BankThink

Young hipsters aren't the only ones who want to conduct business with mobile phones. The underserved are also heavy smartphone adopters, and likely to use them for banking and payments.

The nomination of attorney Mary Jo White as SEC chairman and renomination of Richard Cordray as CFPB director indicate the White House's stance on key banking issues will create new challenges for financial institutions.

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Economy Contracts: Private-sector demand was strong, but businesses reined in inventories and defense spending plummeted, leading to a surprise 0.1% contraction in economic activity in the fourth quarter, according to the Commerce Department's first estimate. The Journal said analysts pinned the plunge in military spending on factors like the drawdown in Afghanistan and worries that more reductions are coming. The Post said government agencies "began adopting contingency plans, instituted hiring freezes and...

Several tech startups have made short-term credit the focus of their business models. But could a product so universally frowned upon ever achieve mainstream acceptance?

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Big Payday: The best-paid financial-services CEO in 2012 was not Lloyd Blankfein or Jamie Dimon but Richard Handler, of the lesser-known investment bank Jefferies Group. He took home $45 million (or $58 million if you count shares he received) after making a deal to sell Jefferies to the industrial smorgasbord Leucadia National, which he'll run. The Journal's story is meaty, highlighting the board's use of peer comparisons in determining Handler's compensation after...