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Shaping the future of finance

The Finanser’s Week: 23rd August – 29th August 2010

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Our biggest stories of the week are ...

How banks can deal with Gen Y and younger

I was recently interviewd by Ben Leis of Youth Trends Report, and reproduce the discussion here for posterity: Ben Leis: Growing up,
learning to save money was simple and fun with things like piggy banks
but over time financial education becomes more complicated.  How can the
financial education process be improved ...

Bank's online marketing is a waste of time

The Financial Brand ran an interesting survey this month to see how US
banker’s are getting on with online marketing.  Of the 154
retail bankers participating, 46% described themselves as
“novices” at online marketing while just 12 (8%) think that
they are advanced marketers online.  Considering the age we live
in, and the fact that most banking is now self-served over the mobile
and internet, that’s pretty dire. 

Bank's online marketing is critical

After writing a blog entry yesterday that claimed bank’s online marketing is a waste of time, I was surprised that only Ron and Joey pulled me up on this.  Reason: the headline is one that, for those who know me is obviously rubbish ...

Why the EU stress tests were questionable

Financier Worldwide recently ran a review of the European stress tests,
quoting yours truly a bit. Therefore, I thought it worth republishing
here, and can recommend the magazine if you're not already a
subscriber:Tested But Not Tried, Europe’s Banks Deemed to be Safe ...

How one trader cornered Europe's cocoa market

I’ve had a lot of calls since being quoted by the media about one
Mr. Anthony Ward, or Chocfinger as he’s now nicknamed.  This
is because the media love a good story and this one’s a doozy.
It’s all about a man who knows his chocolate and, as a result, he
just brought all the cocoa in Europe.

After the PSD and SEPA, has anything changed?

Last year, we performed a major survey in anticipation of the
implementation of the PSD and SEPA Direct Debits, to see how the world
viewed these areas.  This year, we're doing it again.   Click here to take the survey.

The movers and shakers in finance

A press release landed on my desk the other day with the headline:
“Identify the movers and shakers in the financial services
industry”. It had been released by a new company called
PeerIndex.  Who or what is PeerIndex?  They describe
themselves as: “the first company to provide a realistic
individual ranking of social authority across all social web content.”  However, their service is currently highly flawed.

Something wicked this way comes

I guess it's the role of citizens of any country to suffer their
supposedly democratically voted leaders, and the role of the media to
take the mickey out of them.  Now I'm not especially political, but
was a little concerned to see this photograph of our esteemed
Chancellor George Osborne in last week's papers ...

Classic Banking Frog Joke

I've read the joke before, but it's nice to hear it delivered with
Ozzie class by Kerry O'Keefe (Australian cricket commentator) ...

 

The major general news stories of the week include ...

'Building blocks' of a new economics - BBC

Economist Joseph Stiglitz explains how the "buildings blocks" exist for a new economic paradigm

UK bank accounting rules 'fatally flawed', warns influential watchdog - The Telegraph

Influential watchdog warns of a "regulatory fiasco" that allegedly contributed to the collapse of banks in 2008 - and still threatens the system.

Will a rich China make the west poorer? - BBC

HSBC's Chief Economist, Stephen King, thinks western nations will not be as rich in years to come. He tells Zeinab Badawi why.

Ireland's credit rating downgraded by S&P on bank fears - The Telegraph

Standard & Poor's has dealt a fresh blow to the Irish economy by cutting the nation's credit rating to AA-, the lowest since 1995.

High and dry - BBC

How one man's unusual protest illustrates Europe's financial woes

Market insiders blame 'fat finger failure' for unusual stock swings - The Independent

The London markets were believed to have fallen victim to "fat finger failure" yesterday, after trading in five stocks was temporarily suspended following wild swings in their pricing.

Lehman Brothers' art auction offers glimpse into the secret world of corporate collecting - The Telegraph

Banks and corporates have been discreetly buying paintings and sculptures since the 1950s and some have amassed huge, and hugely valuable, collections.

Chi-X receives approach from 'third party' - Financial Times

Europe's share trading markets are set for their biggest shake-up in years

New High Street bank raises £50m - BBC

A new banking business that intends to build a substantial presence on the UK High Street raises £50m through a share issue.

Shoppers livid as Barclays crashes - The Independent

Thousands of Barclays customers in Britain were unable to get into their bank accounts or withdraw money from cash machines yesterday after a nationwide system crash.


 

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Chris Skinner Author Avatar

Chris M Skinner

Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...

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