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Matt Cooper: Letter row raises question of whether we get ‘two for one’ when we elect a president

It is not unreasonable to ask if President Michael D Higgins’s wife Sabina is a proxy for views he knows he cannot express publicly

Matt Cooper: Will U2 hit the jackpot with a lucrative move to the Vegas stage?

With residencies in Las Vegas yielding potentially enormous rewards, U2's latest plan makes good business sense – but audiences are more likely to be treated to the old favourites than any new output

Matt Cooper: Little sympathy for blundering AIB after major tactical error

AIB has long had a reputation for corporate arrogance and in its focus on maximising profits, it seems it did not consider the social ramifications of the cashless plan

Matt Cooper: Time for the government to back up praise for the media’s work with real action

Newspapers are making the transition to digital formats and need to charge for their online content. Because of the licence fee, however, RTÉ can give it for free, which hardly seems fair

Matt Cooper: No matter how much the new HSE boss is paid, it won’t make up for the challenges ahead

Whoever replaces Paul Reid as head of the HSE will have to try to control spending while at the same time hiring 700 consultant doctors, improving technology, solving the trolley crisis and delivering Sláintecare

Matt Cooper: Deluge of Saudi cash threatens to wash out Europe’s flagship golf events

This week’s Horizon Irish Open in Mount Juliet has a prize fund of €6m, and will be fighting for TV viewers against LIV’s $25m exhibition in Portland

Matt Cooper: Avolon boss’s €150m plan to bring the brightest and best here could pay off

It will be considered elitist by some, but Dómhnal Slattery’s proposal to attract the ‘best brainpower in the world’ to Ireland to carry out research here could bring big rewards

Matt Cooper: Whose fault is it that Johnson is still in power?

Through sheer brass neck and absence of conscience, the British prime minister has ridden out the media storm for the required 11 days, which also reflects badly on those who can’t or won’t oust him

Matt Cooper: Businesses will survive by persuading people to part with their Covid savings

Marketing budgets have been slashed in previous budgets, but this time that might well be unwise because many people have pandemic cash which they are willing to spend

Matt Cooper: Our president’s generalisations about private enterprise are not helpful

We may not agree with Elon Musk but the reality is that he and other billionaire entrepreneurs have done a great deal to accelerate innovations to combat the climate crisis

Matt Cooper: Le Pen as leader of France would be huge threat to EU from within

In hock to Putin and Russian banks, determined to rewrite the constitution and deny immigrants their rights, Marine Le Pen as French president would set her country on a collision course with the European Union

Matt Cooper: Megalomanic Musk plays to his fanboys with his ‘disruptive’ bid for Twitter

The Tesla and SpaceX millionaire has cited free speech concerns and ‘the future of civilisation’ as driving his Twitter ambitions.

Matt Cooper: The collapse of Abramovich’s empire lays bare the devalued standards of the British Premier League

Chelsea Football Club, which lived off financial top-ups from its Russian owner for 19 years, should not now be given public funds to pay the eye-watering wages of players

Matt Cooper: Big Phil’s own words could land any damages case in the bunker

The former EU Commissioner may be considering demanding compensation for the ‘damage suffered’ when he had to step down, but he is very unlikely to get it

Matt Cooper: No amount of Metaverse guff can distract from Zuckerberg’s failings

The Facebook founder concentrated on the future in his message to his ‘Metamates’ last week, but the company’s best days may already be behind it

Matt Cooper: Delaney-era guff will not help FAI win trust, or a men’s team sponsor

Though it puts forward some grand and worthy plans, the association’s new strategy document is vague about where the money will come from

Matt Cooper: Greenwood allegations are about more than football for Man United

Even if the footballer is not charged or if charged, he is found not guilty, the club faces an ethical question, not a commercial one

Matt Cooper: Whatever trouble may be ahead, let’s face the music and dance

Fingers crossed that we’ve not acted too quickly in lifting restrictions, but with our society and economy on the brink, it’s a chance worth taking

Matt Cooper: Shane Lowry may live to regret his involvement in Saudi ‘sportswashing’

The country has a dire human rights record and is using its wealth in a bid to launder its reputation

Matt Cooper: Living in interesting times: what may lie in store for us in 2022

From an election-hungry Sinn Féin to fuel prices and the possibility of long term inflation and interest rate rises, the coming year looks likely to further test our patience and endurance