The Other Hand

'Ireland is a poor country' NO! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tech bubble deflates a little further. More to come? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has the old Vs young war started? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Market shocks, AI anxiety, cyber risks, and a shaky European backdrop This episode covers a fast-moving mix of markets, macroeconomics, and geopolitics. Chris and Jim move from oil and AI-driven equity volatility to cybersecurity scares, European weakness, UK consumer strain, and the growing pressure on France and the European car industry.The conversation is wide-ranging but tied together by one theme: the future is arriving faster than markets, governments, and businesses seem ready for. Key topics In this episode, Chris opens with oil at $114 a barrel and argues the move may reflect supply-demand tightening, stock drawdown, or delayed effects from earlier war-related shocks. They discuss the recent sell-off in AI-linked stocks and the simultaneous rally in US bonds, with lower Treasury yields driven by weak tech sentiment, extreme bearish bond positioning, and a search for safety. Jim highlights Meta’s quarterly results and the market’s growing focus on capital expenditure, compute infrastructure, and…

In this episode, Jim outlines the backdrop to the UK autumn budget: inflation rising to 3.5%, transport inflation at 6.6%, higher borrowing, and the likelihood of another Bank of England rate increase. The pair discuss the argument that the UK’s strength lies in high value professional services, including consulting, legal work, computer programming, and AI related business investment. They note that UK innovative companies have absorbed more than one-third of European venture capital in the first nine months of the year, reinforcing the case for not damaging the sector with heavier taxes. Jim and Chris revisit the debate over tax complexity, using Tim Harford’s critique of Britain’s “bad taxes” and examples like VAT oddities, National Insurance, and the enormous length of the UK tax code. The conversation highlights how complexity creates demand for tax lawyers and accountants, while AI may eventually let ordinary people search for loopholes or understand the system more easily. In energy, they discuss the…

Markets, France, AI, Billionaires, and the UK Welfare Crisis This episode ranges from market history and Irish trade data to France’s fiscal bind, the geopolitics of AI infrastructure, billionaire wealth, and the UK’s welfare system. Chris and Jim move quickly between economics, politics, and technology, with a recurring theme: systems that look stable on the surface are under far more strain than most people realize.They also cover the strategic risks of AI and data centers, the pressure on Europe’s car industry from China, and the scale of the UK’s benefits problem, especially for younger people. It’s a wide-ranging conversation anchored in hard numbers and blunt political judgments. Key topics In this episode, Chris and Jim revisit Black Monday and how shocks in markets can create outsized winners in bonds when equities sell off. Jim walks through Ireland’s merchandise trade data for the first eight months of the year, including a 23.9% drop in exports overall and major swings in chemical and pharma…

Will 2027 see a General Election in the UK? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode covers a wide-ranging macro and geopolitics conversation, starting with Irish residential property prices and the affordability squeeze, then moving into China’s pressure on the European car industry, IMF growth and fiscal warnings, and finally the security risks created by everything being connected to the internet. The discussion closes with the Nobel Prize in Economics and why Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford matter for modern central banking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode: Chris argues the Irish government is spending too much of temporary corporation tax revenue on permanent commitments, citing IFAC’s warning that the state is spending six out of every seven euros from corporation tax. Jim pushes back on the budget politics saying ministers faced strong departmental pressure and that the six percent spending target, even if imperfect, may be a reasonable outcome in context. Tax policy gets a mixed verdict: both agree the budget was better for taxpayers than last year, but Chris says the increases in thresholds and credits still lag inflation and do not restore real purchasing power. Capital gains tax is singled out as a growth lever with Jim welcoming the cut from 33 percent to 31 percent but arguing it should eventually return to 20 percent. Irish inflation is still running hot with Jim noting September CPI at 4.1 percent, driven by mortgage interest, electricity, and home heating oil rather than the domestic economy. Manufacturing output shows a split…

In this episode, Minister Jack Chambers says Budget 27 was built around balance - protecting long-term capital investment while responding to cost of living pressures. Chambers says next year’s capital investment will exceed 20 billion euro, and that day-to-day spending growth has been brought down from an average of 9% to about 6%. Jim Power argues the budget is positive overall, especially on personal tax relief, the investment account, and the reduction in capital gains tax from 33% to 31%. Power warns that Ireland’s public finances depend heavily on a small number of multinational firms, pointing to concentration risk in corporation tax receipts and the need for prudent spending. Cormac Fitzgerald says SMEs remain under pressure from labour costs, energy costs, PRSI increases, auto-enrolment, and rising compliance burdens. Fitzgerald welcomes the new investment savings scheme and says SME support should be strengthened in the Finance Bill or Budget 28. Cróna Clohisey says the budget’s administrative…

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In this episode, Jim breaks down the Irish Department of Finance white paper and says the public finances still look strong, with a forecast general government surplus of 6.9 billion euro this year and 13.5 billion euro in 2027. The conversation focuses on corporation tax, which is forecast at 34.1 billion euro this year and 39 billion euro next year, but below an earlier projection of 35.3 billion euro. Jim stresses that October and November are still crucial months for corporation tax, so the apparent undershoot may not tell the full story yet. Chris raises the warning - yet again - that Ireland’s corporation tax base is becoming dangerously concentrated, with a small number of multinational companies accounting for a huge share of receipts. Jim notes that income tax, corporation tax, and VAT make up 89.9% of total tax take, showing how much the budget depends on a very small number of revenue streams. The discussion turns to the government’s likely 8.5 billion euro budget package, and the political…

This week, Chris and Jim unpack a volatile run of economic data and what it means for markets, growth and household finances. US jobs and wages: A weaker-than-expected employment report shifts expectations for interest rates, while falling real wages raise questions about living standards. Growth, inflation and rates: Why resilient growth alongside renewed inflation is making the outlook harder for central banks to read. The bond-market story: Rising government borrowing costs, fiscal pressure and the unusual resilience of equity markets. Financial repression explained: How inflation and negative real interest rates can quietly reduce the burden of government debt. Europe’s fiscal fault lines: Why debt dynamics look different across the US, UK, France and the eurozone. A brighter UK outlook: Improved growth data, the role of AI investment and whether confidence could help sustain momentum. Ireland ahead of the budget: Labour-market signals, consumer spending, tax receipts and the changing car market.…

This episode ranges from the latest AI headlines and the existential risk debate to the way AI investment is showing up in inflation, bond yields, and central bank thinking. It also turns to Ireland’s budget season, EU budget tensions, and why both speakers think fiscal policy has become too much of a political circus. Chris and Jim argue that the big story is not just productivity from AI, but also the inflationary pressure from massive data centre investment, energy demand, and supply constraints. They also dig into why governments keep treating budgets like a one-off spectacle instead of a long-term strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This conversation breaks down the latest economic data and what it means for markets, inflation, and central bank policy. Jim and Chris focus on the surprise strength in US, European, and German indicators, then dig into whether the AI investment boom is no longer just a productivity story but a broader inflation and wage impulse. They also cover soaring bond yields, the OECD’s mixed forecasts, record global debt, and the growing risk that geopolitical tensions and war could reshape the economic outlook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode ranges from a personal Camino de Santiago walk to a hard-edged discussion about housing markets, public finances, and political risk in the UK and Europe. Chris and Jim connect the dots between weak growth, planning bottlenecks, budget theatre, and the social strain that builds when economies stop expanding.We discuss Ireland’s housing market cooling, the UK’s fiscal outlook ahead of the budget, and why policy uncertainty is making long-term investment harder. The conversation also widens to Germany, France, the EU budget, and the bigger question of whether Western political systems can still sustain growth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

UK's moron premium proves very sticky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In conversation with Professor Shane O'Mara Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special edition of The Other Hand, host Chris is joined by journalist Sarah Carey and AI entrepreneur Sean Blanchfield (CEO and co-founder of Jentic) for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence. Sarah opens with a vivid first-hand account of attending Donald Trump's press conference at the US Ambassador's residence in Dublin. The discussion then dives deep into the AI threat debate — from the paperclip problem and civilizational risk warnings, to a chilling detailed account of OpenAI's AI agents going rogue, coordinating as a "swarm," and taking down Hugging Face's servers. Sean explains why intelligence is a scale problem, the race for superintelligence and recursive self-improvement, and why labs can't stop. The conversation covers data center constraints, sovereign AI and Europe's digital independence, a jargon-busting explainer on agents vs. LLMs vs. copilots, China's AI weaponization, the jobs apocalypse (or lack thereof), and why the humanities may be more relevant than ever.…

Wildfires have been diminishing in size. Who knew? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will the universe miss us? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peak stuff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't mess with Canada Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In conversation with Joan Mulvihill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Occasionally sounding rather unsound.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new war between Canada & The US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All the latest data Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who is responsible? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim finishes up in Wales Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Jim in denial? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will it ever rain again? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are we so bad at planning, procurement & budgeting? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All the latest data Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland distorts the economic data, again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does regional development ever work? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rain is in the forecast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tariffs are back.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tech rout? Correction? Another 'buy the dip'? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Argentine finances and football Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland's massive miss on carbon emissions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim in conversation with Stephen Cass Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI's losers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In conversation with ITIC's CEO, Eoghan O'Mara Walsh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine vibe shift Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can AI count? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In conversation with Joan Mulvihill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All the latest data Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Presidential shower Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Other Hand discovers it is a humanist podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In conversation with Professor Chris Grey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.