The Lost Art Of Banking

This Palgrave Pivot explores the recent financial crisis from a new perspective. Reflecting on 40 years of banking experiences, the book will open new avenues to understanding banking and comment on possible ways to rehabilitate banking organisations. In 1965 the Bank of Ireland received a consultancy report from McKinsey & Company, which heralded a new phase in banking practice and organisation. In the years that followed, the Bank of Ireland opened up its once traditional culture to outside influences changing the way work was done and workers were viewed. Direct competition was introduced alongside specialisation of roles, and hence college education was identified as the way to meet demands of the market and bankers began to develop a full suite of products to keep customers loyal. The once professional bank manager who was a guardian of good practice eventually became absorbed into the needs of the leviathan organisation. The end result is an unimaginable and interlinked financial crisis in 2008 that swept across Ireland and the globe. This book explores banking organisation and practice as it transforms and across the period from 1960 to 2018. It argues that organisational goals over individual responsibility paved the pathway towards crisis. Organisationally, anxiety and fear of failure took the place of certainty and stability. While the financial crisis is coming to an end, banking organisations remains fragile and prone to influences that may lead them towards a path of continuous cycles of boom and bust. Such a state has the potential to create an unending cycle of boom and bust and the end of stability and the institution of banking. This book shines a light on that and will be of interest to banking and finance researchers, students, and practitioners.

Reading is a revolutionary act, an act of engagement in a culture that wants us to disengage. In The Lost Art of Reading, David L. Ulin asks a number of timely questions - why is literature important? What does it offer, especially now? Blending commentary with memoir, Ulin addresses the importance of the simple act of reading in an increasingly digital culture. Reading a book, flipping through hard pages, or shuffling them on screen - it doesn't matter. The key is the act of reading, and it's seriousness and depth. Ulin emphasizes the importance of reflection and pause allowed by stopping to read a book, and the accompanying focus required to let the mind run free in a world that is not one's own. Are we willing to risk our collective interest in contemplation, nuanced thinking, and empathy? Far from preaching to the choir, The Lost Art of Reading is a call to arms, or rather, to pages.

A history of the women who taught Americans how to dress in the first half of the 20th century—and whose lessons we’d do well to remember today.

Learn how to give powerful, on-target speeches that capture an audience's attention and drive home a message. Splashy slides, confident body language, and a lot of eye contact are fine and well. However, if a speech is rambling, illogical, or just plain boring, the impact will be lost. The key is not just in the delivery techniques, but in tapping into the power of language. Prepared by award-winning writer and journalist Richard Dowis, The Lost Art of the Great Speech covers every essential element of a great speech, including: outlining and organizing, beginning with a bang, making use of action verbs and vivid nouns, and handling questions from the audience. Plus, this authoritative speech-writing guide includes excerpts from some of history's most memorable speeches--eloquent words to contemplate and emulate. Discover how to not only write a great speech, but also how to deliver it even better.

The passionate, true story of one man's quest to reclaim what the Nazis stole from his family--their beloved art collection--and to restore their legacy. Simon Goodman's grandparents came from German Jewish banking dynasties and perished in concentration camps. And that's almost all he knew--his father rarely spoke of their family history or heritage. But when he passed away, and Simon received his father's papers, a story began to emerge. The Gutmanns, as they were known then, rose from a small Bohemian hamlet to become one of Germany's most powerful banking families. They also amassed a world-class art collection that included works by Degas, Renoir, Botticelli, and many others, including a Renaissance clock engraved with scenes from the legend of Orpheus. The Nazi regime snatched everything the Gutmanns had labored to build: their art, their wealth, their social standing, and their very lives. Simon grew up in London with little knowledge of his father's efforts to recover their family's possessions. It was only after his father's death that Simon began to piece together the clues about the stolen legacy and the Nazi looting machine. He learned much of the collection had gone to Hitler and Goring; other works had been smuggled through Switzerland, sold and resold, with many pieces now in famous museums. More still had been recovered by Allied forces only to be stolen again by bureaucrats-- European governments quietly absorbed thousands of works of art into their own collections. Through painstaking detective work across two continents, Simon proved that many pieces belonged to his family, and successfully secured their return-- the first Nazi looting case to be settled in the United States. Goodman's dramatic story reveals a rich family history almost obliterated by the Nazis. It is not only the account of a twenty-year long detective hunt for family treasure, but an unforgettable tale of redemption and restoration.

The sixth book in this bestselling series gives us Isabel, intrigue — both moral and financial — a fox bite, two engagements and at least one wedding! While attending a second birthday party with her son, Charlie, Isabel meets Minty Auchterlonie, a ruthlessly ambitious high-flying financier who first appeared in The Sunday Philosophy Club. Minty heads a small investment bank and may or may not be deceiving her shareholders. Isabel faces a dilemma: she has information which could prevent the investors from being cheated — but how can she be sure of it? Meanwhile, Isabel’s niece, Cat, becomes engaged to a stunt man who is also a funambulist. However, the fiancé is about to take up a highly dangerous engagement that Isabel fears will end in disaster, even as Isabel herself considers embarking on an extreme adventure of her own…

Author and pastor Banks makes the case for praying together as a means of enjoying God's blessings and pleasing Him.