Opinion

Recently, Dr. Gail Bradbrook of Extinction Rebellion allowed The Finanser to publish a guest piece, which was generally well received. However, one letter stood out as a rebuttal. Gail determined to reply to this view, and so the dialogue carries on below… When economics and investments are led by our better selves Dear Anonymous Banker, I…

I don’t like posting twice a day but, at a time of ‘peace-keeping’, it seems worthwhile because it’s interesting. It’s interesting that when there’s a war somewhere else, it doesn’t matter. I always remember hosting  Jaz and Nils O’Hara of the Worldwide Tribe at the Financial Services Club in 2016 talking about the Calais Jungle. Do you…

During the weekend, there was some real action against Russia and specifically Vladimir Putin. The aim is to freeze Russia’s assets, worth around $630 billion, around the world. ‘A global financial pariah’: how central bank sanctions could hobble Russia The ban on Moscow’s use of its roughly $630bn of foreign reserves will harm [the country’s]…

I stumbled across an interesting report by Clarivate who, using a statistical analysis, have identified the 100 most innovative companies in the world. Technology advancement is a complex composition of talent, of competition and of need. New ideas emanate from everywhere scientists, engineers and developers reside. What is the methodology? They basically take the inventiveness…

I have waste in my life. I have a lot of things I could throw away. Old toys, broken computers, screens with cracks, lawnmowers that don’t work, Lego with bits missing, cables that I cannot remember what they’re for … the list goes on. This is my debt. My debt of waste. A house full…

We are all probably aware of the furore over Novax Djocavic and the Australian Open tennis championship. The issue is to vax or not to vax. Now, some people can’t get a vaccination due to their health conditions but, other than this, governments are telling us you must get vaccinated. France mandates “a vaccine pass that…

NatWest, formerly Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), is a good example of a bank with rubbish IT. This was illustrated when I spotted the headline: NatWest fined $300 million for money laundering. They didn’t do the money laundering, but a number of accounts – specifically a jeweller, Fowler Oldfield – did. How did this happen?…

Focusing just on the payments space, there are many folks making forecasts for 2022. Here are the highlights. The Financial Brand lists seven major trends for 2022: The ‘P2P’ Wars Will Continue Unabated Despite All the New Stuff, Cards (and Cash) Roll On BNPL: The Payments Wild Card It’s A Wallet! It’s a Platform! It’s Super…

We teach our children to read and write. It’s a priority. Why don’t we teach them to understand money? Surely financial literacy is as important as basic literacy? Some people get this, and some people don’t, but I woke up to this big time reading a few recent articles. For example, Claer Barrett writes in…