Saturday, 28 January 2012

Cyber Security

This past week PwC hosted ‘a real time cyber crisis’ highlighting the realities of a cyber attack, at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Entitled ‘What a cyber attack looks like - raising awareness of cyber space risks for government and business leaders,’ PwC consultants used a video and actors to bring the cyber threat to life and highlight the risks organizations face if they don’t have a comprehensive response capability.
The session was chaired by PwC chairman Ian Powell.  Mr. Powell commented: “The alarming growth in cyber crime highlights the challenge that all global business leaders face. Although they might be aware of the threat they are not necessarily equipped to respond effectively, so it’s important to discuss the issues at a platform like Davos. After all, cyber is a global risk that knows no boundaries.”
“Cyber security is not just an IT issue. All public and private sector organizations need to transform their mindset and capability to address this growing threat. Often CEOs aren't particularly cyber savvy. Leaders generally see cyber as a technical issue and fail to appreciate the business impact of an attack. As a result, interaction between relevant teams is often unpractised, and decision making and communication under pressure are untested.
“Recent attacks have shown incredible resourcefulness and ability on the part of the criminals and even the most cyber savvy organisations have found themselves exposed and ill prepared to manage the effects. The cyber threat is very real and businesses need to allocate proportionate time and resource.”
This video was shown at the Davos session.

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Movie-goers can order food & drinks directly from their seats

MasterCard has teamed up with Australia’s Commonwealth Bank and cinema group Hoyts to pilot a mobile payments application that lets movie-goers order food and drinks directly from their seats.
CBA and Hoyts will be the first companies in the world to try out MasterCard's QkR app when the pilot starts this month. Movie-goers at La Premiere cinemas in Sydney who have an iPhone or Android handset will be able buy food and drink from their seats through their phones.

Bank charges – Would you accept unnecessary costs from your baker or supermarket?

The Brussels-based arm of a German bank has launched a marketing campaign that points out the absurdity of bank per item fees. The campaign, using online videos and radio ads, show real-life scenarios of supermarket and bakery customers being asked to pay small fees for all the extras. Hidden cameras have been used to capture real customer reactions, which can be summed up with the phrase, "We're not going take this!"

The campaign uses the tagline "You wouldn't accept unnecessary costs from your baker/supermarket. Why accept them from your bank?"

The supermarket

The baker

Saturday, 21 January 2012

High frequency trading and the future of finance

When people think of the stock market, they think of Wall Street. But the world of finance is changing, and high-powered computers and high frequency trading methods are quickly taking on a larger role. Is this safe, and who wins and who loses?
This video from “Ideas in Action” with Jim Glassman looks at HFT as its know, how it works and the pros and cons.

Saturday, 14 January 2012

A computer on a credit card

One of the products on display this week at CES 2012 that really caught our eye was this credit card device.
Dynamics Inc. has put an entire computer architecture into the size and shape of everyday credit cards. These fully programmable cards are password protected, allowing only authorized users access to funds. They have a host of other features too.

Global Risks 2012

Economic imbalances and social inequality risk reversing the gains of globalization, warns the World Economic Forum in its report Global Risks 2012. These are the findings of a survey of 469 experts and industry leaders, indicating a shift of concern from environmental risks to socio economic risks compared to a year ago.
Access the report using the link below.

Friday, 13 January 2012

Using your Web Cam as a Card Reader

Jumio, a US start-up, has developed a system to turn Web cams and smartphone cameras into credit card readers.
The company's Netswipe technology uses video streaming to let customers make online purchases at sites using it by capturing their credit card with a Web cam or smartphone camera and then keying in their CVV code.


Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two

"Fight of the Century" is another economics hip-hop music video by John Papola and Russ Roberts at http://EconStories.tv .
According to the US National Bureau of Economic Research, the “Great Recession” ended almost three years ago, in the summer of 2009. Yet we're all uneasy. Job growth has been disappointing. The recovery seems fragile. Where should we head from here? Is that question even meaningful? Can the government steer the economy or have past attempts helped create the mess we're still in?
In "Fight of the Century", Keynes and Hayek weigh in on these central questions. Do we need more government spending or less? What's the evidence that government spending promotes prosperity in troubled times? Can war or natural disasters paradoxically be good for an economy in a slump? Should more spending come from the top down or from the bottom up? What are the ultimate sources of prosperity?
Keynes and Hayek never agreed on the answers to these questions and they still don't. Let's listen to the greats. See Keynes and Hayek throwing down in "Fight of the Century"!

Mobile Banking: Is It Safe?

 
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