The European Commission has published proposals that envisage Europe having its own Finance minister as soon as 2019. However, the proposals appear to conflate the Eurozone – those countries already in the Euro – with the EU. This will increase fears in some non-Euro members, that they are being marginalised.

It is true that when Britain leaves Europe, 85% of the European Union’s economic output will be produced by the Eurozone. However, 24% of the EU’s population lives in the non-Eurozone countries. These countries include Poland and Hungary which are meant to join...

Banking and financing enterprises are using big data technology in their daily operations, including service delivery and security. Big data analysis helps the company to cope with the rising competition in the banking industry, and in solving the problems they encounter, when trying to achieve the objectives of the firm. There are several sectors where investment and financing businesses are benefiting from significant data analysis.

Customer service

Banking firms have a vast number of clients, and they should ensure that customers' data and security are well taken...

Up until now, there hasn't been any formal communication from the ECB as in regards to the anticipated rise in the interest rates. However, there are certain reports touching on the tightened financial conditions that seem to imply much wider credit spreads, increased volatility, decreased equities and an increase in real rates. All of which happen to be indicators of a rising interest rate environment.

How sure are we that interests rates are going higher?

In the past month alone, there has been a disconnect between the bond markets globally and the equity markets. What's...

The proliferation of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin has introduced blockchain technology, which is set to cause major disruption in the finance industry. Blockchain is a decentralised platform that makes it possible to distribute information in different types of transactions. Think of it as a digital ledger that holds a lot of records in varying layers. Blockchain is incorruptible because users update it as opposed to a specific entity. With the increasing use of cryptocurrencies, blockchain will soon become a core component of financial services, which is why finance experts need to...

Crowdfunding for businesses has proved to be profitable various small and large companies. Big tech companies like IBM have realised the need to use crowdfunding for improved interaction and innovation. Companies exercise crowdfunding for three primary reasons: internal use, market research and external use.

Internal Use

IBM introduced crowdfunding in 2012 which was to be used internally by the over 350,000 employees globally. The aim of the project was to encourage innovations by employees, which are utilised for the benefit of the enterprise. The kind of crowdfunding used by...

Digital revolution is now changing the way business organisations operate. Thanks to data technology, existing business models and services are quickly rendering. As a result, many top companies including automotive, telecommunication, and media are being reshaped in order to give rivals a competitive advantage. Here are some of the essential skills CFOs must have to stay ahead in the digital age:

CFOs must become analytics experts

A CFO should only spend 10 per cent of their time and efforts on transactional and the remaining 90 per cent on analytics. The more time they invest on...

In the past twenty years, Germans’ spending and saving habits haven’t drastically changed, as the latest study carried out in Europe. It is clear that the majority of Germans still prefer risk-free investments and this trend is set to continue. While it is true that Germany is Europe’s biggest and richest economy, the percentage of homeowners in this country is just over 40 per cent. 

Germans are reluctant to buy homes

When comparing Germany’s home ownership data with the rest of EU, countries like Spain, Greece, and Italy make up around 80 per cent...

The European fintech industry has taken shape and is gradually maturing like in many other places across the world. Germany is one of those countries that have seen a growth in fintech, which is supported by the national financial regulator, BaFin. The industry reached $421 million in 2016 from $193 million in 2015, which is a 118% increase. Germany is also catching up to match the UK, which is among the best European fintech hubs as far as funding goes. In 2016, German fintech firms received more funding compared to those in the UK during both Q2 and Q3.

Brexit as a chance...