Volatility returned to Italy’s markets this week, amid concerns over the high-spending policies mooted by a new populist coalition government in the euro zone’s third-largest economy.

On this week's Inside Business podcast, Megan Greene, managing director and chief economist at Manulife Asset Management, joins presenter Cliff Taylor to discuss whether further turbulence is on the horizon.

They also look at trade tensions between the US and China and ask if developments this week could signal a détente between the countries.

Later in the podcast, Joe Gill of Goodbody Stockbrokers and Eoin Burke-Kennedy discuss the response of investors to results at two Irish companies: Greencore and Ryanair.

Zuckerberg in Brussels

But first, Laura Slattery has a roundup of some of the week’s other stories, including Mark Zuckerberg’s trip to Brussels to face MEPs and the hefty rents Ireland’s largest private landlord, Ires Reit, is charging for apartments in one of its north Dublin apartment complexes.

Inside Business is a regular podcast from The Irish Times. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, on Android, on Stitcher - or wherever you find podcasts.