FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

We are at the point in time when we are faced with a particularly fragile global banking system, a weakening global economy, very depressed and nervous equity and capital markets. As you are undoubtedly aware, not least from the pervasive and extensive media coverage of recent months, it has been a particularly harrowing time in equity and credit markets. For the quarter, the MSCI Global Equity index returned -4.8%, Irish equity index -31.2% and...

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WOMENOMICS

It’s pretty clear that Hollywood pays its male leads more and gives them roles for much longer than women.This has extended to the world of comics. Five of the six upcoming Marvel movies feature male leads with women firmly relegated to the roles of girlfriends or assistants. Why not a Wonder Woman flick or any true super heroine movie? It’s not because directors and writers lack good material, there are literally hundreds of comic book super heroines,...

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WHY?

Why does money matter? Money matters because like it or not we live in a money culture where money is the universally acceptable medium for exchange for goods and services. Money buys the things that all people want – and deserve; life, health, food, land, hope, education, sexual pleasure and some peace of mind. From Women, Money and Power. Phyllis Chesler & Emily Jane Goodman (New York: Bantam Books, 1977)Why do we need to learn about money?...

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EVERYDAY MONEY

What can be more everyday than marriage? Ask your favourite married couple what makes their marriage work and they are unlikely to say it’s because they found their financial soul mate.The smartest financial decision you will ever make may be marrying someone who has the similar attitudes to money. This could in fact be your most valuable asset – or your largest liability.Although we now marry for love, so much of what we want in life boils down...

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MUSINGS AND AMUSINGS

In Money, Money, Money Ain’t it Funny I wrote a little about our lack of mathematical skill quoting an entertaining example from The Simpsons:A psychologist is giving a ‘team talk’. He makes the statement, ‘You are all very good players’. The team members mimic the psychologist, ‘We are all very good players’. Then the psychologist says, ‘You will beat Shelbyville!’. And the team, again in unison, reply, ‘We will beat Shelbyville!’ By this time the...

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WHO’S COUNTING?

I’ve been counting women lawmakers and politicians. It is true that we have made substantial gains in the last decade but equal representation in the lawmaking and ranks of political power still seems to elude us.Less than 18% of the world’s lawmakers are women and many developing countries have more women in the corridors of political power than Western democracies. Globally, the proportion of female lawmakers jumped from 11% to 17.7% between 1995...

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