In doing some research on the why legal cannabis businesses cannot get bank accounts, I came across a letter on cannabis business regulation sent last week by the governors of four states to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin. Give pot a chance, the letter essentially asks.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)[1] recently released its semi-annual economic outlook[2].  Three major themes emerge from the report. First, the global economy is gradually emerging from a five-year (2012-1016) low-growth trap, and global growth should pick up modestly in 2017and 2018 (Table 1).  Second, we are seeing a shift in economic policy from over-reliance on monetary policy to fiscal initiatives designed to boost growth. Third, we are not out of the woods and significant risks remain.

In late January, I participated in an Oxford-style debate regarding whether healthcare is a commodity. The debate was the featured event at Tata Memorial Centre’s Platinum Jubilee Conference in Mumbai, India.

A packed auditorium of over a thousand attendees buzzed with excitement as Professor Antonio “Tito” Fojo (my opponent) and I walked on-stage. The conference theme, “HEALTHCARE: A Commodity or Basic Human Need?” put the spotlight on our contest. We were midway through the 3-day conference, and it was show-time.

Political events with major economic implications continue to swirl around us, centered on the change in leadership in the US. 

Key trends we are watching:

It's a bit of a cheap headline, I'll admit, but I've been reading about the so-called populism that the current U.S. president has tapped into and wondered what it has to do with financial technology. FinTech has been styled as a way to empower people, and that's basically where populism started.

"Populism" in the most generic sense refers to a concern for the common people. It also carries the charge of dissing establishment types, whether they are politicians, intellectuals, media types—maybe even banks.