“Ireland” on The Daily Caller

Last month American reporters expressed concern at a recent study published by the Conference Board which claimed that the US economy would be overtaken by China in two short years.  This alarming news came just weeks after a ranking of the world’s most powerful people put President Barack Obama at number two — beaten into second place by Chinese premier Hu Jintao. (more)

LONDON — Fears among European bondholders spread Tuesday from the weakest members of the euro zone to other countries, including Italy and Belgium, spurring a stepped-up search for a solution to a crisis that is increasingly putting political as well as financial strain on Europe’s decade-old monetary union. (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland’s international bailout boosted its bank stocks Monday but outraged many hard-pressed taxpayers, who questioned why the government’s pension reserves must be ravaged as part of a deal that burdens the whole country with the mistakes of a rich elite. (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — Debt-crippled Ireland formally applied Sunday for a massive EU-IMF loan to stem the flight of capital from its banks, joining Greece in a step unthinkable only a few years ago when Ireland was a booming Celtic Tiger and the economic envy of Europe. (more)

Chauncey and Graff’s song, When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, was published in 1912, seven years before Eire proclaimed herself a republic and captured a romantic optimism that was matched by reality in 1995. For the next twelve years the young republic embarked upon a period of rapid growth and was re-christened the Celtic Tiger. The pride of her people was palpable and a joy to behold. (more)

Google Inc. cut its taxes by $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda. (more)

NEWPORT, Wales — It was tough to say which was the bigger surprise, the fact that the sun finally shone on swampy Celtic Manor or that the foregone conclusion that was the 2010 Ryder Cup came down to the last, nerve-jangling match. (more)

What follows is a rush transcript of highlight’s from Stephen Colbert’s congressional testimony: (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — Protesters hurled shoes and eggs Saturday at Tony Blair who held the first public signing of his memoir amid high security in Ireland’s capital. Hundreds more people lined up to have their books autographed — evidence that the divisions left by Blair’s decade as British leader have yet to heal. (more)

Investors will face defaults on government bonds given the burden of aging populations and the difficulty of securing more tax revenue, according to Morgan Stanley. (more)

Gaea Rich and her boyfriend, David Quinn, an immigrant from Ireland, were on board her uncle’s yacht on Long Island Sound when federal officials boarded and began checking papers. (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — The Moody’s agency cut Ireland’s credit rating Monday, citing the country’s swelling national debt, the unpredictable cost of its bank-bailout plans and its weak growth prospects for the next three to five years. (more)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican revised its in-house rules to deal with clerical sex abuse cases Thursday, targeting priests who molest the mentally disabled as well as children and doubling the statute of limitations for such crimes. (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — Political and religious leaders pleaded Wednesday for Catholic teenagers and children engaged in Belfast rioting to stop before one of them is killed and becomes a martyr for Irish Republican Army dissidents. (more)

When it comes to government spending, “stimulus” apparently means never having to say “enough.” (more)

LONDON — Setting the scene for years of potential strife with the powerful public-sector unions and their allies in the Labour Party, Britain’s new coalition government on Tuesday unveiled the most severe package of spending cuts and tax increases since the early days of Margaret Thatcher’s era. (more)

Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said an investigation had proved that eight Irish passports used in the operation were forgeries. (more)

Israel has announced the formation of its own commission to investigate last month’s seizure of an aid flotilla attempting to break the country’s blockade on Hamas-controlled Gaza. The operation resulted in the deaths of nine passengers, though Israel maintains that the deaths only occurred because the activists threatened the lives of the soldiers attempting to board one of the boats. The United Nations has expressed a desire for an internationally led inquiry into the incident, but Israel has refused to acquiesce to the body’s request thus far; instead, Israel maintains that its own commission’s report will be sufficient. The New York Times reports: (more)

(CNN) — Get a kick out of this: Researchers reported Wednesday finding the world’s oldest leather shoe in a cave in Armenia. (more)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Have a burning sensation? Consult your doctor. Have a burning question for Matt Labash? Submit it here. (more)