first direct's latest campaign sees the UK's number one bank for customer satisfaction make a brave new move to showcase all consumer opinions online on a new microsite: firstdirect.com/live.  The first time that a bank has made such a move, the site aggregates live comments from eight million social media sites.

Lisa Wood, head of marketing at first direct, said:"Our customers are writing about us all over the web and we want to embrace this, so we're showing customer comments, good and bad, from websites, blogs and forums for everyone to see.  We're also encouraging uncensored feedback on a range of issues and we're inviting everyone to participate in the conversation at www.firstdirect.com/live.

first direct also commissioned research to understand the value consumers place on openness, and the expectations of consumers towards businesses.  The research showed that Brits are now catching up with their American counterparts as almost 80 per cent are now using social media at least once per month.

H.E. Dr. Tarek Kamel speaks at ITU Telecom conference in Geneva

  Geneva, 7 October 2009: Speaking at one of the world’s biggest telecoms events, His Excellency Dr. Tarek Kamel, Egypt’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology, emphasised the key role that developing countries can play in helping the world economy out of the current recession. Joining leading industry and political figures from across the world, Dr. Kamel made a strong case for investment into economies like Egypt that have an abundance of qualified human capital and strong growth potential.   “We must capitalise on this opportunity by working together.” the Minister said. “Cutting costs for global players is a given, but there is also a need to seize new growth models. Developing countries have the competitive advantages to support multinationals’ strategies for operational cost reduction.

Matrix-Data Solutions, the financial services business intelligence specialist, today launches Financial-Clarity, a revolutionary new business intelligence solution for the UK financial services market.    Financial Clarity will provide fund managers, life companies, fund supermarkets and wrap platform with an unrivalled insight into their intermediary sales, marketing and distribution operations. It is also aimed at helping management to plan their distribution strategies, ensuring that they are able to evolve their business strategies in the light of the RDR and the rapidly changing Intermediary landscape.   Previously the act of identifying and analysing product sales from UK financial intermediaries has often been a laborious process for providers and platforms, clouded by poor intelligence, a patchwork of legacy systems and inaccurate and complex modelling.

Spring Lake, NJ, September 29, 2009-- Market Advisory Services, Inc. (MAS, www.masfit.com), a strategic advisory and management consulting boutique in commodities, energy, and financial information technology, today announced the success of the transaction process to represent and negotiate the sale of Spot Systems Inc. of San Francisco, to Financial Software Systems (FSS) of Horsham, PA. This transaction continues MAS client successes in treasury, wholesale banking, and capital markets with more than a dozen sector specific transactions, including Aleri Global Banking divestiture to Wall Street Systems; the sale of FNS in Australia to Tata Consulting in India; and the sale of FNX to GL Trade in Paris, now part of SunGard.

MAS was selected by Spot Systems shareholders Bruce Nissim, president, and Fred Goldman, CEO, as the sole advisor to develop the exit strategy and find a strategic buyer of the Spot Systems business.