Monday, 31 October 2011
Barclays Profits Boost
Banking giant Barclays has reported a better-than-expected increase in profits as the group continued to run down its exposure to heavily indebted eurozone countries.
Barclays reported pre-tax profits of £2.4 billion in the three months to September 30, compared with £989 million the previous quarter. Pre-tax profits for the first nine months of the year are 18% higher than the previous year at £5.02 billion.
Barclays said the group's sovereign exposure to Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Greece reduced in the third quarter by 31% to £8 billion.
Elsewhere, its investment banking division, Barclays Capital, continued to feel the impact of increased global uncertainty, with flat revenues in the nine-month period.
Increasing global recession fears - driven by concerns over the eurozone debt crisis and the size of US debt - hit the banking sector hard in the period.
Chief executive Bob Diamond said Barclays had put in a "reassuring" performance during a period of "considerable challenge and uncertainty".
Mr Diamond said BarCap, which contributes to more than half the group's profit, had been "clearly impacted" by the market environment but said the division continued to make progress.
Elsewhere, Barclays said it had increased gross new lending to businesses to £33 billion, including £11 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises, putting them on track to meet Government-agreed Project Merlin targets.
Mr Diamond said Barclays expected the weaker market conditions to continue well into next year but it was still on course to meet targets set over the summer, including £1 billion in cost savings. He said the eurozone rescue deal struck last week was "calming and substantive" but there was more work to be done.
The weaker performance at BarCap was offset by a strong show at its UK retail banking division, which saw revenues increase 21% to £1.2 billion and pre-tax profits more than double to £494 million. Barclaycard saw pre-tax profits increase 54% to £378 million. Meanwhile, bad debt charges were down 34% to £2.8 billion.
Extract taken from:
http://tiny.cc/7701m
Barclays reported pre-tax profits of £2.4 billion in the three months to September 30, compared with £989 million the previous quarter. Pre-tax profits for the first nine months of the year are 18% higher than the previous year at £5.02 billion.
Barclays said the group's sovereign exposure to Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Greece reduced in the third quarter by 31% to £8 billion.
Elsewhere, its investment banking division, Barclays Capital, continued to feel the impact of increased global uncertainty, with flat revenues in the nine-month period.
Increasing global recession fears - driven by concerns over the eurozone debt crisis and the size of US debt - hit the banking sector hard in the period.
Chief executive Bob Diamond said Barclays had put in a "reassuring" performance during a period of "considerable challenge and uncertainty".
Mr Diamond said BarCap, which contributes to more than half the group's profit, had been "clearly impacted" by the market environment but said the division continued to make progress.
Elsewhere, Barclays said it had increased gross new lending to businesses to £33 billion, including £11 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises, putting them on track to meet Government-agreed Project Merlin targets.
Mr Diamond said Barclays expected the weaker market conditions to continue well into next year but it was still on course to meet targets set over the summer, including £1 billion in cost savings. He said the eurozone rescue deal struck last week was "calming and substantive" but there was more work to be done.
The weaker performance at BarCap was offset by a strong show at its UK retail banking division, which saw revenues increase 21% to £1.2 billion and pre-tax profits more than double to £494 million. Barclaycard saw pre-tax profits increase 54% to £378 million. Meanwhile, bad debt charges were down 34% to £2.8 billion.
Extract taken from:
http://tiny.cc/7701m
Friday, 28 October 2011
Experts Debate the Security of EMV
EMV, the chip-based payment standard used in many countries around the world, has been lauded for reducing point-of-sale card fraud. But while some financial industry professionals are encouraging an EMV rollout in the U.S., others are saying that the standard is flawed.
"My biggest concern with EMV is how safe it will be in another 10 years," says Dena Hamilton, detection and fraud expert at Guildford, UK-based intelligence solutions provider Detica. "One of the greatest security risks to EMV that people have not really acknowledged is that we’re talking about a technology that’s almost 15 years old and has yet to be adopted by one of the single largest producers of transactions -- the United States. How long will it take to roll this out across the U.S.?" Ideally, a rollout would take about four years, according to executives at Visa (San Francisco), who recently announced a plan to help speed up adoption of EMV contact and contactless chip technology in the U.S. The company has set a goal to have a working EMV payment system in the U.S. by October 2015.
Others, such as Julie Conroy McNelley, senior analyst at Boston-based Aite Group's retail banking practice, are not so optimistic about a quick rollout. "There's no way we're going to be there that soon," she says of Visa's goal. She says that putting the infrastructure in place to facilitate all of the loyalty aspects that could help drive EMV acceptance among consumers, on top of getting NFC terminals at the point of sale, presents "a really big hurdle" that will make a widespread rollout more difficult.
Hamilton agrees with McNelley, adding that the security of the technology will be compromised by the time a rollout actually happens. The EMV standard has already been compromised, according to researchers at The Security Group in the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge in England. In 2010, researchers Steven J. Murdoch, Saar Drimer, Ross Anderson and Mike Bond published a technical paper called "Chip and PIN is Broken." The paper identifies security flaws they found in the type of payment that requires PIN authentication along with an EMV-based chip card at the point of sale, a method widely used in the U.K. and many other countries throughout Europe.
Extract taken from:
http://www.banktech.com/payments-cards/231901781
"My biggest concern with EMV is how safe it will be in another 10 years," says Dena Hamilton, detection and fraud expert at Guildford, UK-based intelligence solutions provider Detica. "One of the greatest security risks to EMV that people have not really acknowledged is that we’re talking about a technology that’s almost 15 years old and has yet to be adopted by one of the single largest producers of transactions -- the United States. How long will it take to roll this out across the U.S.?" Ideally, a rollout would take about four years, according to executives at Visa (San Francisco), who recently announced a plan to help speed up adoption of EMV contact and contactless chip technology in the U.S. The company has set a goal to have a working EMV payment system in the U.S. by October 2015.
Others, such as Julie Conroy McNelley, senior analyst at Boston-based Aite Group's retail banking practice, are not so optimistic about a quick rollout. "There's no way we're going to be there that soon," she says of Visa's goal. She says that putting the infrastructure in place to facilitate all of the loyalty aspects that could help drive EMV acceptance among consumers, on top of getting NFC terminals at the point of sale, presents "a really big hurdle" that will make a widespread rollout more difficult.
Hamilton agrees with McNelley, adding that the security of the technology will be compromised by the time a rollout actually happens. The EMV standard has already been compromised, according to researchers at The Security Group in the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge in England. In 2010, researchers Steven J. Murdoch, Saar Drimer, Ross Anderson and Mike Bond published a technical paper called "Chip and PIN is Broken." The paper identifies security flaws they found in the type of payment that requires PIN authentication along with an EMV-based chip card at the point of sale, a method widely used in the U.K. and many other countries throughout Europe.
Extract taken from:
http://www.banktech.com/payments-cards/231901781
Dillan Joseph - Superstar DJ!
We have a superstar DJ in our midst! Correction - we have a superstar DJ / Producer in our midst! Soz!
Dillan Leslie-Rowe (AKA Dillan Joseph) joined the team in May of this year as a Resourcer, but when he's not placing contractors he is dropping sick beats in Sankeys and South in Manchester. This summer he took his skills Balearic and played in Ibiza at Zoo Project and possibly Ibiza's most famous club - the legendary Space!
He is now producing his own music and this week he had his first track signed to a recording label - Applique Music.
Watch out for:
Si'ke DJ's - Equinox (Dillan Joseph Remix) on Applique Music (Relase Date January 2012)
Check out Dillan's music here:
http://soundcloud.com/dillan-joseph
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Build Your Web Presence - Let Recruiters Come To You!
Your typical recruiter is inundated with a flood of CVs every day. Many job seekers get lost in the mix and it’s extremely hard to stand out. As a valuable candidate (like yourself), how can you avoid getting drowned out in the noise?
One strategy is to stop chasing after recruiters. Let them come to you. Job seekers need only market themselves in the right way to enhance their exposure and get noticed by the right people. Here are some of the ways you can show up on a recruiter’s radar:
Extract taken from
http://bit.ly/tzxDBK
One strategy is to stop chasing after recruiters. Let them come to you. Job seekers need only market themselves in the right way to enhance their exposure and get noticed by the right people. Here are some of the ways you can show up on a recruiter’s radar:
- Indirect Marketing: Many recruiters start their search for great talent in one place. That place is Linkedin. If you’re a job seeker and you’re not using it, you’re selling yourself short and missing out on countless opportunities. Stop blasting your resume to the recruiters and companies you find on the web. Spend more time enhancing your LinkedIn profile with recommendations (personal endorsements from clients, co-workers, and managers) and participate in group and forum discussions that are relevant to your industry. Recruiters hang out in these groups, probing for leaders and experts that have something to offer.
- Explore multiple avenues: Build a blog and get on Google+. Strapped for time? Tweet your daily ruminations or pass on an interesting article. Treat your online profiles like subtle personal advertisements. In some ways, social media profiles are more valuable than your traditional resume. They’re less restrictive and allow generous space for discussing important skills, accomplishments and credentials. At the same time, they allow you to showcase your best qualities, make connections, and campaign your name.
- Integrate your efforts: As you expand your online portfolio, you open up additional gateways for recruiters to find you. Make sure all these sources lead back to you.Your reach is even more powerful when you cross-link your social media sites. A recruiter that reads your LinkedIn forum post may scan your profile and find a link that leads back to your Google+ account, or Twitter, or blog (and by that point, they’re so interested in you they have to ask you for a resume!) When you do hand one over, make sure it includes a link back to one of your social media pages, to re-enforce your marketing cycle.
Extract taken from
http://bit.ly/tzxDBK
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Peer to Peer Payments via Social Media
Commonwealth Bank of Australia yesterday unveiled its new mobile phone app, called Kaching, capable of conducting NFC-based, P2P payments via e-mail and Facebook from a single handheld device.
Commonwealth called the ability to make social media P2P payments via a user's Facebook account, "a world first."
"This banking breakthrough marks a significant milestone in the evolution of how we pay and receive money from each other," said Michael Harte, Group Executive Enterprise Services and Chief Information Officer for the bank.
Commonwealth Bank said it has experienced significant growth in its online banking service, called NetBank, in recent years. In August, more than 16 million logins were made to NetBank using a mobile device, which represents a 229 percent increase from the same period last year.
Due to the rising use of the mobile channel by its customers, Commonwealth said it designed the new app to reduce the reliance on traditional payment methods and transform and simplify day-to-day payments for its users.
Regarding security issues, the bank said password encryption technology will ensure that a lost or stolen phone will not enable someone to access a user’s personal banking details. The app is authorized to be used on only one handset, and no personal banking information is stored on the phone.
Extract taken from:
http://www.banktech.com/payments-cards/231901610
Commonwealth called the ability to make social media P2P payments via a user's Facebook account, "a world first."
"This banking breakthrough marks a significant milestone in the evolution of how we pay and receive money from each other," said Michael Harte, Group Executive Enterprise Services and Chief Information Officer for the bank.
Commonwealth Bank said it has experienced significant growth in its online banking service, called NetBank, in recent years. In August, more than 16 million logins were made to NetBank using a mobile device, which represents a 229 percent increase from the same period last year.
Due to the rising use of the mobile channel by its customers, Commonwealth said it designed the new app to reduce the reliance on traditional payment methods and transform and simplify day-to-day payments for its users.
Regarding security issues, the bank said password encryption technology will ensure that a lost or stolen phone will not enable someone to access a user’s personal banking details. The app is authorized to be used on only one handset, and no personal banking information is stored on the phone.
Extract taken from:
http://www.banktech.com/payments-cards/231901610
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Getting Out Cleanly - How to Leave Your Job
If you are leaving a position voluntarily to take something new, there is a right way and a wrong way to leave your current company. Here are a few tips:
- Resign Classy:Keep it brief. Don’t say anything negative, and don’t leave the door open for a counter offer – you’ve already made your decision
- Be Discrete: Don’t tell people too much about the new opportunity right away. I’d compare this to talking about your next spouse before the ink is dry on the divorce. You can always update people with more details later on. It is better form to say less before you are gone.
- Don’t Gloat or Complain: Don’t speak negatively about your current company, or too glowingly about your new company. It comes across as “sour grapes” either way.
- Don’t Burn Bridges: This is not the time to tell people off, or tell others in excruciating detail everything you hated about your current company. Actually, it is never the right time to do such things!
- Get References: There may never be a better time to solicit letters of reference from people above you in the organization. They want to maintain good will too. Send them a note with “prompts” of what they could write- they are likely to turn your bullet points into their letter. Be smart and send different bullets to different people, so your reference letters don’t all look the same.
- Offer to Help People: Others may also wish they were leaving. Solidify your network by sincerely offering to help others down the road.
Years later, when you need your old teammates or superiors for a reference on yet another new job, you will be glad if you leave everyone smiling, on the best possible terms.
Extract taken from:
http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/getting-out-cleanly-how-to-leave-your-job
Extract taken from:
http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/getting-out-cleanly-how-to-leave-your-job
Monday, 24 October 2011
Revealed - The 147 Companies That Control Everything!
A recent study by three systems theorists at The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have taken a database listing 37 million companies and investors worldwide and analyzed all 43,060 transnational corporations and share ownerships linking them.
They have built a model of who owns what, what the revenues are are used this data to construct a model of how the economic power is held.
The results, unsurprisingly, point at a disproportionate amount of power held by banks and financial institutions.
The top 20 of the 147 superconnected companies consist mainly of banks and financial institutions such as Barclays plc, AXA, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs etc
2. Capital Group Companies Inc
3. FMR Corporation
4. AXA
5. State Street Corporation
6. JP Morgan Chase & Co
7. Legal & General Group plc
8. Vanguard Group Inc
9. UBS AG
10. Merrill Lynch & Co Inc
11. Wellington Management Co LLP
12. Deutsche Bank AG
13. Franklin Resources Inc
14. Credit Suisse Group
15. Walton Enterprises LLC
16. Bank of New York Mellon Corp
17. Natixis
18. Goldman Sachs Group Inc
19. T Rowe Price Group Inc
20. Legg Mason Inc
21. Morgan Stanley
22. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc
23. Northern Trust Corporation
24. Société Générale
25. Bank of America Corporation
26. Lloyds TSB Group plc
27. Invesco plc
28. Allianz SE 29. TIAA
30. Old Mutual Public Limited Company
31. Aviva plc
32. Schroders plc
33. Dodge & Cox
34. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc*
35. Sun Life Financial Inc
36. Standard Life plc
37. CNCE
38. Nomura Holdings Inc
39. The Depository Trust Company
40. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
41. ING Groep NV
42. Brandes Investment Partners LP
43. Unicredito Italiano SPA
44. Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan
45. Vereniging Aegon
46. BNP Paribas
47. Affiliated Managers Group Inc
48. Resona Holdings Inc
49. Capital Group International Inc
50. China Petrochemical Group Company
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed--the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html
They have built a model of who owns what, what the revenues are are used this data to construct a model of how the economic power is held.
The results, unsurprisingly, point at a disproportionate amount of power held by banks and financial institutions.
The top 20 of the 147 superconnected companies consist mainly of banks and financial institutions such as Barclays plc, AXA, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs etc
The top 50 of the 147 superconnected companies
1. Barclays plc2. Capital Group Companies Inc
3. FMR Corporation
4. AXA
5. State Street Corporation
6. JP Morgan Chase & Co
7. Legal & General Group plc
8. Vanguard Group Inc
9. UBS AG
10. Merrill Lynch & Co Inc
11. Wellington Management Co LLP
12. Deutsche Bank AG
13. Franklin Resources Inc
14. Credit Suisse Group
15. Walton Enterprises LLC
16. Bank of New York Mellon Corp
17. Natixis
18. Goldman Sachs Group Inc
19. T Rowe Price Group Inc
20. Legg Mason Inc
21. Morgan Stanley
22. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc
23. Northern Trust Corporation
24. Société Générale
25. Bank of America Corporation
26. Lloyds TSB Group plc
27. Invesco plc
28. Allianz SE 29. TIAA
30. Old Mutual Public Limited Company
31. Aviva plc
32. Schroders plc
33. Dodge & Cox
34. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc*
35. Sun Life Financial Inc
36. Standard Life plc
37. CNCE
38. Nomura Holdings Inc
39. The Depository Trust Company
40. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
41. ING Groep NV
42. Brandes Investment Partners LP
43. Unicredito Italiano SPA
44. Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan
45. Vereniging Aegon
46. BNP Paribas
47. Affiliated Managers Group Inc
48. Resona Holdings Inc
49. Capital Group International Inc
50. China Petrochemical Group Company
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed--the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html
Thursday, 20 October 2011
New Team Member!
We have a new face in Key Accounts!
Jane Brennan started with us on Tuesday 4th October and she has settled in extremely well to life in the team. Her love of Haribo, Sultanas and Face-Jacker make her a welcome addition!
Welcome aboard Jane and best of luck in your new role!
Jane Brennan started with us on Tuesday 4th October and she has settled in extremely well to life in the team. Her love of Haribo, Sultanas and Face-Jacker make her a welcome addition!
Welcome aboard Jane and best of luck in your new role!
What's this all about?!
This is the Blog of the Key Accounts Team within Elan Computing that specialise in recruiting IT contractors into Financial Services organisations within the UK. Here we will share news, views and updates on exciting things that happen in our world!
We aim to update the Blog fairly regularly (every week!) so you can keep up to date with what's happening in the market, as well as some light hearted fun staying in touch with the team!
Enjoy!....
We aim to update the Blog fairly regularly (every week!) so you can keep up to date with what's happening in the market, as well as some light hearted fun staying in touch with the team!
Enjoy!....
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