Opinion

I bought a bird feeder and hung it on the patio the other week. I filled it with seed every day to see if it would attract the birds. Within a week, there were hundreds of birds feeding on the continuously free and easily accessible food. I enjoyed watching them …

After billions of dollars in bailouts and bonuses hit the decks, can we finally say that the worst is behind us? Many of us would like to think so, and possibly they could be right. I mean how much of this recession, depression, gaping black hole or whatever you want …

Thanks for all the comments providing the balance to my promotion of the idea that bankers deserve their bonuses yesterday. Here’s the contrarian view I could have put forward, but left out: How could you possibly agree with the idea that bankers deserve their bonuses, you schmuck? That’s just darned …

There’s a wonderful rumour that’s circulating about Sir Fred Goodwin taking over from Max Mosley as head of Formula 1, the fast car racing league that travels the world in a carnival of cars and cash. It's not a popular rumour with some, as there’s a lot of anger over …

There’s a wonderful rumour that’s circulating about Sir Fred Goodwin taking over from Max Mosley as head of Formula 1, the fast car racing league that travels the world in a carnival of cars and cash. It's not a popular rumour with some, as there’s a lot of anger over …

I know that this will cause an argument, as I was having this very argument myself, but I cannot let the opportunity pass to report a conversation I was having about City bonuses. The media have a blast every time there’s a rumour of a bonus being paid in a …

Back in November 2007, when Alan Greenspan was running around promoting his book, the Age of Turbulence, his kudos was high and standing was great.  It was just a year after leaving office and subprime had hit, but folks thought it was just a $300 billion hole … a mere …

Back in November 2007, when Alan Greenspan was running around promoting his book, the Age of Turbulence, his kudos was high and standing was great.  It was just a year after leaving office and subprime had hit, but folks thought it was just a $300 billion hole … a mere …

Two weeks ago, I posted two items about why Banking will be free (Part One and Part Two), and this is Part Three in that series. Banking as a Service (BaaS) is the new version of Banking using the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model. You’re probably all familiar …

Two weeks ago, I posted two items about why Banking will be free (Part One and Part Two), and this is Part Three in that series.  Banking as a Service (BaaS) is the new version of Banking using the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model.  You’re probably all familiar …

Speaking of Jamie Dimon’s appearance at Davos, he called upon a rethink of the Central Clearing System for OTC Derivatives that everyone wants to see in play. The clearing and settlement area is the plumbing of financial service, where all risks of sellers or buyers defaulting are managed by the …

As most banks see the brown stuff hitting the fan, they must be really jealous that JPMorgan seem so clean.  JPM’s CEO Jamie Dimon was one of the few bank chiefs willing to stick his head above the parapets this week at Davos, saying things like:“We gave them (customers) weapons …

Over the past few months, the liquidity crisis storms have hit Germany as hard as any market. The German government had to bail out HypoReal Estate (HRE) and pumped €500 billion into the banks, a figure that is about to double. The question this raises in my mind is whether …

Over the past few months, the liquidity crisis storms have hit Germany as hard as any market. The German government had to bail out HypoReal Estate (HRE) and pumped €500 billion into the banks, a figure that is about to double. The question this raises in my mind is whether …

It’s been a week and a half again, but without many bank scare headlines thank goodness. Instead, we have lots of headlines of politicians and business leaders attacking the banking industry.  It all starts in Davos, with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao blaming America’s “unsustainable model of development characterised by prolonged …