I got hauled up the other day by someone who thought I was very insensitive in blogging about this crisis as an economic one, but not a catastrophic one. What I actually wrote was (I’ve amended it slightly since): Someone wrote the other day that this pandemic is like a world …

Things we’re reading today … … are all about Wirecard … Wirecard versus The Financial Times: a FinTech poster child on trial Wirecard’s Missing Billions Forces Out CEO, Panics Lenders Why was Frankfurt so blind for so long about Wirecard? … and a few other things … ‘Having my identity …

The main blog headlines are … This is no Black Swan (Part Two) I was having a bit of ding-dong over my article about the coronavirus pandemic being perfectly predictable and not a black swan. There are many who believe the reaction to the pandemic is a black swan, as …

I was sitting and thinking that I’ve been a bit negative in my recent posts. I don’t like being negative as I’m an optimist. So I determined that today I must write a cheerful story … whoops! failed. Instead, I woke up to the news that a young man had …

Things we’re reading today include … European Central Bank hands out 1.3 trillion euros in loans Wirecard shares slump over missing €1.9bn To understand the new wave of small investors, look to China The successes of the Fed’s dollar-swap lines Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds among UK banks that had links …

I was having a bit of ding-dong over my article about the coronavirus pandemic being perfectly predictable and not a black swan. There are many who believe the reaction to the pandemic is a black swan, as in the lockdown of Planet Earth. Hmmm … what reaction did we think …

Things we’re reading today include … Visa predicts ‘permanent’ shift in consumer spending habits Commerzbank fined £38m by UK watchdog for money-laundering failings HSBC to press on with 35,000 job cuts Coronavirus: Money printer hopes virus crisis boosts demand for fresh bank notes Dollar and yen gain on worries about …

I’m a simple guy. I don’t trade or invest much. That may seem surprising for a FinTech guy, but most of what I’ve invested in seems to lose value. As a result, I collect rare comics instead as Batman, Spiderman and Ironman are forever. That being said, I do follow …

Things we’re reading today include … Banks ‘could share branches’ in bid to rescue access to cash Visa hails ‘permanent’ shift in consumer spending habits Banks must treat debt-laden firms fairly to avoid replay of 2008, says FCA chair New trials planned for cash-stricken communities UK Finance boss resigns as …

Sitting at home, as usual, and thinking about life, I realised that my blogs were becoming far more personal and revealing than usual. I don’t post a lot of them, as I think they are too personal and revealing, but it made me realise that this crisis and lockdown has …

Things we’re reading today include … Metro Bank in talks to buy peer-to-peer lender Ratesetter Amazon And Goldman Sachs: A Small Business Lending Wake-Up Call For Banks Light on tech, heavy on banks — has Warren Buffett lost his touch? Facebook launches WhatsApp digital payment service Amazon v EU: Has …

Like many, I’ve watched 2020 unfold with a mixture of shock and horror. It began with Australian bushfires followed rapidly by the coronavirus pandemic and now the Black Lives Matter demonstrations. My real shock was that there could be so many global demonstrations during a major global lockdown. Do rules …

Things we’re reading today include … PagoFX — Can a bank really build its own fintech? Bank of England joins Dennis the Menace for kids project Wall Street Week Ahead: Investors bet bounce in value stocks will stick Crunch time for China’s robot startups as pandemic brings pain and opportunities …

The main blog headlines are … Are banks too full of testosterone? There’s no logical reason for this, but I’ve decided the second week of June is women’s week. It’s a week to celebrate diversity, or the lack of diversity, in finance and technology. So, this week’s blogs are all …

In a final perspective around women and technology and finance, I welcome the thoughts of Ron Shevlin, the snark himself. In a recent article on Forbes, Ron wrote about what women want from banking. The research his company Cornerstone produced some interesting results. Enjoy … The Four Things Women Want …