This is Chris Skinner's main, one and only blog site and everything spins off from here

Chi-X exploits LSE's weaknesses further
There’s plenty of innovation in banking right now, from investment through commercial to retail banking. And it’s not just amongst the big banks, the thriving banks and the growing banks but amongst the struggling banks, the tarnished banks and the zombie banks too.  For example, Citi are spending a billion dollars on new payments technologies this year, and there's plenty of innovation in their transactions services business.But some innovators create new business models at the expense of the incumbents - that's the way i

Monstra mihi pecuniam!
The story of the month has to be the scandal mentioned two weeks ago regarding the Hedge Fund Manager and the Prostitutes. It's been filling our papers for weeks, and is the sex harassment case between Canadian Jordan Wimmer against multimillionaire hedge fund manager Mark Lowe. Here's just a small selection of the many headlines worldwide:

Things worth reading: 26th November 2009
Things we're reading today include ... Today's must read: "The National Australia Bank has confirmed a spike in customers using its retail banking services from internet-enabled mobile phones is likely to lead to it replacing security pass codes - now sent by SMS - with biometric voice prints within a year because of growing security concerns."What is next in mobile banking - voice biometrics (CIO Magazine, NZ)  Regulations

Zombie money in a chainsaw hell
I recently discovered that friends were killing me.Literally ripping me to shreds with a chainsaw.And it hurt.After all, I am meant to be the Zombie Priest in the Church of Goth, and no-one had beaten me before.And where did that chainsaw come from?I was mad.In fact, I was steaming.So I vowed to get a chainsaw myself.Problem is that I would have to turn at least 40 friends into Zombies too, in order to earn enough points to buy a chainsaw.And so far, I had invited over 200 mates to become Zombies and only 12 had bothered to do so.How would I get 40 of them to turn?It was a problem.And I was sti

Things worth reading: 25th November 2009
Things we're reading today include ...Today's must read:After Lloyd Blankfein let slip that Goldman Sachs were performing "God's work", the revised Lord's Prayer has just been released:Our chairman, who art at Goldman, Blankfein be thy name. The rally's come. God's work be done. We have no fear of correction. Give us this day our daily gains, and bankrupt our nearest competitors, just as you taught Lehman and Bear a lesson.