Taking Stock With Vincent Wall

The IMF warned this week that 2023 will feel like a recession as it cuts global growth forecasts for the fourth time this year. This Week on Taking Stock Mandy talks to Economist Jim Power who helps to decipher what it means for us here in Ireland. Pennies from Heaven; the halo effect that a Penny’s store can bring with it. Sunday Times journalist Linda Daly had done a deep dive and she joins Mandy to tell all. Clothes Shopping used to be an occasional event but that has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Mandy is joined by Maeve Galvin who is Global Campaigns and Policy Director at Fashion Revolution, and manages the Good Clothes, Fair Pay Campaign.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy chat to Award-Winning journalist Marina Hyde about her new book ‘What Just Happened’ which reflects on her writings over the last number of years during which time she charts the incredible times in UK history. Government this week published a master plan to overhaul An Board Pleanála – but exactly how does the agency work and who are people making major decisions about the pace of building houses and key infrastructure in Ireland? Mick Clifford of the Irish Examiner joins Mandy to explain all. Staff retention has become a significant issue for lots of employers, putting the workforce in the driving seat for the first time, Mandy chats to Mary Connaughton of CIPD about what’s happening and the best approach to take to keep your staff onside.

This week the “cost of living budget” doled out a record breaking 11 Billion. This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks macro and micro taxation with Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times and Marian Ryan, Consumer Tax Manager with Taxback Across the water the UK Budget received a scathing review from the IMF and calls for a rethink to its 45Billion pound debt funded tax package, Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde is here to unpick the political and economic implications for the Liz Truss Government. And when it comes to housing did the Government do enough to get the supply side moving? AJ Noonan Managing Director of the Rhonellen Group and former Chair of the SFA gives us his take on Budget 2023 from a construction perspective.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston asks if the United Kingdom can survive the death of Queen Elizabeth? She talks to the renowned Will Hutton of the Observer and the Guardian Big Pharma took a big hit on the stock market as US President Joe Biden declared the end of the pandemic. Mandy talks to Jamie Smyth of the Financial Times in New York to hear how it all affected the Stock Exchange And drama is guaranteed as the Italians head to the polls. Mandy examines if this could be the first time since World War II that Italy's next leader could come from the far right.

Flat packing its way to billions, Ikea’s journey in Ireland has been a lucrative one for the company, and on this week’s Taking Stock Mandy Johnston looks at why they are doing so well out of Ireland’s generous tax landscape and is joined by Thomas Hubert of The Currency Jackie King, Executive Director International Business of IBEC joins Mandy to give us her take on how our business leaders are coping with geopolitical difficulties and what IBEC want to see from Budget 2023 Plus it seems there’s no end in sight to grocery inflation as the rate at which food and drink prices are increasing continues to accelerate in the UK and are we going in the same direction here in Ireland? Mandy chats to Larry Elliot of the Guardian and Mark Paul of the Irish Times

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston looks at the phenomena of “quiet quitting” where workers do less while still keeping their jobs. She chats to HR expert Caroline Reidy of the HR Suite. As the EU takes on the challenge of cleaning up the internet to make it safer for us all, Financial Times journalist Javier Ezpinoza takes us through the efforts being made by the big platforms to stave off more EU regulations. And why is Germany the barometer of the European project and are its current woes indicative of what countries are facing all over Europe? Mandy talks to John Kampfner the author of ‘Why the Germans Do it Better; Notes from a Grown-Up Country’

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston is joined by the author and financial journalist Philip Coggan who has just written a new book called Surviving the Daily Grind’ and he’ll give us all the tips on how to get through your working week. Twitter is back in the headlines as a whistle-blower emerges and Elon Musk is still creating impossible levels of drama for the company. Mandy talks to the technology correspondent with the Guardian Kari Paul Comeback Kings – Dara Calleary is back in Government. But who else has made it back from the political wilderness in Irish politics? Journalist John Downing chats some of the great comebacks.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston analyses what was left in the wake of the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC and is joined by Sean Keyes from the Currency who takes a deep-dive into the state of Ireland’s Banking Sector. As Dublin Airport opened its third runway The Shannon Airport Group had a big rebrand this week and Mandy talks to CEO Mary Considine about the possibility for Shannon in a post-Covid economy Hope or hype? This week the Tánaiste said it will be about a decade before Hydrogen energy is a fuel source in Ireland. Mandy is joined by Hydrogen Ireland to give us their view on how long it will be before expectations meet reality

How does a novel set in 1860s, and published in the 1930s relate to America in 2022? This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnson talks to author Sarah Churchwell about her new book ‘The Wrath to Come’ which looks at the mythmaking that sprung up following the Civil War right through to the current debates about racism and the far right in the United States. Just how many people find feedback in the workplace helpful, and does it work? Mandy talks to The Deputy Editor of the Financial Times Magazine, Esther Bintliff. And Mandy chats to Tax Expert Marian Ryan of 'Taxback' about what a new 30% Tax Band would mean for people and politics.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy explores the complexities of university life both inside and outside of the lecture hall by getting the perspective of those that run our third-level institutions, as well as those that study there. Mandy speaks with Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, President of Galway University to get his insights into the Irish University landscape as a whole. Dr. Declan Raftery, Chief Operations Officer at Dublin City University, and Lewis Purser, Director of Teaching, Learning, and Academic Affairs from the Irish Universities Association, discuss the key issues facing universities going into the next academic year. Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich, who is graduating from UCD in September and studied law and Social Justice, as well as Aisling Maloney, who just finished her first year at UCD, join Mandy to give their perspective on what being a university student in Ireland is like in 2022.

A new report by PwC looks into whether old media is on the way out as the competition for our attention sends advertisers over the top and into the palms of our hands. Brianna Parkins of TheJournal.ie and Conor Forde, Director of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications at PwC join Mandy to discuss. Taking a sabbatical from work? Author of 'Radical Sabbatical', Emma Rosen joins Mandy to explain why more people are taking time out to find the answers to deeper career questions. And, the President of Italian soccer’s league Serie A, Lorenzo Casini, joins Mandy to explain exactly why there is a huge flood of international investors into Italian Football Clubs at the minute.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Sabah Meddings of the Sunday Times about the history of Starbucks and why it’s rumoured that it may be selling up its UK operation. Mandy is also joined by Thomas Hubert of the Currency who tells us how Multinationals here in Ireland are starting to prepare for the change in Corporation Tax Plus Mandy is joined by Professor John Doyle of DCU and by Senator Mark Daly to look at the possible costs of Irish Unification.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston discusses the dichotomy of dealing with climate change during a global energy war with Prof Michael Grubb from ULC in London Have you ever thought about getting in on ‘crypto’? The online currency is a risky business, but Sean Keyes from the Currency tells us all about it – and why investing in it is not for the faint-hearted. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has resigned, throwing Italy into political chaos. What might it also mean for the EU? Mandy discusses who is to blame for the resignation with Hugo McCafferty an Irish journalist based in Italy

As the Euro fell below parity with the dollar for the first time in twenty years on this week’s Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times about what that means for the ECB’s approach to raising interests’ rates. Commercial property in Ireland has bounced back to almost pre-Covid levels. Shane Duffy of Savills explains exactly why commercial and office space in Ireland is still in high demand - despite all of the fundamental changes to our working lives. Plus Mandy looks at QAnon; the strange and subterranean group and why after two years of silence Q is back. Mandy talks to Margi Murphy from Bloomberg and Larry Donnelly Law Lecturer in NUI Galway

This week the massive spike in the rate of inflation has meant the Government has had to revise its plans for Budget 2023. Their own spending guidelines have now been set aside –– and it is clear that the budget will involve a big increase in spending. But is pumping so much into the economy at a time of such high inflation the right thing to do? This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston will be asking economist Austin Hughes for his views. Mandy is also joined by ICTU General Secretary Patricia King to look at union membership here in Ireland and around the world in a time of great change and uncertainty for workers. Plus following the strangest week in UK Politics Mandy talks to Political Commentator Will Hutton about how it all finally went wrong for Boris.

Concerns for Ireland’s energy security gather apace with some ominous reports this week that Britain may stop supplying gas to mainland Europe if the country is hit by extreme shortages in the coming months and this week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston will be discussing the potential implications of this and the wider issues with Paul Deane from UCC & Mark Varian, Chair of the Energy & Environment Committee with the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. PwC has called for greater clarity on new rules that oblige larger companies to report and publicly explain their gender pay gap. Mandy is joined by Doone O’Doherty to examine what’s happening Plus it’s been another eventful week for UK politics and Mandy takes stock of recent developments and what it all means for Boris Johnson's leadership with political scientist Sir John Curtice.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston is joined by Daniel Susskind, Fellow in Economics at Balliol College, Oxford & co-author of ‘The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts' to discuss the impact technologies are having on the way we work now and will continue to do so in the years to come. Trócaire CEO, Caoimhe de Barra & Pat Dennigan, CEO of Focus Ireland discuss the battle they faced during the pandemic, pivoting their models to accommodate the drastic changes throughout that time and where the sector is now. And according to the latest figures, private flights now account for one-quarter of all air traffic in the United States. To discuss the boom in this market is Doug Gollan, Editor of Private Jet Card Comparisons and Travel Contributor to Forbes Magazine.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Martina Lawless of the ERSI about a possible looming trade war between the UK and The EU and what that might mean for Ireland. Author Bernard Marr talks about his latest book which has been named as Business Book of the year for 2022; ‘The 25+ Trends That Are Redefining Organisations’. And we hear about the Committee examining last year’s attack on the US Congress when Mandy is joined by Financial Time journalist Kiran Stacey from Washington to tell us about what has been happening and what does it all say about the state of American Democracy.

Are we working harder than ever before? This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston hears how the 9 to 5 job is a dim and distant memory as she chats to Sarah O’Connor from the Financial Times who has written about the growing trend of seemingly never-ending work. Mandy chats to Journalist Erik Sherman about Global Supply Chain Problems and what’s really going on and how business can guard against future supply chain shocks. Plus Danny McCoy of IBEC on where the Irish economy is at now and what the Irish business sector want from Government as they struggle to deal with inflation, housing, and the energy crisis.

No room at the inn for tourists coming into Ireland; this week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Mark Paul from the Irish Times to hear his views on why supply and pricing is a big issue and who is to blame. Online Bullying; Mandy talks to Dr Tijana Milosevic of the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre and ask if we are making any advances or becoming conditioned to living with online negativity. Plus Simon Kuper from the Financial times joins us to discuss his new book ‘Chums; How a Tiny cast of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK’