ING U.S. came up with "the number" as a way for Americans to think about how much of a nest egg they would need to retire comfortably, and it turned out to be a very effective advertising icon for getting across the point: You need to have a tangible retirement goal to plan, save and invest effectively.

Now, ING U.S. is back with a new visual aid in a new TV advertising campaign, and it could turn out to be just as or even more effective: "orange" money. The orange color represents the well-known hue of the ING brand, but more important is that orange money stands for the stuff in your wallet, or savings, that you shouldn't spend because it's designated to put away for retirement. Only the "green" money is safe to spend.Continue reading...

As retailers increasingly leverage location-based marketing to predict customer behavior and influence purchasing decisions, the result is more sophisticated data about who and when to target — and what offers to make.  

“Collecting GPS data is becoming quite pervasive. Using the knowledge of where a customer goes, which path she travels and how much time she spends at various locations can improve the quality of customer interactions and types of marketing offers and increase the likelihood that she’ll redeem an offer,” writes FICO’s Shafi Rahman and Amit Sowani.

FICO, founded in 1956, introduced analytic solutions including credit scoring, predictive analytics and business rules management and optimization, now used by most of the world's top banks, leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical businesses and government agencies, as well as managing the personal credit health of millions of individuals. 

The organization identified some key steps in location-based data collection:Continue reading...

Along with adjusted net income of $1.2 billion, American Express delivered a surprise in its fourth quarter earnings report today: the elimination of 5,400 jobs as part of a global reorganization of its business units, with over $400 million in severance and its business travel unit taking a big hit.

The company has endured more than a decade of downsizing under CEO Ken Chenault: 7,700 jobs in 2001; 6,500 jobs in 2002; 7,000 jobs (10% of its workforce) in 2008; 4,000 jobs in 2009. This round of cuts, as Wall Street Journal reports, represents "its biggest retrenchment in a decade," and will shed 8.5% of its workforce.

“Against the backdrop of an uneven economic recovery, these restructuring initiatives are designed to make American Express more nimble, more efficient and more effective in using our resources to drive growth,” said Chenault. “For the next two years, our aim is to hold annual operating expense increases to less than 3 percent. The overall restructuring program will put us in a better position as we seek to deliver strong results for shareholders and to maintain marketing and promotion investments at about 9 percent of revenues.”

More details on the restructuring and impact on the company — which just launched a #foraliving recruitment campaign on Twitter and YouTube — from its press release:Continue reading...

Banks are always crowing about how they aren’t going to have fees for this or that, but somehow, over time, the monthly bank statement comes and there are a load of fees on there. And most of them are worded in such a way that the consumer has absolutely no idea what they are for.

Australian Josh Reich has certainly felt the bewilderment. “Banks make money by keeping customers confused,” Reich told the New York Times. “There’s no incentives to make the experience better.”

So what did Reich do? He partnered with a pal, Shamir Karkal, and started an online bank, Simple, a “worry-free alternative to traditional banking” that doesn't charge any fees.

Formerly known as BankSimple, the Portland, Ore.-based startup which has now processed more than $200 million in transactions, offers its 20,000 customers data-rich analysis of expenditures as well.Continue reading...

The flurry of mobile banking ads lately is no accident. Just like every other business, banks have figured out that consumers are on the go — and connected — all the time. Banks are already scrambling to get their piece of the mobile payments market, and now mobile banking apps are the latest new thing.

A slew of campaigns are featuring the ease of mobile banking, with banks such as Barclays expanding mobile. Bank of America says, "Life is mobile. So is your bank." Chase calls mobile banking, "The power of Chase in the palm of your hand."

But Capital One, instead of pitching the mobile app itself, is focusing on the convenience factor for the consumer.Continue reading...

Market research shows that e-tailing in India is growing faster than any other Asia Pacific market, which sets the stage for Citi's new campaign in the market: promoting web-based transactions and online shopping to consumers.

Citibank India will host its first ever 24-hour deep discount online promotion — billed as the OMG! Sale, short for Online Mega Sale — on Wednesday (Dec. 5), offering cardholders deals across categories from 17 e-tailers including indiatimes.com, ebay.in, snapdeal.com, indiaplaza.com, zoomin.com, yebhi.com, zovi.com, excluzen.com, highstreetlabels.com, goibibo.com, babyoye.com, firstcry.com, hoopos.com, indiangiftsportal.com, goodlife.com, pepperfry.com and myntra.com. 

The single-day online sale event offers discounts averaging around 30% and extending up to 60% on certain products and services.Continue reading...

Profit is generally defined as the amount of money made after expenditures are accounted for, but the good folks of Starbucks have apparently been using a different definition.

Reuters discovered in an investigation that the coffee giant was telling investors that its U.K. business was going like gangbusters but the company also filed taxes that claim massive losses — a claim the company denies. Now it appears that the movie studio-like practice was taking place in other parts of Europe as well.

Reuters now reports in a new installment of its investigation that it's all in how you define 'profit.' 

“Starbucks Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead said the company simply used a different measure of profit when reporting its performance to investors and when filing its tax returns,” the wire service reports. Reuters also notes, however, that there is no indication that Starbucks has broken any actual rules in any country. 

"If you're not finding ways to mitigate your tax responsibilities to the best of your ability, that's something that will impact shareholders," said RJ Hottovy, an analyst who covers Starbucks for Morningstar, told Reuters.Continue reading...

Five years after the housing market crumbled, the U.S. government is still sorting out who to blame. The latest indictment is of Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, now facing a $1 billion lawsuit for allegedly (along with predecessor Countrywide Financial) selling fraudulently approved loans to government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The civil mortgage fraud suit was filed Wednesday by Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, accusing Countrywide, acquired by BofA in 2008, of promoting “HSSL,” (High Speed Swim Lane), a.k.a. “the Hustle” (no, not that "Hustle") in order to eliminate quality checkpoints and push higher volumes of mortgages between 2007 and 2009.Continue reading...