Davy weather report: lots of sun, no clouds

Crisis? What crisis? Over a posh lunch on Tuesday, Tony Garry hosted Davy stockbrokers' annual Mystic Meg session laying out its predictions for the year ahead. The Davy boys were that bullish, they were only short of charging for the nearest red jacket. Thank God everyone was wearing grey.

Davy has had a pretty good recession. It has emerged as easily the largest broker, has no net debt, and is nailed on to buy back its €140 million management buyout loans from IBRC for a hefty discount.

Garry also revealed it has negotiated a new lease on its Dawson Street headquarters, and has even managed to cut its mobile phone bills by playing Vodafone and O2 off against one other. "They were battering each other to get the business," he said. It will also launch a new website in the new year.

It remains to be seen whether all of this internal sunshine and happiness has gone to the Davy crews' heads. Contrary to the caution generally espoused by the IMF, OECD, EC, ESRI, Department of Finance, Central Bank and Uncle Tom Cobley, Davy barely sees a cloud in the sky for Ireland in 2014.

It predicts a "robust recovery" with a 1.5 per cent bounce-back in consumer spending, 2.5 per cent GDP growth, 8 per cent investment growth, 2.2 per cent employment growth, and possibly a partridge in a pear tree. Its stock tips included Aryzta, Datalex, Smurfit Kappa, CPL Resources, Bank of Ireland and FBD.

Davy is clearly hoping for a big year of fat fees in 2014. Is all this exuberance irrational? You decide. But it all reminds me of that line from the Profumo affair – they would say that, wouldn’t they?