Fascinating and wide ranging article here from the Guardian. While some of it focusses on the impact on the London financial markets [the City], the causes and effects are very global. More on that in another post, but meantime this paragraph here makes an astute macro point, that I wanted to focus on. Which way now when the world has shifted? | Business | The Observer … … chief executive adds: ‘If you take a 10-year view, there is every reason to believe the financial services sector will be one of the fastest growing. Nothing that has happened in the … Continue reading “the quest for yield has not vanished and that will drive innovation”

Security

Thanks for multi-factor authentication | Bankwide

2007-12-222007-12-22 Colin Henderson

Good article on security here at Bankwide. It appears to be a new site, with coverage on compliance, security, and the impact on trust in Banks. A Letter From Hackers: Thanks for Multifactor Authentication | Security | Articles “Attackers aren’t getting in by guessing, they’re getting in by stealing the credentials or tricking the end-user into giving away the credentials.” So adding more credentials won’t make sites more secure. Continue reading Thanks for multi-factor authentication | Bankwide

sub prime2 Comments

“The subprime debacle also posed a question: What if it’s not the only problem?”

2007-12-192007-12-19 Colin Henderson

Interesting article on the sub prime crisis. It asks some interesting questions, that pose at a minimum, uncertainty about the economy, and in particular Banks. Robert J. Samuelson – Another Credit Minefield – washingtonpost.com Credit and financial markets subsist on trust and confidence. The subprime crisis has corroded both. Estimated losses range upward from $50 billion. Because trading in subprime mortgage securities is thin, how can they be accurately valued? Who holds them? Banks and investors have reacted to these uncertainties. For example, banks now find the “interbank market” — banks lending to each other — riskier than before, because … Continue reading “The subprime debacle also posed a question: What if it’s not the only problem?”

Uncategorized10 Comments

CommunityLend funding, management team and Board announcement

2007-12-142007-12-14 Colin Henderson

It is with some pride that I can finally go live with an announcement about CommunityLend in Canada, and that we will be launching the service in early 2008. [disclosure: I am on the mangement team] More at StartupNorth.ca. 2007 was a long year, as we raised our funding, and organised the management team. We are well on the way now, and looking forward to bringing you more milestones over the next while. We will launch the blog towards the end of January 08, and thats where I will take the discussion on social lending. CommunityLend What is CommunityLend? CommunityLend … Continue reading CommunityLend funding, management team and Board announcement

Uncategorized

Consumer pain looms with banks to hike credit cost

2007-12-112007-12-11 Colin Henderson

I remain convinced until proven otherwise that Banks are going through a seismic shift following the American sub prime crisis. The crisis will have profit impacts that drive product pricing and loan risk changes which will impact consumers over the next 2-3 years. Consumer pain looms with banks to hike credit cost – Times Online Millions of people are set for their biggest ever financial hangover in the new year as the squeeze on money markets hits households across Brtitain. Powered by ScribeFire. Continue reading Consumer pain looms with banks to hike credit cost

Web/Tech

Microsoft misses the mark again with Office Live

2007-12-112007-12-11 Colin Henderson

Thought I would try out Office Live, despite the poor reviews today. Microsoft Office Live Workspaces misses the mark – Yahoo! News OLW also requires Internet Explorer for full functionality. Well, it turns out I can’t use it with Firefox, since IE is not available in my Linux OS. MS just don’t get it. I want to try it out, and they want to force me into Windows. Nice try. PS … Google Docs is working just fine Technorati Tags: office+live Powered by ScribeFire. Continue reading Microsoft misses the mark again with Office Live

Profitability

Some American Banks will go under sometime over the next two years

2007-12-082007-12-08 Colin Henderson

Such statistics are mind boggling – Banks are lending out more than their capital to one segment. It actually doesn’t matter which segment; just that the notion of diversification relative to their capital base is lost. In laymans terms this means, that in the event of a housing, ergo, construction economy pull back, that Banks will go under. Its the equivalent of personally borrowing more than you have in other assets, then losing your job. Calculated Risk: Rising Delinquencies for Construction Loans Figures compiled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation … show that both midsize and small banks had construction … Continue reading Some American Banks will go under sometime over the next two years

Web/Tech

Eight Business Technology trends | Mckinsey

2007-12-072007-12-07 Colin Henderson

Wordy, but interesting article on technology trends, that is quite deep, and highly relevant. I found it useful to help sort through the relevance of peer to peer, and get a bit more granular on the benefits. business technology trends – Eight business technology trends to watch – Information Technology – Applications – The McKinsey Quarterly Technology alone is rarely the key to unlocking economic value: companies create real wealth when they combine technology with new ways of doing business. Through our work and research, we have identified eight technology-enabled trends that will help shape businesses and the economy in … Continue reading Eight Business Technology trends | Mckinsey

Bankwatch

PRODUCTIVITY Progress in era of Artificial Intelligence

“the quest for yield has not vanished and that will drive innovation”