Horse flesh is big business and a new series, Saddle Soap, (RT╔1, Sunday, 10.15 p.m.) gets behind the stable door. In a behind-the-scenes, six-part documentary, centred on the successful operation at Commonstown Racing Stables, the world of horse racing is explored.

With a cast that could almost be taken from a mini-series, over the weeks we get to meet the Dublin syndicate (the money men), the Polish stable lad and the Jar - pub regulars whose enigmatic betting system has become a legend. Champagne-celebrated victories are followed by ignominious defeats.

Milk and Money (RT╔1, Thursday, 7 p.m.) is a collection of archive footage and interviews that traces the history of the co-operative movement in rural Ireland.

It examines how small farms are being replaced by ever-larger producers and how the social cohesion facilitated by creamery visits is diluting.

It also looks at the profound effect on rural communities of the recent foot-and-mouth scare, which closed the marts.

In a tightly choreographed ritual of global importance, every eight week or so, financial journalists from all over the world are locked into the Treasury Press Room in Washington to await secret information - the new US interest rate.

Tales From The Global Economy - Greenspan Alert (BBC2, Sunday, 7.10 p.m.) goes behind the scenes to study the individual some people believe to be the most powerful man in the world.

The programme looks at his influence and the increasing fascination with interest rates among growing numbers of ordinary people, who buy and sell on the global stock market. The film follows a growing breed of day traders who operate from home or mini-trading floor outlets in shopping malls - a world away from the New York Stock Exchange.

Shopology - Buying It (BBC2, Sunday, 8 p.m.) examines Britain's fascination with shopping. Every aspect is put under the microscope from psychology to the effect on your health, not to mention the effect on your wallet.

mconway@irish-times.ie