I am sharing an article on the topic of Taiwan-PRC diplomatic competition in Central America.

The article examines the recent visit by Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen to Central America, in the context of the possible breakdown of the informal "diplomatic truce" which has prevailed between Taiwan and mainland China since 2008.

This work is available from the ejourunal "Global Taiwan Brief," and the full text can be found below as well.

Thought leaders continue to point to trends that banks and FinTech insiders need to pay attention to, ranging from the use of big data to FinTech firms like Stash and Betterment, which are reshaping wealth management. Faster payments, mobile payments, and blockchain systems will accelerate their development this year.

Fed issues report on faster payments initiative

You can check out the video of India's Turn to Transform and my brief comments are:

In January 2016, the global banks proclaimed that they are all FinTech innovators now, reported Bloomberg in its coverage of the annual World Economic Forum conference in Davos.

Animus has two meanings, hostility and motivation and both apply today to the world economy in 2017.  Two events in January are of special note. 

Along with economic and political uncertainty in the United States and abroad come predictions for 2017 on the possible rebirth of banks and the final death of cash. Maybe.

Co-authored with Richard A. Kimball, Jr.

Professional football has long since surpassed baseball as America’s most popular sport. The NFL’s Super Bowl is a national party. Super Bowls represent 19 of America’s 20 most-watched TV broadcasts.

115 million people tuned in for 2015’s thrilling New England Patriots-Seattle Seahawks contest. By contrast, only 40 million watch the historic deciding game of last year’s World Series when the hapless Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians for their first championship since 1908 (any team can have a bad century).

Things to look for in 2017 include progress on faster payments in the United States, greater regulatory scrutiny of FinTech here and abroad, and blockchain use cases put into action. FinTech firms will continue to shake up the way consumers invest, insure, and conduct transactions—and card payments will continue to rule.