Americans say they are fed up with banks. They are protesting on Wall Street and raising a ruckus over outsize fees. Now there is a surprising beneficiary: Wal-Mart. Read the NYT article.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
High Bank Fees Give Wal-Mart a Money Aisle
Americans say they are fed up with banks. They are protesting on Wall Street and raising a ruckus over outsize fees. Now there is a surprising beneficiary: Wal-Mart. Read the NYT article.
All the Single Ladies
Recent years have seen an explosion of male joblessness and a steep decline in men’s life prospects that have disrupted the “romantic market” in ways that narrow a marriage-minded woman’s options: increasingly, her choice is between deadbeats (whose numbers are rising) and playboys (whose power is growing).But this strange state of affairs also presents an opportunity: as the economy evolves, it’s time to embrace new ideas about romance and family—and to acknowledge the end of “traditional” marriage as society’s highest ideal. Read more in the Atlantic. (Thanks, Scott)
3 Ways to Think Like an Innovator
HBR's Management Tip of the Day: Most people struggle to do what innovators excel at: connecting the unconnected. Here are three ways to get in the habit of making new associations:
- Just do it. Force associations across different ideas when they don't come naturally. Ask yourself: What else could this idea be connected to?
- Shake it up. When associations don't emerge, try forcing them to surface. Put seemingly unrelated ideas or words together and see what comes to mind. The creative combinations may spark a new idea.
- Repeat. Research shows that if you practice associational thinking long enough, the task will energize you rather than exhaust you.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Financial Inclusion Proves both Worthy and Profitable
"Mobile technologies continue to play a huge part in the effort to extending banking services to previously 'unbanked' communities and the role of mobile technologies in doing so.
"New technologies have allowed banks in Africa, Brazil, and India to reach out to remote rural populations without easy access to a bank branch. But for Ed Cutrell, head of the technology for emerging markets team at Microsoft Research India in Bangalore, inexperienced customers need a great deal of help and education to use these services effectively.
"Better financial education would help the poor and decrease their reliance on costly, informal alternatives - such as credit at usurious rates from local shopkeepers. It might also reduce their vulnerability to being mis-sold financial services that they do not need."
Read more in the Financial Times.
"New technologies have allowed banks in Africa, Brazil, and India to reach out to remote rural populations without easy access to a bank branch. But for Ed Cutrell, head of the technology for emerging markets team at Microsoft Research India in Bangalore, inexperienced customers need a great deal of help and education to use these services effectively.
"Better financial education would help the poor and decrease their reliance on costly, informal alternatives - such as credit at usurious rates from local shopkeepers. It might also reduce their vulnerability to being mis-sold financial services that they do not need."
Read more in the Financial Times.
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Why Women Aren’t C.E.O.s, According to Women Who Almost Were
"It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s about loneliness, competition and deeply rooted barriers." Read more in the NYT .
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The Martin jetpack, a commercially developed jetpack, may soon be heading to a sky near you. Check out the Yahoo article . I want one (hint...
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"High tariffs and currency wars cost us big in the 1930s. We can avoid making the same mistakes again." Read the WSJ article .
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"It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s about loneliness, competition and deeply rooted barriers." Read more in the NYT .
