Brian Cowen continues to get a media kicking but the former Taoiseach deserves some credit for taking tough decisions Distressed Anglo Irish Bank borrowers will be watching with interest the outcome of the bank's lawsuit against Tom Browne Inside the Wexford TD's €40m development spree that came unstuck To stop the audience dozing off, people making PowerPoint presentations need to understand how the brain assimilates information The report of the Moriarty Tribunal unpicked every step of the mobile phone licence award to Esat Digifone in 1995. The findings provide a fascinating insight into how Denis O'Brien landed the big prize Fianna Fail suffered its worst ever drubbing in General Election 2011. Former minister Conor Lenihan why and how it all went so terribly wrong One of the unresolved puzzles surrounding Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme fraud is how he got away for it for so long. Yanky Fachler has been delving into some of the many books written about the scam Brian Lenihan insists there is no alternative to the huge burden on Ireland's public finances caused by the banking bailout. But the bond markets fear the next government will think differently A small minority of income earners pay most of the income tax collected in Ireland. What's fair about that, wonders Nick Mulcahy The yield to maturity on Ireland's government bonds is among the highest in the developed world. But can you trust the Republic to cough up? In this assessment of Budget 2011, the main points are summarised and experts from accountancy firm BDO examine the tax implications Three years ago, running an SME in Ireland was easy, and worthwhile. Now for most owner-managers, business is a grind. So how can they start to believe that the glass is half full rather than half empty? Fairness to taxpayers demands that the government should cut payment rates for welfare entitlements and handouts before they bankrupt the country Sean FitzPatrick was once a very rich man. Then he embarked on an investment splurge that ended in ruin. Apple's iPad tablet computer has taken the world by storm. Apple investors love it too, as they see the device as Steve Jobs' latest move to create a walled garden around the internet. The global recession was triggered by the financial crisis. But American economist Robert Brenner argues that it is symptomatic of a more fundamental crisis in the capitalist system. John Sweeney reflects on the positives from the Celtic Tiger years, why nobody in government saw the bust coming and why public sector workers should cease seeking scapegoats Experts in credit control reveal how they they collect on outstanding invoices Farmers would be in the poor house without handouts from the EU and Irish taxpayers. Yet still they voted to banjax Europe's progress Twitter may prove to be a fad, but it's the easiest of social networking sites to use and lots of companies are making their presence felt. Business Plus explains the potential benefits and what's involved Ryanair is the most notable Irish business success story of the past decade, and it wouldn't have happened without chief executive Michael O'Leary, our pick as CEO of the Decade. But where does he go from here? While investors who parked their cash with Breifne O'Brien seek to recoup their money, Anglo Irish Bank has fought its way through the courts to the head of the queue. Nick Mulcahy follows the money Indian-born academic CK Prahalad recently topped a respected ranking of the world's Top 50 management gurus. Yanky Fachler explains why Prahalad is so influential, as well as listing his top ten thinkers 2006: Business Plus asked some leading executives and entrepreneurs about the best piece of advice they received during their business careers 2009: Years of national pay agreements and benchmarking have resulted in the gap between private and public sector pay widening dramatically 2008: Even though it has its supporters, such as DCU professor Brian McCraith, what benefit has the economy reaped from the €1 billion ploughed into Science Foundation Ireland? Business Plus canvassed the views of top managers in large corporates and SMEs about what single business mantra they've come to appreciate and follow