~chris-skinner-s-blo | Bookmarks (191)

This week’s blog discussions included … Tally-ho! No, it’s not exciting fox hounds – it’s all to do with accounting I thought I had just found a new podcast called Money by David Walliams, the famous British comedian and children’s author. Then I found out it is by David McWilliams, the less famous Irish economist... The post The Finanser’s Week: 18th November – 24th...

I know that my blog is meant to focus upon business, finance and technology, but every now and again you start asking existential questions like: What is time? Why do we have borders? What is money? Do we live in the matrix? So, I thought I would address these questions. What is time? Time is... The post Are we living in the Matrix? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Bitcoin Headed To $100,000 As Cryptocurrency Eyes Next Milestone Starling Bank Faces Leadership Backlash & Regulatory Challenges Bank pledges €500m for nature-based solutions. Can greening your money help fight climate change? | Euronews Atom Bank Acquires 25-Acre Woodland in Northumberland to Tackle Climate Change US leaves no major Russian... The post Things worth reading: 22nd November 2024 appeared...

I thought I had just found a new podcast called Money by David Walliams, the famous British comedian and children’s author. Then I found out it is by David McWilliams, the less famous Irish economist and author of Money: A Story of Humanity. BBC Radio4 selected this as its book of the week recently, and began... The post Tally-ho! No, it’s not exciting fox hounds...

Things we’re reading today include … Donald Trump could create first cryptocurrency role at White House Russia’s new crypto-mining laws challenge Western sanctions Bluesky Proves You Can Do Crypto Without Cryptocurrency – Splinter Triodos Bank Pledges $527M For Nature-Based Solutions By 2030 Santander launches digital bank in Mexico | bobsguide 2025’s Biggest Fintech & Payments’... The post Things worth reading: 21st November 2024 appeared...

Why do we count to ten? Because we have ten fingers*. That’s one of the things I learned recently which, when someone said it, made absolute sense. That’s why we have ten times table, and everything is broken down this way today … apart from binary 1’s and 0’s, which is probably because technologists only... The post The Power of Zero appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Logan Paul accused of misleading fans over cryptocurrency investments – BBC News Starling Bank staff resign after new chief executive calls for more time in-office | The Guardian Fintech unicorns watch Klarna IPO for signs of when window will reopen JPMorgan’s Chase UK bank launches first credit card Revolutionary... The post Things worth reading: 20th November 2024 appeared...

With the launch of Gladiator II this week (one of my fave films of all time was the first one), did the Roman Empire end because of the failure of the economy and, specifically, the monetary supply? Some would say yes. In fact, some would say the fall of the Roman Empire was due to... The post Gladiator III: I won’t fight if you...

Things we’re reading today include … Donald Trump’s social media group in talks to buy crypto trading venue HSBC Makes Managers Vie for Jobs Amid CEO Streamlining FinTech Connect Report: Majority of FinTechs Seeking Investment, But Face Hurdles in Securing Funding Barclays Bank in talks over giving away 80% stake in merchant acquiring business Christian... The post Things worth reading: 19th November 2024 appeared...

Fifteen years ago, I did a major survey into the use of cloud computing in financial services. Bear in mind this was really early days, and the results were quite nebulous. The main headline was that cloud computing needs better definition to succeed: The research report, which encompasses the views of over 230 financial professionals... The post Hey! You! Get onto my cloud …...

Things we’re reading today include … Cryptocurrency trader turns $1.1k into $1.62 million in 20 days Couple accused of money laundering €21m using money mules and cryptocurrency Fintech at heart of UK’s financial services growth strategy – Chancellor AI doubts at Asia’s largest fintech festival — Capital Brief ECB split over report showing big EU... The post Things worth reading: 18th November 2024 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … Will the new America be based upon a digital dollar that is stable? It’s fascinating how things change. Donald Trump is President-Elect and bitcoin’s price soars to over $80,000. Quite predictable as he will be the crypto-President, as mentioned in July,  but maybe a forecast of a bitcoin... The post The Finanser’s Week: 11th November – 17th...

Last month I asked where is the national payments vision? After last night’s Mansion House meeting in London with the UK Chancellor, it has finally been released. So, what’s in the plan? First, there are two regulators involved in payments: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). The consultation discovered that the... The post Finally, UKGov issues their National Payments Vision...

It seems like most of the news this week has been about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Between Donald Trump, a crypto convert, and Elon Musk, a crypto enthusiast, everyone is now getting in on the game. By way of example, here’s a few headlines in the past week: There’s another big winner of the US election:... The post Cryptocurrencies boom for the next four years...

Things we’re reading today include … Senator Lummis Bullish For A US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Deutsche Bank Highlights Crypto’s Growing Role in BRICS Cross-Border Payments World Cloud Report 2025 – Unlock Financial Growth with Cloud Donald Trump Says Jamie Dimon Won’t Be Part of New Administration – Bloomberg Bank of England governor says Brexit has... The post Things worth reading: 15th November 2024 appeared...

I was interested in this speech given the other day by Patrick T. Harker, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, because its title was: Fintech, AI, and the Changing Financial Landscape The speech is broad, and focuses upon the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to the financial... The post One Fed’s view of how AI will...

Things we’re reading today include: Musk supports radical change in who controls America’s supply of money Dogecoin Price News: Trump Confirms Musk to Lead D.O.G.E as Traders Target $1 Bitcoin’s record-breaking price rally continues amid ‘Trump bump’ crypto frenzy Top bitcoin analyst says Trump’s win is ‘not the main story’ behind recent bitcoin price surge,... The post Things worth reading: 14th November 2024 appeared...

I stumbled across this clip the other day of Jeff Bezos on The Tonight Show twenty-five years ago. Jay Leno asks him how the company can be worth billions when it consistently makes losses. Jeff Bezos laughs along but then says: “we are a famously unprofitable company, but we are investing in the future”. We... The post Forget Return on Investment … focus on...

Things we’re reading today include … NatWest blocks staff from using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger – BBC News Metro Bank fined nearly £17m for failure to monitor potential money laundering | The Guardian After fining Metro Bank and Starling, which challenger bank will the FCA target next? Monzo Bank app comes top in user satisfaction... The post Things worth reading: 13th November 2024 appeared...

It’s fascinating how things change. Donald Trump is President-Elect and bitcoin’s price soars to over $80,000. Quite predictable as he will be the crypto-President, as mentioned in July,  but maybe a forecast of a bitcoin price of $100,000+ by year-end is not so outrageous after all. Then, what intrigued me, is two stories. The first... The post Will the new America be based upon...

Things we’re reading today include … There’s another big winner of the US election: cryptocurrency | The Independent The cryptocurrency market has surpassed the total value of the FTSE 100 – Share Talk End of Treasury’s stake in NatWest is nigh, and no flashy sell-off required | Nils Pratley | The Guardian Argentinian fintech Ualá... The post Things worth reading: 12th November 2024 appeared...

Last week, McKinsey released their latest podcast and the title caught my eye: Transforming to an AI-powered finance function It’s a really interesting chat between OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar and McKinsey senior partner Lareina Yee on the podcast At the Edge. Listening to it (and there’s also a transcript), here are a few highlights of Sarah’s thoughts,... The post How AI can transform the finance function...

Things we’re reading today include … Bitcoin tops record $80,000 as Trump nears sweep of US Congress – BBC News Crypto firms including Robinhood, Kraken launch global stablecoin network | Reuters Treasury weighs sanctions on cryptocurrency tied to Howard Lutnick – The Washington Post Central Bank Digital Currency: Progress And Further Considerations Banking chaos as... The post Things worth reading: 11th November 2024 appeared...

This week’s blog discussions include: What does Trump’s victory mean for banks, tech, fintech and the future? Unsurprisingly, after a major election that will influence the Western world, the election of Donald Trump resulted in a flood of PR releases and contacts to tell me how this will influence the economy, Europe and the world.... The post The Finanser’s Week: 4th November – 10th...