| Plugging in to your bank
Online banking continues to gain popularity in Lawrence and nationwide, as the industry works to balance high technology with demands for in-person customer service. And as area banks continually upgrade their Internet offerings, they're starting to show interest in the next generation of such service: mobile banking, offering customers the ability to securely and conveniently transfer funds, pay bills and check balances using wireless phones or other handheld devices. Central National Bank this month signed a contract for a new mobile-banking system, and looks to get it running for use on customers' cell phones in the very near future. “We want to be an early adopter of the technology because we believe it's here to stay," said Rob Gillespie, a bank vice president.
q2617 BC-FBC-TexasTech-LeachF 11-19 0238
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- A group of Texas Tech alumni has set up a fund to pay the $10,000 fine levied against coach Mike Leach by the Big 12 last week. The conference slapped Leach with its largest fine after the Tech coach condemned the officiating crew in the Red Raiders' 59-43 loss at Texas on Nov. 10. The amount was twice the previous high. The bank account for the "I Like Mike" campaign was opened Friday in Lubbock and the alumni group began promoting it Monday. Within the first hour the account already had a couple hundred dollars, said Brian Mayes, a 1991 Tech graduate who helped set up the campaign. "The initial response has been very, very positive," he said. The eighth-year coach was upset officials disallowed two Tech touchdowns in the third quarter of the Texas game, the first on an overrule after reviewing video that clearly showed the receiver let the ball hit the ground.
Wachovia adds mobile-banking service
Wachovia Corp. will launch an online banking system via cell phones that allows customers to view account balances, transfer funds and pay bills. The mobile-banking application will be pre-loaded on future AT&T Inc. handsets beginning this year. All wireless transactions will be encrypted. Customers will need an AT&T wireless data plan to access the mobile-banking service. According to Celent, a research and consulting firm, about 46 million households bank online. By 2010, 17 million households will use mobile banking as an alternative online-banking source, Celent says. "The ability to perform banking functions using a wireless handset is attractive for people who need to make financial decisions on the go -- business travelers, college students and anyone who desires the flexibility that wireless delivers," says Mark Collins, vice president of consumer data for AT&T's wireless unit.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-19 12:34 GMT: G10's Trichet sticks to cautiously optimistic tone on global growth UPDATE
(adds comment Chinese central bank governor backing strong dollar policy) CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Thomson Financial) - Chairman of the G10 group of central bankers Jean-Claude Claude Trichet today stuck to an optimistic tone on the prospects for global growth even though he conceded that the risks remain skewed to the downside. "We can say that global growth looks like it is going at a pace that remains encouraging," he told reporters. However, he qualified the statement by saying that "the risks on overall growth remain to the downside". He identified sharp rises in the price of oil and food as one key risk to price stability around the world. "We all have to continue to solidly anchor inflation expectations," he added. At the same time, central banks around the world have to manage their economies so that higher oil and food prices do not lead to spiralling wages and incomes -- the dreaded second round inflationary effects, he said.
D. SAMBANDHAN S.S. TABRAZ
The US dollar is faced with the prospect of losing its pre-eminence as the dominant reserve asset as it weakens under the weight of its galloping current account deficit and the spreading contagion of sub-prime woes, say and D. SAMBANDHAN S.S. TABRAZ . 'The Romans brought on their own demise, but it took them centuries. Bush has finished America in a mere seven years,' observes Mr Paul Craig Roberts while making a pointed reference to the sinking dollar and the sinking American empire. Perhaps that is an exaggerated statement, but it is likely to hold good if things continue to drift this way for long. The dollar has fallen to to its lowest level against the Canadian dollar since 1950, the British pound since 1981, and the Swiss franc since 1995.
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