Banks should be worried about technology companies invading their industry, and not just because of the newcomers’ whizzier systems. Finance execs should also be concerned…
GENDER GAP
Financial inclusion is improving around the world—but women are still missing out
The good news is that mobile phones and the internet are bringing millions of people into the formal financial system, meaning they have bank accounts…
SPECIAL FX
The best money transfer rates bypass both banks and the blockchain
A growing worry for banks is that tech companies are coming for their business, the same way Apple became a music distributor and Amazon invaded…
THREAT LEVEL
The world’s biggest money manager is worried about Chinese tech firms
BlackRock co-founder Robert Kapito is increasingly worried about the tech industry’s plans for his own sector. Last year, the president of the world’s largest asset…
BANK ON IT
Big tech companies think they can make a lot of money from the world’s unbanked
It sounds coldly capitalistic, but the world’s unbanked are becoming less of a philanthropic opportunity and more of a commercial one. Startups were already targeting…
UNCHAINED
Blockchain dreams do come true: A big Spanish bank’s customers can now use it to transfer money
Blockchain boosters rejoice: A major bank is using the distributed-ledger technology that makes bitcoin possible for international payments of fiat currency. Santander, which had been…
HODL THE MEDICINE
If bitcoin mania spreads like a disease, Barclays thinks the fever has broken
What is bitcoin worth? This was the question on many minds as the cryptocurrency’s price soared last year, and has remained a puzzler as Lamborghini-coveting…
TWEET STORM
Let’s recap the financial markets Trump has rattled recently
Donald Trump is having an eventful month, even by his frenetic standards. Financial markets have been swept up in the turmoil as the US flirts…
NO CRYAN NO MORE
Deutsche Bank finally put John Cryan out of his misery
Less than three years after taking over Deutsche Bank, John Cryan is leaving the German lender. The company’s stock has fallen more than 50% during…
TIT FOR TAT
Trump’s trade battle with China is discombobulating the stock market
Escalating trade skirmishes broke out between Washington and Beijing this week, with investors caught in the middle. Although the S&P 500, for the moment, is…
DOWNERS
Bitcoin and its crypto cousins are trading at their lowest prices in five months
Bitcoin is bumping around near the lowest prices recorded since November, as government watchdogs around the world more closely scrutinize the crypto sector. The market…
🦄🌈💰
What’s at stake for Wall Street in Spotify’s unorthodox IPO
Spotify is joining the ranks of companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange today, and people are paying extra attention because of its unorthodox…
