Japan with the 3rd largest economy in the world and involvement of much of the worlds technology (think Sony, Sharp, Kyocera, Toshiba, Toyota, Nissan) will have aftershocks throughout currency markets and costs of goods following the horrific combination of earthquake, tsunami, nuclear incidents and now rolling electrical brownouts including Tokyo that we are just watching now. The Nikkei index dropped 5% Monday morning.  The Bank of Japan is standing by to inject enormous amounts into the economy in Quantitative Easing that exceeds the breadth that even the US has used. These contrasting stories reflect the depth of the problem while … Continue reading The Sendai earthquake in Japan will have long lasting economic effects in Japan and the world

There is lots of discussion these days on the topic of P2P lending, and when I saw Claus post on pricing the other day, I knew it was a hot button topic.  Now that the post has been there a few days, I thought I would offer a few more thoughts on at least what I see as the significance. Thoughts on Future Pricing for P2P Lending Service | P2P-Banking.com Now years after launch, most p2p lending service are “short” of (good) borrowers. Their lenders have a surplus of capital that could be lend out, would there be more loan … Continue reading P2P Lending platform pricing and a comparison to the traditional bank model

Grameen Bank and Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize winning microfinance pioneer formed part of the genesis and confluence of ideas that promoted North American and European P2P Lending.  Yunus, a Nobel prize winner wrote the renowned “Banker to the Poor” that adorns the bookshelfs of most in the P2P business. So it was with some consternation and perplexity that I read this headline. Grameen defies order to dismiss Yunus The bank founded by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize winning microfinance pioneer, has defied an order by Bangladesh’s financial regulator to remove him from office.  Setting the stage for a battle … Continue reading Grameen bank resists pressure to fire Muhammad Yunus

This piece from the insightful Stratfor summarises the middle east situation.  Libya is sad but the key remains in the rich central oil states.  Watch for shifts there.  The $37Bn payment to Saudis is consequential in this debate. Watch for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States reaction. Stratfor Colin Chapman: George, what are the potential geopolitical implications of these events on the rest of the Middle East and beyond? George: The situation in North Africa has for the moment clarified itself. You’ve got a military junta running Egypt. It’s promised elections and we’ll see if they happen. Tunisia has settled … Continue reading Watch for Saudi Arabia and Gulf State reaction

In a follow up to Bank of America’s dumb url strategy idea noted late last year, one outcome is a new cottage industry described in this Finextra post, whereby people are creating facetious sites that refer to bankofamerica.com.  They must be chasing their tails in BofA marketing right now. Technorati Tags: finextra.com,bank of america Continue reading “Bank of America is the Bank of Satan” | Finextra.com

Interesting opinion and analysis piece from Danny Schechter on Al Jazeera.  US economics: One big Ponzi scheme | Al Jazeera For years, he went undetected by business journalists, who knew – or should have known – what he was up to. There are even questions about the speed with which he was sentenced, preventing him from being tried – a process which, through diligent cross-examination, would have brought us more information on the details of his dirty deals. The NY Times have a Madoff timeline here and this is a summary: arrested – Dec 11, 2008 charges – Mar 10 … Continue reading Who knew and when did they know it | Bernie Madoff facts still unclear

Nice article in the Baltimore Sun that perfectly summarises the last 3 weeks in the middle east, and how the American news stations have lost the place.  I love Al Jazeera but the quality it represents is a subset of a global problem. It’s Al Jazeera, then everyone else | Baltimore Sun It was fascinating Friday to watch how closely CNN seemed to be tracking or imitating — or maybe simply chasing — Al Jazeera. In the immediate wake of Mubarak’s resignation, the U.S. channels seemed to be content to mostly show images of Liberation Square while anchors and correspondents … Continue reading North America, Europe and the view of things in the world

Mubarak is gone, and a military council is in charge.  The senior leaders of the military now have the challenge to move the country from a military dictatorship under 31 years of military rule towards some type of democratic government.  There are many questions concerning political aspects, but it does not seem clear that the region, including Suez & Israel can expect some continuation of local peace treaties and inter country stability. Mubarak Resigns, Military is in Charge | Stratfor Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman delivered the following statement Feb. 11: “In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, … Continue reading A coup has taken place in Egypt with the military now in charge