The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Claptrap that immigrants pose an existential threat to western way of life has to be challengedAs Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh, it’s time to reiterate that properly integrated and settled, immigrants are an economic and social benefit to any country
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Future of Dublin lies in the management of successModernity may be alien to the Irish bureaucratic and policy mindset, but we must embrace it if the capital is to fulfil its potential as a truly European city
Comment & Analysis Fears Fed’s higher interest rates will have no impact on inflationThe US Federal Reserve has been aggressively raising interest rates for the last 20 months in an effort to curb soaring inflation, but the economy is showing no sign of slowing down
The Big Picture Putin’s potential deal with Kim bodes ill for Indo-Pacific and beyondBoth leaders are isolated and desperate, but the North Korean dictator has far more to gain
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Arm looks to Nasdaq IPO to recapture its long-lost mojo as investors swoon Under SoftBank’s careless ownership, this small but promising tech firm’s fortunes stalled. It remains to be seen if its much-hyped IPO can rescue it
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: German economy will need to harness its heft to achieve takeoffThe heavyweight of Europe, there is no doubt the country has the skills and resources required to do what it takes to become more dynamic and sustainable, but it seems to lack the courage to try
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Brics countries overshadowed by march of ChinaTwo decades after the up and coming group of five economies were touted as game-changers, it seems their collective promise has not been realised
Banking Vincent Boland: We need to take banks out of the crosshairs of populist politicians – for everyone’s sake Italy’s arbitrary windfall tax shook confidence in the entire economy. Do we really want to follow suit, just as banks are gaining a modicum of equilibrium?
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: The people of Spain know that the past was not a better placeIn last week’s general election, voters turned away decisively from Vox, the hard-right faction that wanted the country to shift into reverse
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Trouble in China could signal problems for the global financial system For two decades the world’s second largest economy has seen relentless growth but now it appears to be stalling – or worse, its boom could be over entirely
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Despite the gloomy predictions, the world has not collapsed into recession Six months ago we were told that inflation, interest rates, stagnant growth and the war in Ukraine would see economies shrink – but many are showing signs of resilience
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Privatising water won’t wash, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be paying for itEngland’s privatised water companies are in deep trouble, but their plight is one that every water company, private and public, will face in due course
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Vladimir Putin’s demise is likely to be violent and chaotic – but not anytime soon Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed rebellion may not have changed much in the short-term but it raises questions about how Russia can conduct its war in Ukraine and its involvement in other conflicts
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: China lecturing the west on capitalism is not without some justificationThe Italian government’s intervention in a dispute at Chinese-owned Pirelli-Sinochem seems to be an example of the confusion and double standards that envelop western thinking on China
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Bell tolls for jokers who promised bread and gave the world circusesDonald Trump is a walking crime scene, Boris Johnson resigns after the Partygate report and Italy bids farewell to Silvio ‘Bunga Bunga’ Berlusconi
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Time to ditch notions of a stagnating Japan as markets hit 30-year high With the Tokyo stock market reaching its highest level in a third of a century, there are encouraging signs that Japan is beginning to emerge from a lost generation that never seemed to end
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Jack Ma was too big to destroy but small enough to cut down to sizeThe crackdown on China’s tech sector may be over, but the industry is counting the cost as it emerges into a changed corporate and political landscape
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: US regulator’s shot across bows of Amgen/Horizon deal leaves big pharma reeling In an unusual move, the Federal Trade Commission is trying to block the acquisition of Dublin-based Horizon Therapeutics by US multi national Amgen, claiming it would enable the two companies to entrench a monopoly
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Turkey’s elections are Erdogan’s to lose, and he has only himself to blameThe illusion of modernity which Erdogan’s reforms created crumbled on February 6 and contributed to the earthquake’s deadly impact
