Uncategorized

Tripple Dip Recession & The EU – Simon Dixon

A banker says European Union members will not reach an agreement on the trillion-dollar budget talks, paving the way for the breakup of the bloc.


This comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel urges EU members to work together to reach a deal as the bloc’s 27 states remain divided on the one-trillion-euro 2014-2020 budget.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Simon Dixon, CEO of Bank to the Future.com, from London, to further discuss the issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Tell us about, first of all, the significance of what the German Chancellor has said about them being not sure that an agreement is going to be made and how that might affect it all.

Dixon: I think what we’re seeing from the German side is some real honesty.

The likelihood of getting 27 countries to agree when we’re moving into a triple dip recession all around, when top of the agenda for most of the countries is austerity measures, budget cuts and trying to pay off the national debt, the likely of getting people to agree to a trillion stimulus for the European Union is highly unlikely.

It’s a refreshing change to actually hear to expect some hardness in getting everyone to agree.

Press TV: Tell us the affects, Mr. Dixon, if it does not happen. If an agreement is not reached, tell us the types of affects that we might see.

Dixon: It just adds to the rocky round that we’re seeing in the European Union right now. They better get prepared for that because the agreement won’t be reached, I’m almost certain of it.

The consequences are is there’s more pressure on the European Union, more pressure for the interrelations between its members. The pressure’s going to get a lot worse as we move into a worse economy in 2013 and more budgets are required to do more banking bailouts as well.

Press TV: Let’s look at that overall pressure that possibly is more on the EU and possible effects as far as the inter-union relationships. How do you see it affecting various countries?

Dixon: David Cameron and the British have been very outspoken on it.

There’s lots of pressure between the French, the Germans and particularly the Italians. Then we have some of the other members and the relationships aren’t very strong at the moment.

All this is going to do is put more pressure on it. I’m forecasting this year that we’re going to see some of the first exists from the European Union which will probably have the domino effect with others.

Simon Dixon

Lessons from 2012

On Xmas morning I just wanted to share some gratitude and lessons that this year brought to me and a huge thanks to those that shared the journey or even delivered a valuable lesson to me in the form of a hard pill to swallow.

Whatever happened to you in 2012 you have two optimal ways of seeing it.

When something good happens approach it with humility and gratitude.

When something bad happens approach it as a valuable lesson.

In 2012 I closed a company that had 6 years of sweat and blood behind it, and I opened a new company that had a lifetime of passion and vision behind it.

On the surface, 2012 seemed about getting the ducks lined up and working harder than ever on challenges that I had never experienced before. But upon reflection there was so much more…

Here are my top lessons from from the gratitude events of 2012 and the valuable lessons of 2012 from bitter pills.

1. Let go -

I found it very difficult to close the last business, but no matter how hard I pushed banks no longer wanted to higher graduates and I could not produce enough results for our customers anymore to feel we were doing a good job. I remember the last words from our investor Peter Hargreaves “If you are flogging a dead horse, stop it”. I always listen to Peter, his net worth is £1.3bn after he Hargreaves Lansdown IPO.

2. Feel the fear and do it anyway -

I cannot tell you the number of times I was petrified in 2012 and just did it anyway. I have come to embrace fear and in the words of the book just feel the fear and do it anyway. How? Have a mission that is bigger than yourself and your ego. If I carry on with the banking reform mission. I don’t care if I fail, as long as I keep pushing till death us do part. I learnt this from Jeremy Gilley of Peace One Day.

3. Nothing is as it seems -

Your world is a fantasy. You think people are better than you, you think they are worse than you – both are a lie. Everything that seemed too good to be true was too good to be true for me in 2012, and everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. At the same time, things that I did not expect to be much, were huge and after getting things wrong several times they went pretty right and much luck followed. Everything is a fantasy, so you might as well expect the best, but prepare for the worst. Trick your brain into thinking things are better than they seem, rather than worse than they seem, as they almost always are when you contrast your situation to those that would love to have your tiny problem.

4. Nobody is what you think they are -

I read lots of biographies and met many of my mentors in 2012. My favourite biography was Steve Jobs because you learn that geniuses are full of imperfections and suffer the same insecurity issues that we all do. One thing I have learnt – whenever you meet somebody you regard highly, they are never quite as heroic as you thought when you get to know them. Whenever you get to know somebody you hate or have little respect for, there is so much more to them than you thought. Nobody is as they seem so stop comparing yourself and give yourself a break.

5. Market Matters -

Business is really hard and it takes the same amount of effort to build a business that one day could be bought for a few million or a few billion. Don’t chase the markets just because there is lots of money, but make sure the market you do business in is big enough to meet your eventual goal.

6. Success requires harder work than you can imagine -

Deal with it. Success is fucking hard work. You got to want success badly. Those that you think were overnight successes, are not. Anybody that says it is easy is trying to sell you a magic course. There is no substitute for hard work. Sorry Tom Ferris – the 4 hour work week takes 80 hours a week to setup and maintain. Reach a point where hard work becomes effortless as the mission is big and rewarding.

7. Money is a mindset -

we raised larger sums of money in 2012 than previous businesses. I received less salary than ever by choice, yet built the foundation of a business that would have cost a VC backed business millions. How many zeros you add to your cash flows, product prices, income, investments etc. etc. is simply a number you are comfortable with. In 2012 I went the whole year with no salary at all. I recommend this experience to all – it is amazing what you learn about yourself and your relationship with money.

8. We are achieving what our minds think is possible -

2012 taught me this big time. My wife kicked me up the arse for not working on things big enough the year before. Mindset is everything. We got to learn how to use it. The process of achieving something crazy is persuading yourself to believe it. Anything that can be conceived and believed can be achieved in the words of Napoleon Hill.

9. A great business takes a decade to build minimum -

I hate the 5 year exit business plan. It is bolox and just about money. Build something solid and make sure you love it enough to go at it for a minimum of a decade. Peter Hargreaves took 20 years to go public and realise his full value. Don’t sell early and make sure your investors are on board for long term huge value. No matter how hard you push, a baby still takes 9 months and there is no shortcut. I believe a great valuable business takes ten years. You can sell in three to five, but maximum value will take longer.

10. Enjoy the process and enjoy your customers. -

if you hate your customers, then move on or change market. You gotta love then to produce great product. I am a completion driven person, I am never happier than when a task is completed, progress is made and the to-do list box is checked, but often I get frustrated when I have to start again or it is not good enough or I think that everything will be better if only x happens. Great products take many iterations. There is always an x and as soon as one task is complete, it brings a bigger challenge. I have come to learn that the process and the journey must be enjoyed, otherwise what is the point.

Be grateful for the good things and take the bad things as lessons and you can’t go wrong – the process will be one of growth and joy.

Happy Xmas and prosperous 2013.

Simon Dixon

The International Banking Cartel (II) Featuring Bill Still & Simon Dixon

A recent documentary I provided commentry for on Press TV.

Here is the blur from Press TV:

A look at the International Banking Cartel led by the Bank for International Settlement (in Basel, Switzerland) known as the bank of central banks (58 central banks) and The US Federal reserve System. Also a look at banking tycoons: from the Rothschild family in Europe to JP Morgan and others in the US. How banks not only control governments but also appoint politicians through huge campaign donations. Governments at the service of the major banks, the best example: the Obama administration and the history’s biggest bail out of the same institutions that caused the Great Recession.

Simon Dixon

CrowdFunding 2.0

CrowdFunding 2.0 – The 7 Dumbest Mistakes When Raising Finance For Your Company, was written after years of personal experience having worked at an investment bank, where I worked with companies looking to go public, raising angel finance for my first business, raising CrowdFunding finance for my latest venture and launching CrowdFunding, CrowdInvesting and CrowdLending platform BankToTheFuture.com.

You can get your copy on Kindle now right here – CrowdFunding 2.0 - The 7 Dumbest Mistakes When Raising Finance For Your Company

CrowdFunding 2.0 - The 7 Dumbest Mistakes When Raising Finance For Your Company

Here is the blur from Amazon:

CrowdFunding & CrowdInvesting guides is a series published by CrowdFunding & CrowdInvesting platform BankToTheFuture.com for those seeking finance for their companies or looking to invest in private companies.

Whether you are seeking angel funding, venture capital, CrowdFunding, bank funding or CrowdInvesting, this guide will make sure you avaoid the 7 dumbest mistakes when raising finance for your company.

When raising finance, many people waste time sending business plans to Venture Capitalists, begging bank managers for loans, and pitching their ideas to any angel investor that they can find.

If you are scattered in your finance raising strategy, you will experience a lot of rejection, frustration and more importantly…waste a lot of your valuable time.

As well as giving you the 7 dumbest mistakes, you also get a voucher to claim £597 worth on online video training, worksheets and workbooks with everything you need to raise finance for your company through most of the traditional and new financing methods like angels, venture capitalists, CrowdFunding, equity CrowdFunding and other sources.

 

Love to read your reviews too.

Simon Dixon

Some People Are Just Out To Get You

When you have been working on banking reform as long as I have, inevitably you make some enemies and there are many out to get you.

Somebody recently made some allegations to me that I did not have a first class degree in Economics, I did not have a Masters in Economics, I never worked in an Investment Bank and that I never had a business with Peter Hargreaves as a shareholder. Don’t know why all of this was important to them, but here we go…

They came right after the comments that Richard Branson gave about BankToTheFuture.com in the Telegraph titles ‘Richard Branson backs Bank To The Future’

Richard Branson backs Bank To The Future

Richard Branson backs Bank To The Future

So for the record I thought I would provide some documentation for those people that are deliberately trying to discredit me.

So, I have gone on record many time stating that I have never been interested about my qualifications as I was taught things that I do not agree with in regards to Economics, and on my 100+ YouTube videos you will find me saying this many times. In fact I actually could not find my degree certificates, but as they have become an important document for accusers, I have re-requested them from Kingston University where I got a First Class honors in Business Economics and University of Manchester where I got a Masters in Economics. Until they arrive, here are the oficial university photos of my graduations (I will upload my certificates as soon as they arrive).

Simon Dixon Graduation Kingston University First Class Economics

Simon Dixon Graduation Kingston University First Class Economics

 

Simon Dixon Degree Certificate First Class Honors In Business Economics

Simon Dixon Degree Certificate First Class Honors In Business Economics

And The Masters
Simon Dixon Graduates from his Masters in Economics From University of Manchester

Simon Dixon Graduates from his Masters in Economics From University of Manchester

 

I will upload the certificates below as soon as they come in. I worked in Market Making for Investment Bank KBC Peel Hunt and in 2006 I was offered a role in Corporate Finance, floating companies on the Alternative Investment Market. Here is the letter confirming my job (offer letter) at the Investment Bank. I have pay slips, but obviously don’t want to upload those as they have confidential information in them ;-)

Simon Dixon Corporate Finance Job Offer At Investment Bank KBC Peel Hunt

Simon Dixon Corporate Finance Job Offer At Investment Bank KBC Peel Hunt

I resigned in 2006 to open up a business. Here is a screen grab from DueDil which pulls information from Companies House confirming billionaire Peter Hargreaves and myself as shareholders of one of my previous businesses.

Simon Dixon & Peter Hragreaves Shareholders

Simon Dixon & Peter Hragreaves Shareholders

If I get more allegations, I will add more documents here as  I have nothing to hide and am very open and transparent (As long as they are not strictly private and confidential for legal reasons). I suggest the accusers adjust their accusations based upon this evidence, I would also like to add as I co-founded BankToTheFuture.com as part of our approval process we had to verify everything that has been said on the public pages of BankToTheFuture.com (Including the About Us Page). This involved getting a lawyer to verify everything, then declaring the verification in a letter with supporting documents, that were forwarded and inspected by a blue chip FSA approved corporate finance and accounting firm, who then confirm that everything has been verified and has passed as an approved financial promotion.

Here is a typical presentation I give where I discuss what I think about my qualifications on TEDx

Simon Dixon

What If I Had Decided To Keep My Mouth Shut

Simon Dixon Meeting Sir John Vickers From The Independent Commission On Banking With The Bank Executives I wanted to blog about something slightly different today

I just wanted to share something that I shared with my Facebook friends that I hope might inspire some thought for you.

A few years ago I was very concerned about mixing my beliefs about banking (Which are political to say the least) and business. I was scared because my business was sponsored by many of the major banks.

At the time I was choosing to be very British and worry about whether I could be vocal about what I believed.

Despite this I got more and more vocal after my wife Bliss Dixon inspired me to say what I thought was right.

Since then I decided to get very vocal, my business no longer became about winning sponsorship contracts from banks, and more about doing what I knew was right.

Last night I had a moment of gratitude.

I was invited to dinner hosted by the great banking blog Finextra and IBM with Sir John Vickers (Who is in charge for the inquiry on fixing banking) and all the major executives in banking to debate my ideas. I gave everybody a copy of my book and if read I know that every major bank will know about things that I set out to educate the world on. They dont like what I have to say, but none the less I get to say it.

But one thing I do know. By doing what was right and going beyond some sponsorship deals with banks, I now get to share what I feel is important with the world every week on the news and have created a new business that is one thousands times more exciting to me than where I was before.

Today we all have a voice and you should not keep it silent. Why not share what your voice would say if you did not care about what people thought about you below??? I want to hear…

Simon Dixon

Bob Diamond: It’s easier to blame him than reform banking, but…

It seems like there is a new banking scandal everyday now. Every time I think we have heard it all, a new scandal pops up. I think we are all getting used to billions in financial fraud now. Libor scandal this month, rogue trader last month, and the next banking bailout coming in the next few months, when the bankers get themselves in trouble again

But one thing that still amazes me is how we think that Bob Diamond is the one behind all this madness, Fred Goodwin last time or whoever the next CEO is when we unearth similar financial fraud in Lloyds and HSBC next.

As crazy as it sounds, I found myself feeling a little sorry for Bob Diamond this morning. Now normally I would be the last person offering any sorrow to the CEO of a bank, but if the truth be told, Diamond just happened to be sitting on the seat at a time when whoever was sitting on the seat would have had the same fate. Our banking system is designed in a way where fraud is inevitable. Remember, politician wants to get more people borrowing money to push up property prices and the economy just as much as Bob Diamond does.

So when George Osborne calls for the job of Bob Diamond, he should take a look in the mirror and wonder why they keep getting more of the same.

All policies that have come since the wake of the banking crisis have all been about getting back to business as usual. Business as usual for a bank is to find as many ways as possible of getting as many people as possible into debt. That might be through credit cards or mortgages, but the government wants it too. The success of the company is dependent upon it, the shareholders dividends are dependent upon it, the bankers bonuses are dependent upon it and the CEO’s job is dependent upon it.

So it is time for politicians, bankers and us to make up our mind. Do we want more debt, more mortgages and more credit cards which will involve more financial fraud to achieve, or do we want real change in banking?

Here is a recent interview I did with Max Keiser looking at some deeper issues…

If we want to put an end to the scandals, we need banking reform, we need a complete cultural shift within banking and we need banks that lend to job creating businesses.

If we want business as usual then keep blaming the CEO’s and call for Bob Diamond’s job, but have it be known that nothing will change and Bob Diamond is only doing what all the other banks are doing in order to prop up a banking system that needs big change.

The change will never come when we focus on the CEO’s and their jobs. It is easy to get angry about their bonuses and their fraud, but the change has to come from government enforcing structural changes in banking and a cultural shift in what the bank is for. Let’s try to stay focused on what the real problem in banking is.

Simon Dixon

P.S. Love to hear your thoughts on Bob Diamond and the Libor scandal

Simon Dixon is author of ‘Bank To The Future: protect your future before governments go bust’, CEO of BankToTheFuture.com and an active banking reformer.

Simon Dixon

Victoria Grant, the 12 year old economist, explains what politicians and governments fail to understand about money

Economists around the world are struggling to break free of the clutches of the financial crisis but a Canadian girl explains exactly what needs to be done.

Victoria Grant, 12, became an overnight Internet sensation after a video of her slamming Canada’s banks and the government for robbing the people, went viral.

“What I’ve discovered is that banks and the government have colluded to financially enslave the people of Canada,” she said at Pubic Banking Institute conference in Philadelphia.

Victoria Grant, the 12 year old economist expressed her concern that the Canadian government has been borrowing money from private banks and putting the people into debt. “And they are not doing anything about this. So they are just standing by and watching the private banks make us pay compounded interest.”

“It has become painfully obvious even for me, a 12-year-old Canadian, that we are being defrauded and robbed by the banking system and a complicit government,” Victoria stated in her speech at the conference.

Until the 1970s, the Canadian government borrowed money directly from the Bank of Canada. But in recent decades, it has been borrowing from private banks instead which results in the government paying extra in interest rates to cover private banks’ profit margins.

The prodigy’s solution to her country’s financial problems is that the government “should stop borrowing from private banks and start borrowing from the Bank of Canada with little to no interest.”

“The people will then pay fair taxes to repay the Bank of Canada. This tax money would in turn get injected back into our economic infrastructure and the debt would be wiped out. Canadians will again prosper with real money as the foundation of our economic structure,” she said.

Victoria’s mother, Marcia Grant, principal at the Resurrection Christian

Great news for monetary reform and well done Victoria Grant. You are a star.

What do you think…

Simon Dixon

What I would tell Greece to do tomorrow if they asked…3 Simple Solutions for The Financial Crisis

So I am always asked to lay out my proposals for moving out of the financial crisis.

Well here it is -three simple things I would do from my book ‘Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust’.

If I was appointed to advise the new Greek parliament tomorrow, here is what I would advise them…

Firstly, get out of the Euro and default on any foreign debt. It is beyond control and the ECB (EG Big Germany) will take all your sovereignty and tell you how to run your country while stripping up all your countries assets and advise further austerity.

Once you have done this, time to re-build.

The Greeks are now faced with the perfect opportunity to be a pioneer for sustainable banking.

So second thing is, replace all the toxic debt based money created by banks, with debt free money.

Simply put, a newly appointed independent monetary authority creates debt free number money on a server.

I would use this to pay down the domestic national debt and this will pour a load of money into the economy without inflating the total money supply. You are simply replacing one form of money with another form, but without the interest.

This cannot be used to pay foreign debt, as the money will leave the country and not cause the necessary stimulus.

Now time to reform the banks by using some of this debt free money and lend it (once off) to all the Greek banks, equal to the amount of money they have created through loans.

This is followed by a legal Act that makes it illegal for banks to create money and they are forced to hold 100% reserves.

As bondholders money starts to reach the economy aa the government does not need to borrow anymore, people pay down their debts and the banks gradually repay this money back to the Greek treasury and this makes it’s way back into the country as the country reducing taxes for everybody.

Now we foresee banks to separate current accounts and investment accounts for their customers as described in the video and their is no liability on Greek taxpayers to bailout the banks again.

Society decides where they are going to direct their savings and the economy rebuilds itself sustainably based on the values of the Greek people, not on the values of the banks.

The Greeks are now more sustainable, more stable and more equal.

Love to hear your comments.

Simon Dixon

97% Owned Documentary The Positive Money Directors Cut

When money drives almost all activity on the planet, it’s essential that we understand it. Yet simple questions often get overlooked – questions like:

  • where does money come from?
  • Who creates it?
  • Who decides how it gets used?
  • And what does that mean for the millions of ordinary people who suffer when money and finance breaks down?

97% Owned is a new documentary that reveals how money is at the root of our current social and economic crisis. Featuring frank interviews and commentary from economists, campaigners and former bankers, it exposes the privatised, debt-based monetary system that gives banks the power to create money, shape the economy, cause crises and push house prices out of reach.

Fact-based and clearly explained, in just 60 minutes it shows how the power to create money is the piece of the puzzle that economists were missing when they failed to predict the crisis.

Produced by Queuepolitely and featuring Ben Dyson of Positive Money, Josh Ryan-Collins of The New Economics Foundation, Ann Pettifor, the “HBOS Whistleblower” Paul Moore, Simon Dixon of Bank to the Future and Sargon Nissan and Nick Dearden from the Jubliee Debt Campaign, this is the first documentary to tackle this issue from a UK-perspective, and can be watched online now.

Simon Dixon

TEDx – Simon Dixon ‘Changing The Rules Of Banking’

It was a great honor to present at TEDx last weekend. I have been a TED fan for years and have always believed that the message about banking is an idea worth spreading through TED.

But now we need your support in order to get tis message on the big TED stage where people like Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Steven Hawkins, Tony Robbins, Richard Branson and the greatest minds and achievers in the world have shared their ideas.

Once that happens we can get millions exposed to the flaws in banking as some TED videos have up to 4 million views.

The next stage is to get as many views as possible on the TEDx video above on ‘Changing the rules in banking’ and clicking across to YouTube and sharing the video on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus etc.

Lets tell the world about the flaws of banking so we can get that debate from the top.

For those of you new to TED, here is a little summary from their website:

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.

It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.

Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

Please spread far and wide.

Simon Dixon (@SimonDixonTwitt on Twitter)

Simon Dixon

97% Owned – New documentary on money and banking

Enjoyed being a part of the team interviewed for 97% owned.

Here is a sneak peak trailer and will post the full documentary of 97% owned once it is out.

 

The creation of money and who controls it will be the big debate in the next ten years.

Simon Dixon

Banking Reform – Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust Chapter 2 – The Debt Trap – Simon Dixon

Banking Reform - Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Banking Reform - Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Simon Dixon

Crowdfunding – Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust Chapter 8 – Simon Dixon

Crowdfunding - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Crowdfunding - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Simon Dixon

Third World Debt & Banking – Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust Chapter 11 – Microfinance – Simon Dixon

Third World Debt & Banking - Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Third World Debt & Banking - Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Simon Dixon

Unemployment – Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust Chapter 3 – The Free Economy – Simon Dixon

Unemployment - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Unemployment - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Simon Dixon

Freedom – Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust Chapter 1 – Economy Of Freedom – Simon Dixon

Freedom - Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Freedom - Bank To The Future, Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, Simon Dixon

Simon Dixon

Social Banking – Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust Chapter 9 – Peer To Peer Lending – Simon Dixon

Social Banking - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust - Simon Dixon

Social Banking - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust - Simon Dixon

Simon Dixon

Crowdfunding – Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust Chapter 8 – Simon Dixon

Crowdfunding - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust

Crowdfunding - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust

Simon Dixon

The Inconvenient Truth About Banking – Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust Chapter 2 – The Debt Trap – Simon Dixon

The Inconvenient Truth About Banking - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust - Simon Dixon

The Inconvenient Truth About Banking - Bank To The Future: Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust - Simon Dixon

Simon Dixon