Tomorrow the NY Times will publish more details on the full Kaspersky report that covers an infiltration of Banks’ that is a game changer.  It does so because the approach demonstrates sophistication and understanding of banks that goes way beyond IT.  Security is no longer username and password issue.  This goes to the core of Banks business processes. Hundreds of banks have been infiltrated, mostly Russian but including American, European and Chinese – 23 countries in total, and hundreds or thousands of bank IP addresses. Here is why this is important.  Whenever 99% of lay people hear about hacking and … Continue reading Kaspersky report game changing bank heist worth hundreds of millions

There is a problem in trade logistics in North America.  The problem lies in west coast ports whose container traffic represent 3.5% of US GDP. The volume of trade with Asia, that basically has to arrive in a concentrated 3 or 4 major west coast ports, is such that relations between unions and ports have driven the costs up, and relations down, to such an extent that containers are backed up for several days.  One indication in the articles referenced suggests container unloading ocurred in only 4  of the last 10 days.   The ZeroHedge article following has some photos of … Continue reading West Coast Port shutdown becomes catastrophic

More on demographic and perhaps systemic shifts driven by internet and ecommerce.  To suggest that 20% of exiting shops will never be re-occupied is a staggering statistic.  Its not quite Detroit level stuff, but we are in a similar trajectory.   Demolish empty UK shops, say retail experts A fifth of empty shops in Britain will “never be reoccupied” and should be demolished or converted, according to the Local Data Company. The picture above is not uncommon in likes of Dundee which used to be a manufacturing hub that buzzed 30 years ago.  No more.  All across Norhern England the … Continue reading UK: 20% of shops will never be re-occupied

Its been a while since I looked at demographics and the shifts between the demographic groups.  This analysis is important because it spells out the banking audience and demographics don’t lie.  Booms in housing and in cottage prices are all tied to demographics and the size and income of generational shifts.   Demographics also spell out the nature of the banking audience and we can imply certain high level behaviours relative to technology.   This from Pew notes that in 2015 Millenials are officialy the largest demographic, overtaking Baby Boomers. This is significant because at ages 18 – 34 at least … Continue reading Demographic update from Pew

Its that time of year again when the World Economic Forum takes place in Davos, Switzerland.  Here is their 2015 Global Risk Report. Here is the overview. Continue reading World Economic Forum 2015 opens this week