Podcast Episode 28 – Fiscal Hangxiety cure – Hair of the dog or cold turkey?

The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland.  Telling you what you need to know but not necessarily what you want to hear. It is better to be prepared for the economic environment we are operating in and not the world we would like to be in.

Featuring Dr Lisa Wilson from Nevin Economic Research Institute

Podcast Episode 25 – Unhappy Anniversary – February 2023

The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland.  Telling you what you need to know but not necessarily what you want to hear. It is better to be prepared for the economic environment we are operating in and not the world we would like to be in.

Featuring Mark Magill, Senior Economist at Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre

Over recent weeks a few anniversaries have passed by with little fanfare. On the 31st January Brexit turned 3. Meanwhile two years have elapsed since the UK left the Single Market. Even the staunchest supporter of Brexit would be hard pressed to point to the positives of leaving the EU thus far.

A poll conducted by Ipsos finds that 45% of the UK public think Brexit is going worse than expected. Another poll by Unherd Britain found that The Boston & Skegness constituency was the only constituency not to regret leaving the EU.

Disquiet with the Northern Ireland protocol continues to rumble on. That’s despite the UK Supreme Court ruling that the NI Protocol is lawful. Lawful but awful is how many in Unionist quarters see it. Legal objections may have disappeared, but political objections remain. But will the new Protocol Deal, due today, soothe these concerns?

NOTE: This podcast was recorded on the morning of 27th February 2023

Podcast Episode 24 – That’s so last year with Andrew Webb – January 2023

The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland.  Telling you what you need to know but not necessarily what you want to hear. It is better to be prepared for the economic environment we are operating in and not the world we would like to be in.


Featuring Andrew Webb, Chief Economist at Grant Thornton 

Last year was tumultuous for the UK to say the least both in terms of politics and economics. We witnessed 4 Chancellors, 3 Prime Ministers in the space of two months and two monarchs. The UK said farewell to its longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II and its shortest serving Prime Minister – Liz Truss. Liz’s mantra was Go big or Go home and she did both in the space of 44 days.

Trussonomics – through the misnomer that was the “Mini-Budget” threw fuel onto a cost of borrowing crisis which was a new angle to the wider cost of living crisis.  That rounded off the year with a recessionary threat clouding the outlook and a Mexican wave of strike action taking place throughout the UK.

And that was just at home. Globally, geopolitics loomed large in 2022, not least following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with geopolitics exerting a far greater influence and shaping the outlook in a way it hasn’t done in years.

Against this backdrop it is not surprising that the Collins English Dictionary word of the year was “PERMACRISIS”.

Despite these multifaceted woes, Northern Ireland continues to battle these challenges with one or even two hands tied behind its back with no functioning Executive in Stormont.

Podcast Episode 23 – The Fall with Siobhan McAleer – November 2022

The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland.  Telling you what you need to know but not necessarily what you want to hear. It is better to be prepared for the economic environment we are operating in and not the world we would like to be in.

Sorry, no Jamie Dornan or Gillian Anderson on this podcast. Just an economist and a mortgage broker chewing the fat.

‘The Fall’ refers to the continued fall in output, confidence and living standards amongst other things. We will major on the local mortgage market in a bit.

In this episode we are delighted to be joined by Siobhan McAleer Managing Director of The Mortgage Shop – which Siobhan founded in 1992 and which has become one of the largest mortgage brokerages in Northern Ireland and which has branches in Great Britain / Mainland UK. 


But first reflecting on another month and we had not one but two fiscal events. 

Podcast Episode 22 – The kindness of strangers is wearing thin – with Gareth Hetherington – October 2022

The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland.  Telling you what you need to know but not necessarily what you want to hear. It is better to be prepared for the economic environment we are operating in and not the world we would like to be in.

Featuring Gareth Hetherington – Director of the Ulster University Economic Policy (NICEP) at Ulster University.

Podcast Episode 21 – In Liz We Trus(s)t with Andrew Webb, Grant Thornton – September 2022

The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland.  Telling you what you need to know but not necessarily what you want to hear. It is better to be prepared for the economic environment we are operating in and not the world we would like to be in.

Featuring Andrew Webb, Chief Economist at Grant Thornton 

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Podcast Episode 20 – The Cash Crunch with Sam McIlveen, NI Jobs – August 2022

The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland.  Telling you what you need to know but not necessarily what you want to hear. It is better to be prepared for the economic environment we are operating in and not the world we would like to be in.

Featuring Sam McIlveen, General Manager at NI Jobs (NIJobs.com)

Throughout August we’ve heard lots of comparisons between today and 1976, given the heatwaves and drought that affected both years. 2022 has been the UK’s driest year since and the driest in Europe for 500 years. Europe’s rivers, such as the Rhine, have been drying up with the record drought in China causing similar problems there. The Southwest of China depends on hydroelectric dams for three-quarters of its electricity generation. Rolling blackouts and business closures due to lack of power have become the norm. 

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