Australia’s finance sector is on track for several more years of solid growth...

Why Financial organisations that work together do better

Ever come to the end of the week, looked at your in-tray and thought 'gee, I could really use an extra day this week'? Well, according to the global CEO survey, workers in knowledge organisations spend up to 25% of every day looking for information. Twenty-five per cent.

So there's your extra day, right there!

Stephen Koukoulas is one of Australia’s most respected economists. His background covers the spectrum of economic insight - from his role as Chief Economist of Citibank to Senior Economic Advisor to the Australian Prime Minister.

In his latest article Stephen argues against the widely held belief that first homebuyers are being priced out of the market, showing us (and Bridie at The Guardian) that with a little frugality and some more realistic expectations, your first home isn’t just a dream.

Bitcoin has been in the news a lot lately.

Involved in everything from space travel with Virgin Galactic, NFC with Nio Card and even Snoop Dogg‘s next record.

As is normal at this time if the year, economists are pretty much compelled to outline their main themes for the economy and markets in the year ahead.

I am not different so here we go.

Scott is a visionary and banking innovator who, as Movenbank's Chief Mobile Officer is poised to disrupt the banking services industry with a mobile-centric offering unlike any other. In this fascinating piece Scott explores what our physical money actually means and how we can expect this to change in the not so distant future.

Some say that it makes the world go round, others call it the root of all evil. But what exactly is money? Why do we need it? And where did it come from?

2013:

in 2013, retail, housing and finance should do well, sparked by lower interest rates and still low unemployment. Construction should start to turn higher, but manufacturing and tourism may well remain soft. The strong Australian dollar will not help. Mining will remain hostage to the world economy and that is looking problematic with China slowing, Europe in recession and the US still fragile. Don't bank on the boom in mining continuing.

Using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is one of the main ways that upscale financial services companies can increase customer interaction and build loyalty.

Affluent consumers, more than anyone else, expect to interact with their financial services representatives both in-person and not via with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Providing a comprehensive and consistent mobile strategy for consumers will help to increase brand loyalty.

The new financial year kicks off on 1 July 2012 and having watched the economy and financial markets for more than two decades, these calendar benchmarks are a good time to take stock, look ahead and think about the issues that are likely to impact on businesses and personal finances.

Before doing that, there is no doubt that in the last month or two, there has been some great economic news in Australia.