Banks going forward + Links to previous article

An article on how mobile banking is playing an important role in getting more financial inclusion for the people has appeared in HBR. See - Do We Really Need Banks? This article talks about the m-Pesa concept which I had blogged a while ago. See this - m-banking for the BOP.

Reliance in Shale Gas - Acquires US Co. for 1.3 bn USD

I had blogged a while ago on the Shale gas technology and how is it gonna be the future of oil industry. (see Shale Gas Technology ). The announcement from Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) for buying of 45% share in Pioneer Natural Resources, a company involved in shale extraction, for $ 1.3 billion gives some credence to that. This comes close on heels of similar acquisition by RIL for $ 1.7 billion in the another US company's shale-gas assets in Pennsylvania.

The reason for sudden interest for RIL in such technology is probably because India supposedly has lot of shale assets and as this technology matures (the cost of extraction gets cheaper), a petrochemical company like RIL would be best suited to exploit the situation.