It has been an eventful year with no let-up post-Brexit & Trump. In 2016 the longest-ruling monarch, King Bmibol Adulyadejhu of Thailand, and the longest-ruling national leader, Fidel Castro, both passed from the scene. A surprise demonetization in India made economic history, as Zimbabwe prepares to sweep US dollars from circulation. Change is everywhere and the pace seems to be quickening.

I loved the Random Notes column in Rolling Stone magazine when I read it in high school. This week's email and its collection of FinTech links seems pretty random to me, and one of the articles focuses on a FinTech firm that goes back to 1976, when I was reading Random Notes rather than FinTech news.

How to Justify a high valuation and low growth simultaneously

Last week’s election should be dubbed the revenge of the neglected. The outcome would have been different if Hillary’s strategists had taken to heart James Carville’s famous quip in 1992, “It’s the economy, stupid.” I remember it well, because I pulled together Bill Clinton’s economic program for the 1992 campaign. Of course, today’s economic problems are different from those of a quarter-century ago. But the political manifestation is virtually the same – tens of millions of Americans justifiably dissatisfied with their economic conditions and prospects.

Many facile comparisons have been made between Brexit and the election of Donald Trump today.

They have an important element in common. But the commentators have missed it.

It is said that both represent a backlash against globalisation. Others say it is a revolt of the uneducated, the marginalised, the people who have been left behind.  Others  emphasise the reaction against excessive immigration: “We want our country back”.

This US election cycle has had more ups and downs than Game 7 of the World Series. The  sturm und drang  has perhaps defocused us from current issues and uncertainty clouding the global economy.  In our commentary roundup, we will get the US out of the way first, but won’t neglect China, Russia, and the UK, each facing crises of their own. We will end with steady-as-she-goes Japan, and baseball. Fun fact: the victory parade here in Chicago on Friday was the 7th largest gathering of people in human history. 

Data and its use and control, more than any technology innovation, took a primary position at this year’s Money20/20 conference and exhibition. This year’s annual event brought more than 10,000 financial-services executives, entrepreneurs, and technologists to Las Vegas for a whirlwind of meetings, presentations, and demonstrations.

I am attending the annual Money20/20 FinTech conference in Las Vegas this week. Here is a summary of this week's FinTech related links: