Combined with new technology and financial innovation, this should have made markets more efficient at disciplining economic performance.

ECONOMIST: World economy

Finance is also a boom industry, fuelled by an explosive combination of economic growth, demography, technology and financial innovation.

ECONOMIST: A survey of financial centres: Capitals of capital | The

So when considering the real forces behind technology innovation, financial services giant Citi might not pop immediately to mind.

FORBES: Citi's VC Dollars Fund Six Areas of Innovation: A Conversation with Citi Ventures Managing Director, Ramneek Gupta

Cloud and Big Data processing capabilities are further fueling innovation in financial technology typified by the myriad startups eschewing FICO scores in favor of new proprietary scoring algorithms that leverage the exponential growth in data available to forecast credit worthiness.

FORBES: Why The Financial Technology Revolution Is Only Just Getting Started

The argument is that, over the past three decades, financial markets have changed profoundly under the impact of technology, innovation and deregulation.

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The electronic design automation and IP industries are increasing in importance, and Synopsys in particular is well-positioned to accelerate innovation due to its combination of financial strength, technology leadership, global support, and strategic vision.

FORBES: Synopsys Spikes As FY Q3 Profits Top Street Estimates

New York is rolling into its third year operating the FinTech Innovation Lab which brings together a small group of selected early stage financial technology vendors with leading city banks, Accenture and venture capital firms for three months of intensive collaboration.

FORBES: New York's FinTech Innovation Lab Links Startups To Big Banks

Since 2002, the UNESCO Venice Office has been active in providing financial support and elaborating initiatives to generate regional networking as a means of mobilizing science, technology and innovation (STI) for peace and sustainable development.

UNESCO: Bosnia and Herzegovina to host discussions towards the elaboration of a roadmap of science priorities in South East Europe | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization