Future

I liked what Hillary Clinton said about data in yesterday's blog: “Data not only measures progress, it inspires it.” The reason I liked it is that it brought me back to the basics of what I do in banking: data leverage. There’s an old chart we used to knock around about data creating power: The…

Professor Michael Mainelli and Ian Harris (see bio's at end of blog entry) are regular guests of the Financial Services Club, and were invited back to close the London season of meetings with an engaging discussion about the Price of Fish. You may wonder what anything in banking has to do with The Price of…

There’s a buzz that’s started about Facebook banking asCommonwealth Bank of Australia and ICICI Bank get into Facebook banking apps, with Citibank fast to follow. What’s going on? Originally, we all though Facebook would take over bank functions through stealth creep via Facebook credits. Facebook credits are in fact worth around $1.5 billon a year…

And so to my final blog piece about Re|source 2012: Bill Clinton’s speech. Source: Getty Images What can you say about the man, the legend? The man who has felt more ladies knicker elastic than Marks & Spencer’s head underwear tester. No, that’s not important. You know, I was amazed about the reverence, excitement and…

  For those who are really into the information I've been writing about sustainability and resource management for the future from Re|source 2012, here's the official write-up of Bill Clinton's speech: PRESIDENT CLINTON TELLS RESOURCE 2012 COOPERATION IS ONLY WAY TO SOLVE RESOURCE CHALLENGES   The most important decision of the 21st century is whether the…

Sir David King (see end of blog for bio) provided a short summary at the end of the two day Re|Source 2012 conference. It provided a good summary of all the issues these global leaders are facing, and provides some pointers towards the role of the financial community. First, there is a population explosion. The…

As recently mentioned, I attended the Re|source 2012 conference at Oxford University last week. The meeting took place in the historic School of Examinations building … … and was a meeting of the great and the good to discuss how to build a sustainable world. The conference had many of the leaders from politics and…

A dreadful question I know, but one that comes up regularly in discussions about work/life balance and, more importantly, money/happiness debates. The question is at the heart of where you prioritise: family and community or work and wealth. It came up again during the last few weeks of scandal in the City, and the conversation…

With all this talk of greed and corruption in the City (more on that later too), everyone is demanding a return to basic banking. I’ve heard this several times in the past week and over the past few years. Just yesterday, over lunch, my colleague was recalling the days when you needed credit from the…