Is there a source of objective economic comment in Ireland that is worth listening to....
In a week where we have seen stockmarket meltdown and yesterdays 3/4 point interest rate cut from the Fed, I was looking forward to the Primetime discussion on these topics last night and the promised view of the impact on us in Ireland.
After some token introductory comments, the discussion polarised into the impact on house prices here, with Tom Parlon/Austin Hughes in studio and D McWilliams onscreen from Davos. McWilliams to his credit tried to see the bigger picture .... the rest was easily forgotten with contributors focussed on their own agendas.... a million miles away from the global events impacting us this week.... it seemed we were missing the point.
This contrasts dramatically with BBC Newsnight screened later in the evening who had more objective commentators with diverse viewpoints.
Our media (radio/tv/print) seems to be populated by a small group of economists from banks/estate agents who clearly push their own interests and get massive coverage. We got another dose earlier this month with their precitions for 2008. Is there an institution we can reliably trust for relevant and objective comment ??
In a week where we have seen stockmarket meltdown and yesterdays 3/4 point interest rate cut from the Fed, I was looking forward to the Primetime discussion on these topics last night and the promised view of the impact on us in Ireland.
After some token introductory comments, the discussion polarised into the impact on house prices here, with Tom Parlon/Austin Hughes in studio and D McWilliams onscreen from Davos. McWilliams to his credit tried to see the bigger picture .... the rest was easily forgotten with contributors focussed on their own agendas.... a million miles away from the global events impacting us this week.... it seemed we were missing the point.
This contrasts dramatically with BBC Newsnight screened later in the evening who had more objective commentators with diverse viewpoints.
Our media (radio/tv/print) seems to be populated by a small group of economists from banks/estate agents who clearly push their own interests and get massive coverage. We got another dose earlier this month with their precitions for 2008. Is there an institution we can reliably trust for relevant and objective comment ??