Taking Stock

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston looks at the British Party Conference season which never fails to entertain and this week was no different. Lucy Fisher who is the Financial Times Whitehall Editor tells us all about the Tory Party conference this week.Crypto Goes on Trial as Sam Bankman-Fried Faces his reckoning and we hear the latest from WIRED’s Joel Khalili.There were unprecedented scenes in the House of Representatives as their speaker is unceremoniously sacked and Mandy is joined by the US Guardian correspondent Joan Greve to find out what happens next.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston delves into the geopolitical landscape as Poland heads into an election. The war in Ukraine has cast a long shadow over the political arena and Mandy asks if Ukraine is being used as a political pawn and the implications that might hold.We hear from Joe Millar of the FT in New York who gives us an exclusive preview of what's in store for Donald Trump's upcoming court hearing next week.And there’s also the topic that's on everyone's minds – housing. With Budget 24 around the corner, Mandy takes a 360-degree view of this complex issue with Jack Horgan-Jones of the Irish Times  and Tax Expert Marian Ryan.

With less than a month to go to Budget 2024 Mandy Johnston takes stock of the warnings, wish lists and promises that we have been hearing all summer long with Business Post Editor Daniel Mc Connell & Economist Jim Power.A new book claims that many of us are walking around in a state of BLUR and that information overload is much more acute than we think. The author of that book - BLUR: Clear the Way Ahead - Susan Ford Collins joins Mandy.Credit Suisse has been in the news a lot recently having been bailed out by Government and taken over by UPS this summer. But did you know an Irishman is at the helm there?  Colm Kelleher - possibly the most powerful man in European banking who few people have heard and Mandy hears his story and what's going on at the struggling bank at the moment when she is  by FT journalist Owen Walker.

This week on Taking Stock Joe Lynam is in for Mandy Johnston and he looks at the tangled narrative of Brexit when he talks to author Josh White whose book ‘Goodbye United Kingdom: Descent into Chaos 2015-2022’ chronicles the Brexit crisis and all that that it has meant since.With Minister for Finance Pascal Donohue telling people they are free to deposit their money in foreign banks for better interest rates we take a look at what’s available and how easy or hard it is when Joe talks to Sinead Ryan,And finally news this week from the CSO has found that 1 in 5 CEO’S are female. Joe is joined by  Gillian Hartford of the 30percent club and Caroline Bocquel the Chief Executive Officer with Bord Iascaigh Mhara to see if things are actually getting better in board room when it comes to gender equality.

Tackling the supply side of the drugs market will never be enough; that's the conclusion of the Currency who have been looking into the issue of drug use in Ireland. This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston is joined by Thomas Hubert to take us through what they found.  Now we know that culture eats strategy every time, Frank Devine, specializes in creating a High-Performance culture and he talks to Mandy about his new book ‘Rapid Mass Engagement’.  And finally - Elon’s at it again. As Musk threatens to take on Ireland in the courts we’ll catch up with Elaine Byrne to find out what's going on at X.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston is joined by Congressman Brendan Boyle, rising star in the Democratic party to talk about his recent trip to Ireland where he addressed Dail Eireann and he’ll be giving us his take on the US political landscape as they prepare for Primaries. Boundless changes in boundaries this week as the Electoral Commission sets out the map for the next election and while it may not be a starting gun the bullets are now loaded. Gary Murphy of DCU and Jennifer Kavanagh Constitutional Law Expert takes us through what they mean.Germany the economic powerhouse of Europe faces a lot of challenges. It has dipped into recession and Derek Scally of the Irish Times assess if Germany is now the sick man of Europe.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Veteran Journalist Dermot Murnaghan ahead of his appearance at the Kennedy Summer School next week and talks to him about his long life in journalism covering some of the defining moments of our time.  Rudy Giuliani has turned himself in to authorities at a jail in Atlanta, Georgia this week. But who is Rudi Guiliani? Mandy looks at one of the most divisive American political figures of our time when she talks to Llyod Green,  a New York Attorney who has served in the US Department of Justice.And finally Finance Minister Michael McGrath is said to be putting pressure on our banking sector to pass on some of their windfall profits to customers - while we wait for the mismatch to be rectified - is there something else you could be doing with your money to get a better return? Mandy talk to Ellie Donnolly Senior Business Reporter at the Business Post.

Shane Duffy from Savills discusses converting office spaces into homes. Oliver Eagleton sheds light on Keir Starmer. Pauline O'Flanagan talks about challenges facing Ireland's engineering sector and the Budget 2024 submission by Engineering Industries Ireland.

On this week's Taking Stock Podcast: Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times explains why mega projects like the MetroLink and the Children's Hospital take so long and cost so much in Ireland. Nigel Doolin, co-founder and managing director at Core Bullion joins Mandy to explain the value of holding your money in gold and why is it one of the most stable assets to have. And the banking sector in Ireland has revealed massive profits in recent weeks, Sean Keyes of the Currency takes us through their latest set of bumper results.

Hannah Daly, Professor in Sustainable Energy and Energy Systems Modelling at UCC joins Mandy to discuss the government's National Hydrogen Strategy. In the political arena, the debates surrounding rail and road options have caused much debate leaving both policymakers and the public in a state of confusion. Mandy gets the insights of Edgar Morgenroth, Professor of Economics at Dublin City University Business School. We discuss new research that discloses an alarming trend in the United States which shows a growing acceptance of violence as a means to achieve political objectives. Kira Lerner, Democracy Editor for Guardian US joins us to examine the implications of this disconcerting phenomenon.