
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The Banking Union: what’s in it for Ireland?
This is an expanded version of an OpEd in the Irish Examiner published 15 December 2012 The new banking union proposals that are now emerging from the wreckage of the European economy are to be given a (very) cautious welcome. Without going the whole Naomi Klein “shock doctrine” route, its very clear that once again…
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Green Jerseys, False Colours and the Irish Bond Market
There is a most interesting letter (of the Green jersey type) in the Irish Times this morning. It is from a Donal O’Mahony of Shankill and is on the wonderful performance of Irish government bonds. Ireland is truly lucky to have this sage, and also to have his namesake Donal O’Mahony the head of debt research at Davy…
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Can investors not afford firesales or just dont want to engage in them?
Property prices in Ireland have dropped precipitously and yet we still see few (apart from those that Alssop Space) enough investment properties (buy to lets) coming on the market deeply discounted. A fascinating study (firewall alas) suggests that it is not simply an unwillingness or inability to lock in the loss that causes people to hang on. The authors employ a survey of 750…
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After Merkel…Ireland’s unpalatable choices
So, it seems now that Dr Merkel backs the idea that no, there should be no retrospective debt deal. Where does that leave us? We have invested 20+ billion into the pillar banks (or another word starting with P and ending in X as a noted economist of many years standing is wont to call…