Podcasts about people's bank

In this episode of Better Merch…Better Marketing, Kirby and Jade compare two Black Friday promotions and explain why Lowe's delivered real value while TARGET missed the mark. They dig into the growing use of QR codes and why most businesses still are not using them effectively, emphasizing that calls to action should appear just as often on merch as they do in advertising. Jade also shares why now is the right time to begin planning for 2026, using seasonal strategy and regional insights to guide year-round marketing decisions. The Product of the Week is the Sonosphere, a wireless speaker and award with a one piece minimum, and the shout out goes to Peoples Bank and the Peoples Bank Foundation for their significant holiday giving and community volunteer efforts.

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: It took Trump and a committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to do what hawkish on illegal immigration state legislators would not do: End the giant in-state tuition discount for illegal aliens in Texas.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Judge blocks key parts of Texas READER Act over compelled speech issues.Stench of Local Government: Abilene might hike restaurant fees after state permit shift.Cornerstone Capital Bank to acquire Lubbock-based Peoples Bank. A city that once had more locally owned banks per capita than most anywhere has very few left. Thank Dems in DC for wiping out small community banks through regulation.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

US stocks and gold hit new record highs overnight ahead of an expected Fed cut this week, with more to come. The Aussie and Kiwi dollars finally join the risk-on rally. China's economy slows, and the Peoples Bank of China is set to start buying bonds. In our Deep Dive interview, ANZ New Zealand Chief Economist Sharon Zollner explains why she's downgraded her June quarter GDP forecast to a contraction of 0.4% from a 0.1% fall. The data is due on Thursday. Before accessing this podcast, please read the disclaimer at https://www.anz.com/institutional/five-in-five-podcast/

Haberfeld Symposium, our annual gathering of leaders from client-institutions, is the ideal opportunity for the country's best community bankers to connect with one another, learn from Haberfeld experts and guest speakers, and have a lot of fun! This year's Symposium took place in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, where HabChat producer Jason Ortiz and Cohost Susan Kubert had the chance to speak with several of our esteemed partners in growth. In this special episode of HabChat, you'll hear insights about our HPG™ strategy and other Haberfeld products that can bring value to your financial institution. Our guests in this episode are:Ed Martel of Jonestown Bank & Trust (PA)Rikiyah Pryor of Citizens Bank (KY)Shannalea Taylor of The Bank & Trust (TX)Jen Bonham of Peoples Bank & Trust (KS)Laura Ketterling of Western Security Bank (MT)Frank Turza of Midland States Bank (IL)Lori Loffler of Community Bank, N.A. (NY) Listen today and hear us LIVE from Symposium 2025!

Today’s Peoples Bank let’s Talk Indianola features Indianola Mayor Steve Richardson about the most recent Indianola City Council meeting.

Today’s Peoples Bank let’s Talk Indianola features Jamie Michelsen with Indianola Parks and Rec about the Indianola Mayor’s Youth Council Bike Fest

Today’s Peoples Bank features John Benoit with the Simpson College Department of Music about live music alongside a silent film this Friday at Simpson College.

Höher, schneller, weiter geht es an den internationalen Finanzmärkten. Nach dem die Peoples Bank of China und die chinesische Regierung frische Liquidität in die chinesischen Finanzmärkte gepumpt hatten, schnellten die Aktienindizes in Richtung Kursnorden. Auch die Finanzmärkte in den USA und in der EWU profitierten von dieser positiven Stimmung. Die Aktien von SAP hingegen stand durch Vorwürfe des US-Justizministeriums bzgl. möglicher Preisabsprachen in den USA unter Verkaufsdruck. Eine sehr brisante Situation für den Walldorfer Konzern und mit möglichen Auswirkungen auch für die Aktionäre. Wie diese Situationen am besten zu greifen sind und was es noch zu beachten gab, erfahrt ihr in der neuen Podcast Folge von com.on mit Andreas Lipkow und Dirk Schwitzke.

Why This Topic? This past week, I flew into Wichita to present on “how to win the buyer” at the REALTOR association of South Central Kansas, thanks to my friends at Peoples Bank. As a ... Read More The post Ep.43: Nobody Told Me About This Part appeared first on The Solopreneur Movement.

Knoxville artist Amber Klootwyk discusses her RAGBRAI inspired art open house happening Wednesday night at Peoples Bank.

Today’s Peoples Bank let’s Talk Indianola features Superintendent Ted Ihns about the most recent Indianola School Board meeting.

Today’s Let’s Talk Indianola features Wes Rodgers with Peoples Bank in Indianola about ag lending.

#BeAGoodFriend and check out episode #90 of #FeeneyTalksWithFriends featuring Keith Griffin. It was great to talk with my good #friend, Keith Griffin. Keith is a writer, photographer and Deacon. We talked about: PTLI inspired Keith to become a Deacon (minute 1) Deacon Bob Hilliard (minute 3.20) Vestments worn by Deacons (minute 7) Podcasting on location at Keating Agency Insurance (minute 10) 3 Keys (sponsored by West Hartford Lock) to being a Deacon (minute 12.30) SpeakUP (minute 15.30) Homilies: First, Last, Best, Worst (minute 16.30) A blessing for the podcast (minute 20) The book of blessings (minute 24.30) Holy Water (minute 27) Award Winning Podcast, thanks to James Mark (minute 33) Becoming a Deacon (minute 34.30) Mashed potato pizza from Luna Pizza (minute 42) #BeAGoodFriend Pizza Special at Luna Pizza (minute 44) Nardwuar questions (minute 46) Paella (minute 50) Our newest podcast sponsor, Parkville Management (minute 52) Keith's two dogs (minute 56) Best thing to ever happen to Keith at a bowling Alley (minute 58) Keith's favorite movie, Babe (minute 1.00) Selfie with Anthony Anderson (minute 1.04) Keith gets a new car every week (minute 1.07) Lamborghini (minute 1.09) Ukraine 2 WeHa Fundraiser (minute 1.14) Another podcast sponsor, Peoples Bank (minute 1.16) What makes Manoli a good #friend? (minute 1.18) Uncle Neil (minute 1.21) Drink Mechanics (minute 1.23) Johnny from Effie's Place (minute 1.26) Crazy Questions sponsored by Donut Crazy (minute 1.29) Closing remarks (minute 1.40) Podcast Sponsors: Donut Crazy - www.donutcrazy.com The Fix IV - www.thefixivtherapy.com West Hartford Lock - www.westhartfordlock.com Keating Agency Insurance - www.keatingagency.com Goff Law Group - www.gofflawgroup.net Parkville Management - www.parkvillemanagement.com Luna Pizza - www.lunapizzawh.com/lunas-menu PeoplesBank - www.bankatpeoples.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsoffeeney/support

Jeff began working in their family business 51 years ago. He is a fifth-generation family member in the company business and a descendant of Edward O'Keefe, Irish immigrant who came to America on the heels of the great potato famine in the mid 1800's. Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home will celebrate 160 years since the beginning of their origins in 2025. Jeff has served two Gubernatorial appoints and former Chairman on the Mississippi State Board of Funeral Service which licenses and regulates Funeral Homes, Crematories and the professions personnel. Jeff has been a board member of The Peoples Bank of Biloxi for 37 years and has served on the local Hospital Board of Merit Health Biloxi for 36 years.Jeff was a Co-Plaintiff with his father, Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe and their companies against the Loewen Group International in 1995. He is CEO of Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Inc. which operates 7 funeral homes, 3 cemeteries and Mississippi's first Crematory. The O'keefe Family has been in bedded in the Biloxi Community for over 160 years and providing funeral services since the late 1800's. They have family run for politic offices and advocate for the best way of life in Mississippi since the American Civil War.

Today’s Peoples Bank Let’s Talk Indianola features Peoples Bank President and CEO Kevin Halterman about their 25th Year Anniversary

How do I get a mortgage? That is what Tiffany Clutter talks about with Denton Jones on this edition of Connecting Coffee County.

Tiffany Clutter talks with Rob Clutter about the upcoming Peoples Bank Cruise-In Car Show.

#BeAGoodFriend and check out episode #83 of #FeeneyTalksWithFriends featuring “Be Real With Bella”! It was great to sit down, talk and catch up with my former student, Bella. Bella was and continues to be an amazing student, classmate and #friend. She is interested in starting her own podcast. We talked about: Podcast sponsors (minute 1) Bella's dad is a Sneakerhead (minute 4) 3 Keys to being a great podcaster (minute 9) Bella's favorite podcasts (minute 11) Inspired by Marsha McCurdy-Adell from WHFD (minute 13) SJC Electric, LLC (minute 15) What should Bella name her podcast: “Bella on the Mic” or “Be Real With Bella”? (minute 18) Bella's podcast questions (minute 20) Feeney's favorite podcasts: Swindled, JRE & Fantasy Footballers (minute 23) Feeney's podcast highlight was interviewing Kenny Mayne (minute 26) Feeney's idol is Mister Rogers (minute 30) Luna's meatballs vs Bella's Mom's meatballs (minute 35) Bella's favorite restaurant, Frida Mexican Cuisine (minute 39) Being the 2023 Clover Club Charity from Johnny's Jog (minute 42) Thanks to our newest podcast sponsor, Peoples Bank (minute 44) What makes Adama a good #friend? (minute 46) Bella's favorite teachers (minute 49) Friends of Nicholas event at the Hartford Yard Goats (minute 51) Erin from The Fix IV Therapy (minute 54) Crazy Questions sponsored by Donut Crazy (minute 57) Recommendations (minute 1.03) Thank you to The Exchange Club of West Hartford (minute 1.06) Trivia Game (minute 1.08) Closing Remarks (minute 1.11) Podcast Sponsors: Donut Crazy - www.donutcrazy.com The Fix IV - www.thefixivtherapy.com West Hartford Lock - www.westhartfordlock.com Keating Agency Insurance - www.keatingagency.com GastoPark - www.thegastropark.com Goff Law Group - www.gofflawgroup.net Luna Pizza - www.lunapizzawh.com/lunas-menu PeoplesBank - www.bankatpeoples.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsoffeeney/support

Tom and Ryan take a deep dive into the U.S market this morning where traders are pensive as politicians navigate a debt ceiling stalemate. In a surprising move, the Peoples Bank of China has held the one year lending rate steady. A flat start to trade is expected in Australia with James Hardy's earnings in focus. Plus the team look at commodities and the AUD.  The content in this podcast is prepared, approved and distributed in Australia by Commonwealth Securities Limited ABN 60 067 254 399 AFSL 238814. The information does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the appropriateness of the information before acting and if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom and Ryan look to the U.S where share markets have fallen slightly on Friday with weaker consumer confidence. Meanwhile the Peoples Bank of China is predicted to cut interest rates for the first time since 2022. Back in Australia shares are expected to open higher ahead of a big week of economic data. Plus the team look at energy prices as well as commodities and the AUD. The content in this podcast is prepared, approved and distributed in Australia by Commonwealth Securities Limited ABN 60 067 254 399 AFSL 238814. The information does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the appropriateness of the information before acting and if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can learn more about Lisa Schermerhorn at www.lisaschermerhorncoaching.com You can learn more about bLU Talks at www.blutalks.com Lisa is passionate about helping others and has devoted most of her life doing so. She owned the Indigo Wellness Center in the greater Boston area, was Vice President of Business Development for MeditainmentVR, a virtual reality company that helps people de-stress, and lower pain levels without medication. Lisa was also was one of their lead developers, creating cutting edge guided meditations to help people enhance their lives. Having coached professionals and athletes for almost 20 years, she has the expertise to encourage you, point out your blind spots and give you tools to reach your goals. She loves to give back and has held many leadership positions wherever she has lived. Lisa was on the board of the Mad River Valley Wellness Alliance, Past President of the Woman's Club of Concord, graduate of Leadership Greater Concord, NH and Leadership Champlain, VT. As a professional speaker she has given keynotes for the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance of Boston at McLean Hospital, Peoples Bank, Dental Study Group of Concord, Plymouth State University, The Northfield Conference, Women Inspiring Women, Rotary and Lions Clubs, NH Council on Aging, Let's Have a Net Lunch, The NH Charitable Foundation, The American Association of Dowsers Conference. Lisa graduated from Simmons College with a B.A in Management. She is a Certified Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Certified Hypnotherapist, Emotional Release Method Practitioner and Certified in Bob Reese's Winners Mentality Program. Bob is a former head trainer for the NY Jets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does a community bank whose bread and butter was mortgage lending make the business sustainable in a time when mortgages have increasingly moved to the nonbank sector? “We made a conscious decision,” says Benjamin Bochnowski, CEO of $2 billion-asset Peoples Bank in Munster, Indiana. “We had to modernize it and help it grow; it couldn't exit as a small mortgage operation that only originating $40 million a year in mortgages.” On the latest episode of the podcast — sponsored by Intrafi — Bochnowski, who is also president and CEO of Peoples' parent company Finward, talks about how Peoples Bank built a residential mortgage operation that accounts for a third of its real estate lending portfolio and that originated about $80 million in mortgages last year for portfolio (with more sold in the secondary market). He also talks about how the bank deployed new underwriting and servicing platforms to improve operational efficiency and enhance customer experience. Bochnowski also discusses how Peoples Bank seeks to embody its mutual heritage even after its stock conversion, the bank‘s organic growth strategy and opportunities for M&A deals, and his own career journey in community banking.

Banking solutions that have already been through vendor due diligence and other compliance assessments? Sign us up. That's what the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator has aimed to do for the past four years: collaborate with fintechs to develop plug-and-play solutions tailor-made for community banks. In late 2022, ICBA announced it was bringing the Accelerator and all innovation activities in house. In this episode, our guests reveal the reasons behind this move and give a glimpse of how the association will develop initiatives that help community banks flourish. Our guests today are: - Wayne Miller, ICBA's new senior vice president and director of innovation activities, who is the former executive director of The Venture Center in Little Rock, Ark., where the Accelerator got its start. - Jack Hartings, chairman of the Peoples Bank in Coldwater, Ohio, who has been involved with the Accelerator since the beginning and now sits on the cohort selection committee. Independent Banker: A Community Banking Podcast from ICBA is hosted by Charles Potts, ICBA's executive vice president and chief innovation officer. Head to icba.org/thinktech to learn more about ICBA's innovation activities or, if you're a fintech company looking to better understand the needs of community bankers, apply for the 2023 Accelerator.

In this episode, we discuss strategic steps for Equipment Leasing and Finance companies as they grow and evolve. The leadership of some of these businesses may decide to remain a certain size and complexity and be “ lifestyle businesses”, providing healthy cash flow to the owner(s) while they continue to run the business. However, other options exist, and exiting the business for a favorable multiple to a bank or other buyer can be an excellent strategy, the dream plan for many entrepreneurs.  In this interview, we interview Bob Rinaldi and discuss the potential to grow and leverage a business to realize a win-win exit strategy.  This episode is a great follow-up to our previous show, Start Early & Exit Right, as we dive deep into many of the concepts of M&A rationale. What's unique about this episode is that it is geared toward a specific target audience, our friends in the Equipment Leasing and Finance (ELF) industry. In this episode we cover: How partners such as Rinaldi Advisory Services (RAS) and Colonnade work with Equipment Leasing & Finance (ELF) companies to prepare for a successful sale (1:00) What are the biggest challenges for the independents as they look to be “bank ready” for an acquisition? (4:00)  What are some of the biggest challenges for banks pursuing an acquisition of an equipment leasing company? (9:30) What determines the level of a premium in the sale price that an ELF company can expect? (20:00) What has M&A activity looked like in recent years and what are the prospects? (23:00) What about Private Equity buyers in this space? (26:30) How partners such as Rinaldi Advisory Services (RAS) and Colonnade work with Equipment Leasing & Finance (ELF) companies to prepare for a successful sale (1:00) Bob: My practice has evolved around three target audiences in the equipment leasing space. About 60% of my clients are independent leasing (ELF) companies that I work with through the Confidential CEO Resource℠ model. This is multi-year exit strategy planning. Whether the company exits or not is not important. The idea is to get them from point A to point B so they're prepared if that time comes. The second part of my practice is working with banks, predominantly community banks who are looking to get into the ELF space. Third, I work with a handful of service providers in the industry, as well. Rinaldi Advisory Services (RAS) offers the Confidential CEO Resource℠ (CCR) as a robust, full-scope advisory service that provides clients with a broad base of support for long-term strategic management. RAS works with CEOs and Principals to provide meaningful analysis and actionable insights. The aim is to help ELF senior management arrive at strategic and tactical decisions geared toward managing growth as well as operational and financial efficiencies. Colonnade has deep experience in the ELF industry. Colonnade is a leading investment banking firm that has completed over $9 billion in M&A transactions for clients in the business and financial services industries. Colonnade has advised many companies in the EFL sector on strategic transactions. Please see our Quarterly Updates on the ELF industry here. What are the biggest challenges for the independents as they look to be “bank ready” for an acquisition? (4:00) Bob: The biggest challenge is predominantly that these founders/owners are very much entrepreneurs. They started the business. They're very much involved in the everyday transactional nature of their business. They don't have the time to gain the perspective to look at their company objectively and determine what needs to happen to be a better company from a non-transactional standpoint or to be a better company for the purpose of acquisition. Jeff:  Let's drill down a little bit on some of the biggest challenges for the independents. There's size and scale, where are you today and where are you going? Banks are the natural resting home for specialty finance companies, and ELF companies are such a great asset class for banks in particular. Obviously, they're a number of large independents, but from the bank's perspective, what are the other things you see where companies need to focus? Is it finance and accounting? Is it operations? Is it servicing? Bob: Yes. Yes. And yes. It's really all those things. But even before you get to that, let's look at the business and find components within the business that definitely will never, ever fit in a bank. I'm able to identify those things. You then have to decide what to do with those things. Do I jettison those things completely? Do I sell those off? Do I break it outside of the company and put it in a separate entity so that what is left is sellable and simple to understand? Compare that to a buyer looking at the company and thinking, “I like this, I like this. I hate that. Therefore, I'm not doing it [the acquisition].” For example, say that there is a heavy services component of the (ELF) business; services component being something that has morphed, be it operational leases or servicing equipment that is leased. A bank can't be in that business. If that is an absolute key critical component to your leasing business, then a bank buyer is probably never going to be the buyer, which is going to leave you looking at non-financial institutional-type buyers, and they're fairly limited, so that's a problem. That is when you look at it and go: “If that's what we're always going to do, then this maybe is just going to be a lifestyle business. Let's just find ways to improve the income generation, the profitability, and keep it as a lifestyle business.” What are some of the biggest challenges for banks pursuing an acquisition of an equipment leasing company? (9:30) 1) The banks must use experienced advisors who understand the appropriate valuation models. Bob: If the bank has not been in the business before and their only experience with acquisitions has predominantly been buying other smaller banks, the first challenge is the valuation models. Banks are used to paying a multiple of book value. Leasing companies are not valued that way; their valuation is based on a multiple of earnings or pretax adjusted net income. In a typical leasing company, most of the leases are on a fixed term, fully amortizing type of a structure; therefore they just generate income. But the assets don't stay on the balance sheet that long, they continually roll-off at a rapid rate, so you've got to keep putting on more. It's really not an asset play as much as it is a net income play. Jeff: When we talk to banks as acquirers of these businesses, from either the buy-side or the sell-side, you're absolutely right. It's all about the income-generating opportunity. Yes, there are assets associated with it, but much more importantly, it's “What's the potential earning stream for this business within the bank?” (See: Discover the Rationale for a Synergistic Business Merger). Bob: That really comes down to the financial institution's advisor, a buy-side advisor. If they've not had much experience in the equipment leasing space, especially current experience like Colonnade has, they're already at a very big disadvantage because now you've got two entities that are blind and stating the same thing and focused on book value, so they're getting bad advice along with their own preconceived ideas. That's like a double whammy right out the gate. It's common when you find that a bank or their board, for whatever reason, have just got very comfortable with a buy-side advisor, who has never had that much experience at it but they've just gotten very comfortable with them and they wouldn't even conceive of going outside. A lot of this gets really back down to, “Is the bank nimble? Is the bank flexible? Does the bank have a CEO that has cut a bigger vision?” The same thing with the board, the death of any kind of an institution is just getting so stuck in your way that you just can't get out of it. 2) The CEO of the bank must have a visionary leadership style that allows the acquired company to thrive. Bob: It all still goes back to the CEO of the bank and how progressive they are, how aggressive they are. And aggressive does not mean they're careless. Jeff: The folks that we generally work with on the banking side have made that decision. They said, “Okay, we're going to get into specialty finance. We want to do it in X, Y or Z asset class, and we have the headset to bid accordingly, and that these businesses are valued differently than bank deals. The multiples are different, the metrics are different. We're committed, we've got board approval, we've got senior leadership approval and we're going to go ahead with it.” Bob: You and I know one of the smartest, most aggressive community bankers: Chuck Sulerzyski ​of Peoples Bank of Marietta, Ohio. Peoples Bank is located in the Southeast corner of Ohio, squarely in Appalachia country. How does a bank that size, originally ~$1 billion in assets when he took it over and roughly $7 billion today, make such successful leasing company acquisitions? One located in Vermont and one located in Minnesota? If you take a look at the numbers, the ROA and ROE of the bank have improved dramatically. Their yields and spreads have increased dramatically. Their asset growth has increased significantly in the commercial real estate (CRE) and in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors. His shareholders are being rewarded handsomely and will continue to be. Jeff: Chuck sets a great example. He has been aggressive in good ways. Peoples Bank also acquired an insurance premium finance company, and they're diversifying.  Chuck has the right headset in that he looks to acquire businesses to expand and diversify their geographical footprint. That's a real success story, in my view.  Bob: If you're going to acquire a leasing company that's growing, that's used to growing assets, the last thing you want to do is turn them into a bank. That's the whole premise for why you're going to buy a leasing company – is to expand the scope of the bank, not to contract it. It requires an introspective look of the CEO and his team: can they make an acquisition and not micromanage it and end up turning it into a bank? 3) Banks must be able to create objectives around diversification of geography and asset classes.  Bob: Equipment leasing is not a geographic-specific industry unlike, let's call it, commercial real estate. Banks are very familiar with commercial real estate. Real estate is always local. Commercial real estate is local, you've got to know the geography that you're in very well so that you understand the commercial real estate in that market. Banks must understand what they're trying to achieve in three to five years in terms of what percentage of their (Commercial and Insurance) C&I assets they want in various sectors.  How much do they want to get to in ELF? What do they want it to look like in three years, four years? Depending upon how big that number is, that determines the modality of the type of equipment leasing business you could get into. There are multiple facets to the equipment leasing industry: 1) small ticket, (transactions less than $250,000), middle-market/mid ticket (up to $5 million per transaction size), and large ticket (above $5 million per transaction). Jeff. Take Wintrust. They're not really “a bank”. More than 40% of their loan portfolio is insurance premium finance. They've got a big equipment finance business on top of that. There's probably 50% to 60% of loans that are non-traditional banking assets. As a result, the ROA on that bank is considerably higher than its peers; and as a result, the stock trades higher.  And Peoples, as we've discussed, has the right headset that they need to acquire or look to acquire national platforms outside of Marietta, Ohio. Obviously, they've done some bank acquisitions too in footprint, but expanding to get national business is part of the CEO's strategy.  What determines the level of a premium in the sale price that an ELF company can expect? (20:00) Bob: It falls under the quality of earnings, platform, and quality of human resources. Quality of earnings: I think about the repeatability of the earnings, as opposed to having a trend line of earnings that is a sawtooth (up and down, up and down). Quality of earnings should be fluid and show continued ramped-up growth over a period of time. Platform: The ability to scale. What's their technological capability? What's the platform built off of, is it homegrown? Is it well protected? Is it SOC compliant? If you had more capital, can you scale it? Quality of human resources: What does the management team look like? What's the average age of the team? What are their qualifications? What does the core management team look like behind them? If you cover all three of those pretty darn well, you're going to get the higher end of the premium scale for sure. What has M&A activity looked like in recent years and what are the prospects? (23:00) Bob: Activity's been strong for the past few years. Part of the activity was exacerbated when everybody thought that in 2021 there was going to be a new tax act and capital gains were going to go up.  The biggest reason over the past four to five years is because you've got an aging-out (in the midst of the Great Resignation) of the Principals of these companies. It's just a normal progression, and it happens every five years or so. You get a number of individuals who have had their own leasing companies who started them 20 odd years ago. If they started 20 years ago, here we are 20 years later, they're in their mid-60s to late 60s. If they don't get out now, when are they going to exit? Because typically there's going to be an earn out. If you wait till the age of 70 to get out, you may be working on an earn out between the ages of 70 and 73. On top of that, there's the aspect of an ELF company having a capital constraint. At some point, their capital is not going to hold them to keep borrowing on their line of credit because the debt-equity ratios will get too high and they'll have a hard time borrowing. It's really at about that time when they have to start thinking about what's next. Do we bring in another equity partner? Do we bring in some sub-debt? All that does is kick the can down the road. And I always tell them at that point: “You're already selling part of the company. Just sell the whole thing.” Listen to this podcast episode/read through the shownotes to see the Four Reasons Company Owners Consider a Transaction (15:25) What about Private Equity buyers in this space? (26:30) Jeff: We regularly get calls from folks looking to find platforms to acquire and build upon. There are some opportunities there: To remain independent, nimble, and flexible outside of the bank model, and take in additional capital to grow and potentially enhance the financing capabilities through securitizations and others. Bob: The equipment leasing industry is a fairly mature industry. It's fairly sophisticated. For an independent leasing company to bring in private equity, I see that as only a solution if you don't believe you're able to sell the whole company right now. The PE firm is investing to get double-digit returns, so that means they're going to come in and put you (as the owner/operator) on a huge ramped-up treadmill. You are going to have to keep up or they're going to lose interest. And you've sold part of the company. Now, granted, you've got a smaller piece but now have a bigger pie.  Jeff: That makes sense. There are some examples of successful private-equity-backed equipment finance companies, but as we have found – the universe of financially oriented sponsors that really want to put a lot of capital into the business and are willing to wait a long time to get their return – is quite limited. Most folks attack it from the financing standpoint. It can be a good option if you have an aging founder that wants an opportunity to take some chips off the table and let the next generation continue to run it. But you're right, it is a different exercise being put on that treadmill. Bob: It's a much different exercise. On the other hand, where it does work really well, is when a PE firm is backing a very experienced individual or a team who is going to start up a new entity. They could start this new entity and scale quickly with the help of private equity. They'd have a chance to really leverage that with some serious growth. Then it makes complete sense.

You serve two important groups as a leader: your team and your clients. How do you navigate these as well as yourself for positive and successful leadership? Today's guest, Dwight Utz, serves as the Board Vice Chair for his alma mater, Central Penn College. He has an amazing background in leading organizations to their full potential as former President/CEO/Director of Peoples Bank in York, PA, and East Carolina Bank in Engelhard, NC. Join his chat with Dr. Tracey Jones as he expounds on the importance of staying in alignment with your team when it comes to strategy. Dwight also highlights the client experience as another key factor, along with staying informed and educated about what's going on in your industry. His mantra for leadership includes the three E's: energy, enthusiasm, and excitement. Hear more of Dwight's distilled wisdom on leadership by tuning in to this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. equity indexes opened deep in the red and traded lower through the day, as investors price in “risk off” signals emerging everywhere from China to Germany and anticipate a big week of news from the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. As Weston Nakamura notes, today's price action was foretold last Friday, when the Peoples Bank of China stepped in to defend the Chinese yuan. Prices of risk assets everywhere – including Bitcoin – began to retreat. Now we have more signs the European energy crisis is deepening, with natural gas prices surging on a new round of “maintenance” on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. Weston joins Andreas Steno Larsen to talk about the seemingly rapid shift to a “risk off” tone, signals from the forex market, this energy crisis, and how to trade this kind of action. We also hear from Santiago Capital CEO Brent Johnson about the relationship between pegged and un-pegged currencies. Watch the full video featuring Francis "The Market Sniper" Hunt and Brent Johnson here: https://rvtv.io/3AeYC3F. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Megan Engels' (VP of IT Support for Peoples Bank) answer to "What keeps you coming back to work every week?" fires up a much-needed talk about the people on the service desk. How to approach them, how to motivate them, what soft skills are essential, and how to know if this is the job for you. A key episode for managers and agents alike. Megan Engels is the IT Support Manager for Peoples Bank. She's an experienced IT leader concerned about making IT accessible for everyone. She's got over 20 years of experience at Peoples Bank and almost 15 in IT.

Data is the foundation for today's business decisions. Yet, communicating that data inpresentations can overwhelm your audience. Reena Kansal of Leadership Story Lab explainshow to use the art of storytelling to make your message more engaging – and memorable.Show Notes:Do you need to communicate data and other complex ideas to your audience? Businessstorytelling is all about how you persuade your audience to take action. Join Reena Kansal ofLeadership Story Lab explains how to use the art of storytelling to engage your audience andhelp them remember what is most important.Skip ahead to these highlights:1:33 About Leadership Story Lab3:43 Make your audience remember you7:12 Difference between proving and persuading9:50 Let the Story Do the Work11:20 Create meaning for your audience12:30 The forgetting curve – what do you want your audience to remember?18:00 Executive summary vs executive story18:50 Recommendations for becoming a better storyteller20:00 Become a story collector21:46 Story helps you be known on a deeper level25:20 Example of a well-crafted storyGet more information at LeadershipStoryLab.com

Your data-driven presentation is not just about data. At least 50% of your presentation is abouthow you package and present the data, says Dr. Bill Franks. He leads the Center for Statisticsand Analytical Research at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, and is author of Winning theRoom -- Creating and Delivering an Effective Data Driven Presentation. Listen to this episode toget practical tips for making your next presentation more effective.Jump ahead to these topics:1:17 – About Dr. Bill Franks2:36 – It's not just about the facts and figures4:40 – Match your content to your audience6:50 – It's not about you, it's about what your audience needs9:20 – Analogies are effective for nontechnical people11:30 – Use the fewest numbers possible, at the lowest level of precision13:30 – How effective are diagrams?17:30 – Position your results as positively as possible19:18 – Engaging your Zoom audienceLearn more about Dr. Bill Franks at bill-franks.com. And look for his book, Winning the Room,on Amazon.

Will inflation return to normal in 2024, and will a recession occur? Value stocks outperformed growth stocks in April. M&T Bank (MTB) stock price is up almost 5% year-to-date. "M&T Bank recently acquired Peoples Bank. Will the company raise expectations following the merger? MTB reported above-consensus results," says James Locke. Also, the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) stock price is up over 13% this past year. "The pharmaceutical and healthcare products company trades at 14.6X 2022 EPS and pays a 5.3% dividend rate. The company expects mid-single-digit sales growth and high single to low double-digit EPS growth going forward," Locke adds.

In this engaging session of #AduAndTheGuru, the hosts discussed a historical perspective on the origin of The Peoples Bank of Nigeria and how it turned out to be as they hosted a guest, Prof. Joseph Abugu, who is a teacher and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Adu & The Guru also discussed some of the stories making rounds in the news, from "Why i deserve to be Nigeria's President" - Oshiomole, to EFCC intentions to monitor sources of Presidential candidates ticket funds, and more. Prof. Joseph gave his views of the coming 2023 elections, expressing his views on the current situation of ASUU extending their strike and the back and forth with the federal government.

In episode #2, Jonathan Baird, CFO of Peoples Bank in Magnolia Arkansas, joins Vin and Zach on a range of hot topics. They discuss core deposit generation solutions for community banks, the role of fintech in banking, continued disintermediation in financial  products / services, the role of blockchain, and Bitcoin as a “monetary system.” Please join us for a conversation that marries traditional banking topics with emerging technologies and their influence on community financial institutions. 

Are cryptocurrencies going mainstream? And what should you know before you accept cryptocurrency as payment? Rachel Cannon, partner at Steptoe and Johnson LLP, reveals the truths of cryptocurrency and what you need to know now.Skip ahead to these topics::49 – About Rachel Cannon1:20 – How Rachel got interested in cryptocurrency3:00 – What is cryptocurrency and how did it start?5:30 – Who is engaging with cryptocurrency and why?7:00 – What should people consider before accepting cryptocurrency?9:33 – They myths surrounding cryptocurrency12:45 – Example of Russian community that leveraged cryptocurrency to bypass their local banking system15:25 – The merits of blockchain and cryptocurrency18:50 – The volatility of cryptocurrency22:00 – What are NFT's?26:25 – Why brands are using NFT's27:00 – Why artists love the blockchain28:10 – What does cryptocurrency regulation look like?33:30 – What is the future of cryptocurrency?35:05 – Sources to learn more about cryptocurrencyConnect with Rachel at rcannon@steptoe.comTo learn more about Data Dialogues: https://www.equifax.com/business/trends-insights/data-dialogues-podcast/

As we kick off 2022, we're seeing the convergence of economic headlines and the energy market. How are inflation and other economic trends in the energy market impacting the consumer and commercial sectors? Mark Zoff, manager of market analytics at AEP Energy explains.Jump ahead to these topics::50 - About Mark Zoff and AEP Energy2:00 - Inflation now and what is transitory inflation?4:50 - Economic trends in the energy market and implications for 20229:00 - The 1970's economy as historical precedent 13:30 - Other historical precedents16:45 - Mark's thoughts on the PPP protection and its impact on small business19:00 - PPP demonstrates importance of small business sector20:30 - Which data points Mark and the Fed are reserve is focusing on right nowConnect with Mark: mszoff@aepenergy.comTo learn more about Data Dialogues: https://www.equifax.com/business/trends-insights/data-dialogues-podcast/

Das Jahr hat an den Börsen furchterregend begonnen. Das teilweise vielleicht viel zu viele Geld, dass die Kurse der Weltaktien im Vorjahr um 30 Prozent in die Höhe katapultierte, musste einfach mit Gewinnmitnahmen, Inflationsängsten und dem Bauchgefühl, dass es so am Börsenparkett wohl nicht weitergehen wird wieder raus. Die großen Sausen an den Börsen sind vielleicht vorbei, aber Sekt und Wein gibt´s immer noch, vor allem in den Emerging Markets, wo sich die institutionellen schon wieder fleißig umschauen und die haben normalerweise den besseren Riecher als die Privatanleger. In den Schwellenstaaten drückten die Kursverluste in den letzten zwölf Monaten die Kurs-Gewinnverhältnisse auf ein attraktives Verhältnis von 12. Und es wurde oder konnte auch nicht eine so exzessive Geldpolitik gefahren werden wie in den Industriestaaten. So hat etwa die Peoples Bank of China jetzt sogar noch Munition die Zinsen zu senken und so die Konjunktur anzukurbeln. Die Emerging Markets sind auch nicht nur China. Im Gegenteil, so Luke Barrs, Analyst bei Goldman Sachs. Bei Goldman Sachs ist man auch längst von ihrem prominenten, in die Jahre gekommenen BRIC-Investmentansatz abgekommen. Also nur in die vier am schnellsten wachsenden Schwellenstaaten Brasilien, Russland Indien und China zu investieren. Man ist von einer Top-Down zu einer Bottom-Up-Strategie übergegangen. Also bei der Aktienauswahl stärker nach Unternehmen, und nicht nach Volkswirtschaften zu selektieren. Luke sieht vor allem viel Potenzial für die indische Börse und für chinesische Biotech, IT- und Umwelttechnologieaktien. Mehr zur neuen Goldman Sachs-Schwellenstaaten-Strategie in der am Sonntag neu erscheinenden Podcast-Folge der GELDMEISTERIN. Und falls ihr meine Podcasts BÖRSENMINUTE oder GELDMEISTERIN tatkräftig unterstützen wollt, dann votet doch bitte noch bis 6. Februar für mich beim aktuellen Ö3-Podcastaward: https://oe3.orf.at/podcastaward/stories/3011720/ Vielen herzlichen Dank sagt Podcast-Host Julia Kistner Rechtlicher Hinweis: Für Verluste, die aufgrund von getroffenen Aussagen entstehen, übernehmen die Autorin, Julia Kistner keine Haftung. Musik und Sound Rechte: https://www.geldmeisterin.com/index.php/bm-sound-musik-rechte/ #Vermögen #ETF #Vorsorge #Portfolio #20er #Langfristportfolio #Finanzen #Geldanlage #veranlagen #Aktien #Exchange_Traded_Funds #Langfristanlage #MSCIWorld #Podcast #GELDMEISTERIN #Investments #Zinsen #Risikostreuung #Diversifikation #Reichtum #Börse #Zinsen #Schwankungen #Kurse #Zinsanstiege #Gewinne #Kapitalmärkte #Millionär #Neid #Zinseszinseffekt #Ö3Podcastaward #Börsenminute #Schwellenstaaten #EmergingMarkets #BRIC #GoldmanSachs #Schwellenstaaten #China #Russland #Brasilien #Indien #LukeBarrs

Dr. Nikhil Paradkar, assistant professor in finance at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, discusses his research on using data and machine learning to better understand how financial changes due to regulation, technological advancements or crises can impact the availability of credit for households. He also tells our host, Jeff Dugger, Principal Data Scientist and University Research Director at Equifax, about some very interesting research on corporate buzzwords, innovation and company earnings calls.Jump ahead to these topics::58 - Paradkar provides an overview of his work at UGA1:35 - Paradkar explains the research he presented to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on bank funding shocks3:35 - If a consumer's credit limit is reduced, how does it impact their credit score?5:00 - Can consumers who are more exposed to their bank's liquidity shocks have an impact on a financial recovery?6:40 - The CFPB's reaction to Paradkar's research9:10 - What machine learning has revealed about consumer finance and Fintechs12:25 - Paradkar explains his machine learning technique used in his research13:38 - Can lenders use Paradkar's research to improve their lending?15:02 - Is there a latent unobservable variable that causes FinTech borrowers to be more likely to default?16:41 - How Paradkar uses machine learning to study corporate buzzwords, innovations and quarterly earnings callsLearn more about our guest, Nikhil Paradkar: https://www.terry.uga.edu/directory/finance/nikhil-paradkar.html

Twitter: @1PercentContentDakota is a loan officer at Peoples Bank in Sheridan Arkansas. He joins OPC to discuss banking, investing, and other topics.Dakota's Email: dhedden@peoplesbankar.comTopics:Being a loan officerThe 5 C's of CreditHaving a relationship with your bankerInvestments and starting a rentalMy Financial SnapshotLink:PayPay's Venmo Inks Partnership with AmazonMy Financial Snapshot

The auto industry has been front and center as supply chain issues make headlines. But the other story is rapid change. Evolving consumer preferences, shifting demographics and digital retailing have all upended the market since COVID. Have these factors changed the industry for good? Equifax's Rissa Reddan gets a market assessment from Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at JD Power.Jump ahead to these highlights::50 - Tyson's role at JD Power1:45 - What data is revealing about the auto industry right now2:53 - Challenges facing the industry and Covid's role in current environment4:24 - Covid's impact on individual transit: types of leases, purchases and specific behavioral change5:45 - Electric vehicle market is heating up7:00 - Are we at the tipping point for EV's?8:10 - Convergence of solar power and EV's9:00 - How is data driving the digital retail revolution?10:42 - What are we learning about consumers through digital retailing? What does the data reveal?12:15 - New generational trends that are emerging14:12 - How can the auto industry use data to drive recovery? What benefits are we seeing?16:15 - What are cars telling us -- and are they watching their drivers?18:12 - Car data can be a risk assessment19:11 - How this is a time of transition for the auto market and what the future looks like

Today’s Let’s Talk Indianola features Peoples Bank President Kevin Halterman about the ribbon cutting for their new administration and training facility building.

David Ferber, SVP of Analytical Capabilities & Solutions at Equifax, and Sri Ambati, Founder and CEO of H2O.ai, discuss the democratization of AI and how companies need to bring together multi-faceted teams to get the most out of their data. Skip ahead to these topics:1:40 - About H2O4:30 - Data is at the heart of all machine learning7:25 - Trying to make decision-making cheaper, faster, easier9:22 - H2O customer stories12:11 - How H2O has recruited brilliant minds from around the world16:45 - Examples of AI for good20:40 - H2O wins award for its good works in India during COVID-19 pandemic22:30 - Looking to our younger generation for inspiration25:00 - The horizon for innovation has shifted since COVID-19

This episode focuses on how companies can collaborate with universities to solve business problems and strengthen their own data science programs. Jeff Dugger, Principal Data Scientist at Equifax & University Research Director, interviews Jennifer Priestley, Professor of Statistics and Data Science at Kennesaw State University, about how university's structure their data science programs -- and how they rely on the private sector to stay relevant.Skip ahead to these highlights:1:00 - About Kennesaw State University's School of Data Science and Analytics3:25 - The challenges Jennifer faced when launching one of the first university data science programs6:00 - How to bring different backgrounds together for an effective data science program11:00 - How data science programs differ from so-called “spoke” programs17:05 - It's all about adding value to the organization18:20 - Understanding model results21:03 - The real-time feedback loop with the private sector26:33 - The need for communications skills - how do you tell the story of your data?28:30 - Top 3 takeaways for companies to build and strengthen their data science programs

We interview Mark Miller, director of insights at Comperemedia, about what's driving the popularity of challenger banks. Also known as neobanks, challenger banks are upstart banks that usually operate solely online, offer innovative features and tend to target specific groups of tech-savvy customers. Join us as we discuss what's behind this innovative banking trend, how it's impacting traditional banks and what the future holds for challenger banks.Jump ahead to these highlights:1:15 - About Comperemedia1:35 - Background on challenger banks and what's driving their success2:23 - How challenger banks are differentiating themselves and the impact on traditional banks3:35 - Who is attracted to challenger banks4:37 - Customer expectations of challenger banks6:48 - Challenger banks find riches in niches6:33 - Challenger banks' use of alternative data7:44 - Regulatory landscape for challenger banks8:26 - How challenger banks market to customers9:07 - Consumer concerns about challenger banksRESOURCES:For more insights, check out the Comperemedia blog and Mintel blog. For more information about our podcast, visit https://www.equifax.com/business/data-dialogues-podcast/

Husain Habhab joins us on this episode to talk about his experience with his mental health, growing up in Lebanon & having a moment of distress where he attempted suicide. We are so thankful that Husain came on this episode to tell his story & promote mental health & awareness! This episode is sponsored by Peoples Bank! #suicide​ #lebanon​ #mentalhealth

What a Digital Dollar looks like…We are on the cusp of a new monetary era. Central bankers around the world are increasingly worried that privately controlled digital currencies will relegate them to the sidelines of monetary affairs. To avoid this fate, central banks have been studying, and in some cases actively pursuing, issuing digital currencies of their own: so-called central bank digital currency (CBDC). Today's tech giants have the scale and consumer reach, not to mention the incentive, to create their own digital moneys that threaten to compete with or even displace the public moneys that central banks issue and manage. The Peoples Bank of China is reportedly poised to launch its CBDC as soon as this year. If it succeeds, other major central banks are sure to follow. The stakes are especially high for the United States because a successful digital currency—whether controlled by a private company or by China—could imperil the U.S. dollar's status as the dominant global currency, a source of “exorbitant privilege” for Americans.Congress should authorize the Federal Reserve to implement a broadly accessible, U.S. dollar-based CBDC by giving the general public—individuals, businesses, and institutions—the option to hold accounts at the central bank, which we call FedAccounts. FedAccounts would offer all the functionality of ordinary bank accounts with the exception of overdraft coverage. They would also have all the special features that banks currently enjoy on their central bank accounts, as well as some additional, complementary features. The FedAccount program would put government-issued digital or “account” money on par with government-issued physical currency, transforming digital dollars into a resource that anyone can use. The technology behind the digital dollar would be HyperLedger DLT, being designed to be fungible, meaning regardless of what central bank might end up minting its currency using the technology, every token will have the same value as the underlying asset, regardless of whether the token had been previously used for some nefarious purpose and will comply with the ERC-1155 token standard.When it comes to money and payments, integration and interoperability are demonstrably better than fragmentation and balkanization. On top of that, distributed ledger technology, however ingenious its conception, remains extremely slow and inefficient compared to centralized ledger systems. For central banks, these cryptocurrency design features are a needless distraction. The FedAccount system would be seamlessly interoperable with the existing system of money and payments and would rely on low-cost, reliable systems and technologies that the Federal Reserve has used successfully for decades. It would not charge interchange fees on debit card transactions, FedAccounts would reduce or eliminate an implicit tax on retailers and consumers. The Digital Dollar effects on BitcoinImportant to keep in mind. Bitcoin has the lead and will continue to have the lead in the digital currency space. The creation of the Digital Dollar at its core and infrastructure level isn't really a challenge for Bitcoin. Bitcoin wins hands down.China's digital yuan has been in the works since 2014. The launch date, however, still remains unknown but is expected later this year. Industry insiders told The Global Times that China should accelerate the launch of its digital currency amid the coronavirus pandemic and economic slowdown. This will be Bitcoin first major test.People's Bank of China Digital Yuan, United States of America Digital Dollar, Bitcoin and other crypto currencies. Currency Wars are upon us.What happens to cash when the digital dollar is created, does it become worthless. Will we continue on using the same fiat money system that hyper inflates the digital dollar as well. Currency devaluation, or debasement, has always been synonymous with inflation, where the amount of money in circulation relative to economic activity increases. When the Federal Reserve System started creating hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air, they called it ‘quantitative easing' of the money supply. When that didn't work, they created more money and called it ‘QE2', instead of saying: ‘We are going to print more dollars — and hope it works this time.'” Now they are calling this QE infinity. Does the Fed introduce a new currency and if so do we lose all value in our current USD.Worse case scenario a new FedCoin currency is created including the wiping out of previous USD debt. Digital FedCoin becomes the world reserve currency backed by gold and/or a basket of other currencies, still highly centralized and highly controlled. However to make social and economic choices regarding this, the FED implements governance in a two tier token system that is well coordinated with other central banks holding the vast majority of wealth very similar to MakerDAO…while the smaller stable FedCoin token is distributed to everyone else all while keeping the programmable money aspect in tact. This pulls the rug under bitcoin. They then take additional steps to make it extremely difficult to receive and/or send and/or store legally if not held in a digital online/offline wallet not tied to a digital identity or an exchange. This creates a secondary market in the Bitcoin, Crypto industry and an onslaught of privacy coins become the standard and/or Bitcoin forks implementing a privacy component to its protocol. Best case scenario old cash currency is still used, currency wars continue, hyper inflation increases and most people make the move to bitcoin and becomes the world reserve currency.Citation: Ricks, Morgan and Crawford, John and Menand, Lev, Digital Dollars (February 1, 2020). Vanderbilt Law Research Paper 18-33; UC Hastings Research Paper No. 287; George Washington Law Review, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3192162 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3192162

Jesse McWaters speaks about analyzing the impact of blockchain technology on industry and society at the World Economic Forum, disruption vs. collaboration in the financial sector, why blockchain technology gives people a license to image a future without constraint, the role of established financial institutions in the cryptoasset space, why the road of blockchain entrepreneurs differs from those in the FinTech space, how the blockchain narrative changed in recent years, blockchain regulation, checks and balances, code of conduct in ICOs, why blockchain technology might become less of a binary idea in the future, and much more. Jesse leads the World Economic Forum's exploration of fintech and financial innovation where he works with financial executives, regulators and a global network of innovators to analyze the implications of open banking, blockchains, digital identity, and AI on the financial sector and society. Jesse is a frequent speaker and media commentator on CNBC's Closing Bell, in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and the New York Times and he has presented his analyses to financial institutions and global policymakers such as the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Federal Reserve Board, the Peoples Bank of China, the European Parliament, and the FDIC. Jesse McWaters: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/authors/jesse-mcwaters/, https://twitter.com/rjmcwaters Previous interview with Jesse for my blockchain documentary (2017): https://blockchain-documentary.com/jesse-mcwaters-wef/ The Blockchain and Us newsletter To stay up to date about what blockchain pioneers, innovators and entrepreneurs from all around the world think about the future of this space, sign up for the newsletter.

Jeff Berwick and Amir Adnani return. Berwick was an early pioneer of Bitcoin which has started to gain attention once again. Its price skyrocketed 25% last week alone as the Peoples Bank of China has been devaluing the Renminbi. Jeff will discuss recent remarks by Bill Gross & Alan Greenspan suggesting the global banking system is on the verge of collapse. Only a debt jubilee can save us. But if the ruling elite are planning a debt jubilee, will it benefit the masses or just the elite? For self protection, Jeff favors diversification of assets, which is why Bitcoin, in addition to gold, silver and precious metals mining shares, is part of his portfolio. Amir will be with us to talk about Brazil Resources which company has used the recent downturn to add a large gold resource to its portfolio in Brazil and Canada. Now is one of the best times to consider buying gold stocks I have seen in decades so you won't want to miss Amir's remarks.