Market pulse: Stuart Fitzgerald on the key trends in the Irish SME sector

As the government falls in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s corruption scandals, its dealings with Goldman Sachs and the growing influence of China remind Ian Lahiffe of recent Greek history.

Ireland makes much of its relationships to the world’s financial structure and has has a passable relationship with the knowledge structure. But it knows almost nothing about its security structure, or where it sits within the mesh of global value chains.

With no sign of co-ordinated action by the world’s governments and central banks, the economic slowdown brought about by the Covid-19 epidemic adds to clouds already on the horizon.

Ireland’s cities are burdened by a persistent shortage of space of all kinds, especially residential. Plus, given the country’s need to go carbon-neutral over the coming decades, Ireland can - and should - go tall.

As Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar start exploratory talks today on a possible coalition, we assess the compatibility of the parties’ general election positions on tax policy. If they were to enter a deal with the Green Party, what would the Irish tax landscape look like?

Investors should ignore the allure of short-term stories and resist the temptation to jump in and out of the market. Their persistent compunction to trade too often is costing them dearly.

Now confined to his apartment complex in Beijing, Ian Lahiffe observes the lasting impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on China's social, political and economic structures – and the ramifications for trade and investment in Ireland and elsewhere.

The bottom line for investors is that we have likely seen the lion’s share of idiosyncratic sterling appreciation in the last six months. Investors and Irish exporters should not expect much more downside in EUR/GBP. This is probably as good as it will get for the coming few months.

The economy is booming, but the distribution is unequal. This disconnect that was manifest in the recent election is a structural one. To see the structural flaws, we have to look at the unsettled parts of our country, at the place where renters, and those on high and low incomes, intersect, and vice-versa.

It is easy to lose sight of the significant impact that threats of litigation can have, and we owe it to ourselves to be more thoughtful. We should think, before going legal, about the consequences of such belligerent moves.