Some contradictory comments coming from BofA and Morgan Stanley.  Definite shades of 2008 in the wind.  Last time it was US Subprime mortgages.  This time it is sovereign debt.  Different catalyst, same result.  Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan said he is confident the bank can withstand any fallout from the European sovereign debt crisis, even if it hurts the US, Bloomberg reports. “That contagion stuff is real,” Mr Moynihan said during an event in Washington on Wednesday. Banks’ business models are no longer well designed to operate in times of financial stress. The ever tighter relationship between banks … Continue reading “That contagion stuff is real” | Moynihan BofA

The Great Unwinding is playing out as the European banks are now destined to look just like the British banks with extensive ownership by respective governments on the way, with commensurate reduction in innovation capacity. How to recapitalise a continent’s banks Analysts at JPMorgan have modelled for a “base-case” capital injection requirement across the European banking sector of about €150bn, rising to €230bn under more bearish economic stresses. Nomura puts the number at €200bn, Morgan Stanley’s estimate is up to €190bn. Continue reading European Banks destined for government ownership

RBC have released the Android version of their mobile banking application.  Here are some stats provided by RBC on their mobile success to date since Dec 2010.  I am a fan of their iPhone app, and its nice to see them rounded out on Android, iPhone and Blackberry now. Mobile banking apps have certainly proven to be an attractive banking option for RBC clients.  Since the initial launch in December 2010, mobile banking apps have resulted in: • 800,000 unique downloads to date • On average, clients checking their account balance over 12 times every month • Over 1.6 million … Continue reading RBC just launched its Android app

In a vaguely worded rebuttal Kodak all but confirms they are in sufficient trouble, having not made a profit since 2004, that they are considering bankruptcy as a lever for a strategic shift. Kodak Hires Lawyers, Weighing Bankruptcy Filing | Dealbook NY Times Continue reading Another sign of the industrial revolution of the 21st century –Kodak

Once in a while a technology shift is big enough to require mention.  Amazon Silk fits that category.  I was sitting with some developer folks listening to a conversation about this stuff and relating it to what Amazon has done.  Basically browsers are not very smart and work on architecture that is more than 20 years old. In simple terms when you click a link today, it sends several requests to the server and receives the responses. If there are 20 pictures on the page, you need 20 requests and responses, plus a few others for handling the general page. … Continue reading Amazon Silk is a game changer and now the cloud makes sense

The Groupon situation continues to deteriorate.  As noted earlier, their financial forecasts were full of holes.  Now they are altering their revenue forecast to reflect the earlier fiction of gross income which is now restated to reflect payments to merchants.  If a groupon costs $10 then $5 +/- is paid to the merchant.  Previously Groupon claimed $10 as revenue.  Their restated S-1 to the SEC reflects real revenue as $5 in this example. Who knows if they will even make IPO.  There is so much insidiousness about this company.  Their last raise was designed to pay out investors and founders.  … Continue reading Groupon efforts to give a bad name to accounting are caught out