Financial services is a term used to refer to the services provided by the finance industry. Financial services is also the term used to describe organizations that deal with the management of money. Banks, investment banks, insurance companies, credit card companies and stock brokerages, are examples of the types of firms comprising the industry, which provides a variety of money and investment related services. Financial services is the largest industry (or industry category) in the world, in terms of earnings; as of 2004, the industry represents 20% of the market capitalization of the S&P 500.^*

History of financial services

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United States: Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

The term financial services became more prevalent in the United States partly as a result of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of the late 1990s, which enabled different types of companies in the US financial services industry to merge. Critics of this act say the term financial services attempts to make the unison of these operations sound natural, ignoring the history of problems that have arisen from combining them, such as conflicts of interest and monopolization. Others, noting that many of the restrictions abolished by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act had never existed in other countries or had been abolished earlier than in the US, say the term financial services is a natural one, in long term use, which means nothing more than its constituent words.

In the USA almost every company now which previously described themselves as a bank, insurance company, or brokerage house, now describes themselves in some way as a financial services institution. Allstate Insurance, for example, now provides CDs and investment brokerage services. Bank of America offers full featured brokerage products, while E*TRADE has expanded into offering bank accounts and loans. Companies usually have two distinct approaches to this new type of business. One approach would be a bank which simply buys an insurance company or an investment bank, keeps the original brands of the acquired firm, and adds the acquisition to its holding company simply to diversify its earnings. Outside the US, e.g., in Japan, non-financial services companies are permitted within the holding company. In this scenario, each company still looks independent, and has its own customers, etc. This is essentially the style of Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase.

More on [ Financial services ]

TechCrunch

Google: Actually, We Count Only 16,000 Apps In Android Market
Robin Wauters Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:56:48 -0000
Yesterday, I wrote a post on our sister site MobileCrunch about the estimated amount of applications that were available on Android Market according to AndroLib, which aims to serve as both a comprehensive directory and a search engine for Google's mobile applications store. The service's automated statistics pegged the number of apps available for download at over 20,000, free and paid combined. As we wrote, it was the closest thing to getting a confirmed number straight from the Googleplex. Lo and behold: Google got in touch with us this morning to let us know that the company, contrary to popular belief, isn't all that shy about disclosing just how many apps are available through Android Market based on internal metrics.
Are Google’s Local Barcode Stickers Their Backdoor Check-Ins?
Erick Schonfeld Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:17:01 -0000
A couple weeks ago, Google sent out 190,000 2D barcode stickers to the most popular local businesses around the country who had set up a Place Page on Google Maps. When people who are walking by a store or restaurant see one of these stickers they can pull out any phone with a special barcode reader and open up that store's mobile Place Page, which is Google's local directory. Local businesses can link promotions to their Place Page, so the 2D barcode (or QR code) can act as mobile coupon. But it could also become something else: a backdoor way—or, more accurately, a front window way—for Google to get people to "check-in" at different locations. The "check-in" is growing social habit among the early adopter crowd starting to use geo-social apps such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and Loopt. When you want to broadcast your location to your friends, you check in. People check into places for social reasons, but on the backend Foursquare and the others are giving local businesses in your vicinity the ability to offer you coupons and promotions whenever you interact with their mobile apps.
Expensify Leaves Beta, Continues To Take The Suck Out Of Expense Reports
Jason Kincaid Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:16:31 -0000
Expensify, the startups that's looking to take the endless headaches out of expense reports, is ready to get down to business. The site has just launched its 1.0 release, which introduces a revenue stream, as well as a totally revamped UI and new features designed to suit the needs of its users. A lot has changed for Expensify since we last covered it. For one, the company has largely ditched the pre-paid credit card it intially launched with as its core product back in September 2008. The card was meant to serve as the designated card that you'd use exclusively for any business expenses, which would make them easy to keep track of. CEO David Barrett says that as it turns out, most people don't really want another credit card — they just want to keep using their regular credit card and have Expensify figure out which charges should be expensed. Now, that's exactly what Expensify does.
Thursday Giveaway: A Nooka Accessory Selection
John Biggs Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:05:46 -0000
Good afternoon, chaps. Do you feel underdressed, under-accessorized, and smelly? Nooka has something nice for you. Our buddies over there are giving out a new Nooka Watch (your choice), a Nooka Belt (shown above), and the new Nooka fragrance. That's right: you can smell like a Nooka.
Appolicious Lands $2 Million For iPhone App Directory
Leena Rao Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:04:42 -0000
Appolicious, an online iPhone app directory, has raised $2 million in funding from Apex Venture Partners and James Crouthamel, the founder of Performics. The startup had previously raised $500,000 in seed funding from Apex. Basically, Appolicious tries to make sense of the 100,000 apps on Apple's App Store, but with a social twist. So not only can you find apps based on category or topic, but you can share those apps with your social graph on Twitter and Facebook, review apps, and more. Via its technology, the application will scan your iTunes directory for your downloaded app and will integrate them into your Appolicious library. It's similar in some ways to oneforty, an app directory for Twitter.
Nsyght Launches Its Realtime Social Aggregator, And It’s Very Fast
TechCrunch Europe Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:00:14 -0000
Nsyght, a real time social aggregation service, went live last night at our Realtime ChristmasCrunch event in London (#XmasCrunch), and it's a tantilising service. The startup has also raised $200,000 in Angel funding from a group of private Angel investors lead by Shawn Kernes (CTO/co-founder of Stubhub) and Jerome Touze (CEO/co-founder of WAYN) who will also act as advisors. The company has been bootstrapped for the last 10 months, but will start rolling out more advanced features over the next few months. What's most interesting about Nsyght is that instead of just indexing a user's own data, the product retrieves information from their entire social graph. So using nsyght means you don't have to re-discover friends you are already are already connected with. It currently integrates accounts from Twitter, Facebook, digg, Vimeo, Stumbleupon, Flickr, Delicious, and Last.fm - with other networks planned. I like the ability to filter a Twitter hashtag by photos or video only, which is very useful.

Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability News - ENN

World’s Largest Wind Farm to Be Built in the US
dotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdot Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:46:00 -0500
The United States has steadily outsourced record-breaking feats of engineering over the years, or stood by as other countries have eagerly grasped trophies for the world’s tallest building, biggest dam, longest bridge, or what have you. Which is why it is comforting to learn a World’s [ ]est is staying in America: Caithness Energy will begin construction next year in Oregon on the world’s biggest wind farm, with 845 MW of capacity.
Saudi Arabia Running out of Sand?
dotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdot Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:45:00 -0500
This is something that would make Lawrence of Arabia turn in his grave: Recent studies are now showing that sand, once Saudi Arabia’s most common commodity (outside of oil) is now becoming almost as scarce as water. For those who are still fascinated with the 1962 Hollywood extravaganza starring Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif, there seemed to be an endless amount of the yellowish grainy stuff , especially when a frequent sand storm would obliterate virtually all landscapes until it blew over.
Copenhagen climate talks suspended in Africa-led protest, Then Resumed
dotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdot Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:03:00 -0500
The main sessions of UN climate talks in Copenhagen were suspended on Monday in a protest led by African nations and the developing countries accusing rich countries of trying to wreck the existing UN Kyoto Protocol. "This is a walk-out over process and form, not a walkout over substance, and that's regrettable," Australian Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said of the action. African nations later said they would return to the talks on Monday, allowing the negotiations to resume, after winning assurances that the conference put more focus on extending the existing Kyoto Protocol. "We're going back," Pa Ousman Jarju from the delegation of Gambia, told Reuters. The protest held up the talks that had been due to start at 1030 GMT.

The Financial Page

James Surowiecki: Crisis in the Tiger Woods business.
James Surowiecki Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:00:00 -0000
A recent issue of Forbes features a full-page ad for the consulting firm Accenture with Tiger Woods striding through tall grass. The tagline reads, “The road to high performance isn’t always paved.” To which the obvious rejoinder these days is “Sometimes it runs straight . . .
James Surowiecki: Why the Chinese don’t spend.
James Surowiecki Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0000
8220;China makes, the world takes.” For decades, that has been the motto of the Chinese economy, which is built on providing an endless supply of goods for the rest of the world to buy. But these days there’s a palpable sense that this needs to change . . .
James Surowiecki: How the tax code encourages debt.
James Surowiecki Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0000
John Kenneth Galbraith wrote that all financial crises are the result of “debt that, in one fashion or another, has become dangerously out of scale.” The recent financial crisis was no exception, with everyone—homeowners, private-equity investors, our biggest banks—taking on enormous amounts of . . .

NYT > Your Money

Wednesday Reading
By JENNIFER SARANOW SCHULTZ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:06:00 -0000
A possible tuition tax in Pittsburgh, reader tips for visiting New York on the cheap and other consumer-focused items from Wednesday's Times.
A User Guide to 'Cash for Appliance' Programs
By JENNIFER SARANOW SCHULTZ Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:47:03 -0000
Details of "cash for appliance" programs have started to emerge in recent weeks. Here's how to find out what your state is offering.
Finding a Weatherizing Expert
By THE NEW YORK TIMES Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:44:02 -0000
A link to details on how to find an energy-efficiency specialist to help you weatherize your home and take advantage of a new federal stimulus program.

The Economist: The World Bank and the IMF

India's gold purchase: Adornment and investment
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:01:13 -0000
India is eager for the IMF’s bullionIF YOU count bangles, necklaces, anklets and other pieces of jewellery, India is the largest repository of gold in the world, according to the World Gold Council. Many Indians see gold as an investment as well as an adornment. India’s post office sells 24-carat gold coins, as small as 0.5 grams, to savers wary of fiat currencies or mutual funds. The latest big investor in the metal is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On November 3rd the central bank said it had bought 200 tonnes of gold from the IMF, a purchase that would have cost about $6.7 billion. The news pushed the price past $1,090 an ounce for the first time.The IMF’s gold holdings are less decorative than India’s, but also impressive: the third-biggest official stash in the world. Its sale to the RBI is part of a plan to offload 403.3 tonnes, or an eighth of its total. The proceeds will create an endowment to cover the fund’s operating expenses and help expand its lending. It is doing its best not to rock the market by selling first to central banks, in keeping with their agreement in August to sell no more than 2,000 tonnes over five years. But the gold market is now interested in how much central banks might buy, not how much they might sell. ...
The World Bank-IMF meetings: Money, votes and politics
Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:39:57 -0000
Battles over money and power at the World Bank and IMF“WE ARE into the world of politics”, said the World Bank’s president, Robert Zoellick, at the two-day annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, ending on Wednesday October 7th in Istanbul. Mr Zoellick was referring to the disagreements between richer and poorer countries over his institution’s pleas for more funding to cope with the aftermath of the financial crisis. But his statement held true for much of what went on at this year’s meetings. It was easy to reach broad agreement that it was too early for governments and central banks to begin winding down their big stimulus packages. But opinions diverged over the need to boost the funding of the world’s main financial institutions, and even more so when it came to discussing demands by big developing countries such as China and India for more voting power on their boards. ...
The role of emerging markets: Cosmetic surgery?
Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:04:22 -0000
The face of global economic governance is changingSYMBOLISM or substance? The G20 meeting in Pittsburgh secured the place of emerging markets at the top table of global economic policy. “Bretton Woods is being overhauled before our eyes,” declared Robert Zoellick, head of the World Bank. The G20 leaders agreed to shift voting power substantially within the IMF towards “dynamic emerging markets and developing countries”, and endorsed similar reform at the World Bank. They also announced that the G20 itself will replace the G7, a rich-world club that will now concentrate mainly on security issues, as the primary forum for international economic co-operation. The Financial Stability Board, which is supposed to oversee the co-ordination of global financial regulation, has also expanded to include the G20’s emerging–market members. But how much clout the developing world will actually have remains unclear. ...

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