Online Journal October, 2009

Oct
31
2009

Written by:
Brian Wettach

American Banks: The Bigger, The Better Off

The US banking system has been rocked, and through government involvement and buyouts the financial numbers appear to be stabilizing. The banks doing the best at the moment are the larger ones like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley--both of whom reported increasing third quarter profits. Despite this growth, their value-at-risk numbers remain high, likely prompting additional government involvement. Though a few large banks at the top report improvement, our banking system on the whole slipped in the second quarter. This scenario is being described as a pyramid model, with a few banks doing well as the rest continue to suffer. General optimism and confidence have caused an increase in bank shares and improving capital levels allowing the big banks to stay strong. Read the full article here

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.

Oct
28
2009

Written by:
Laiyin Li

College Tuition on the Rise Again

According to a recent report issued Tuesday by College Board, the grim news is that college costs (including the tuitions of both non and for-profit, public and private universities) have witnessed substantial increases yet again.

It’s no doubt that this news is perceived as “hugely disappointing” by Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education as well as millions of American (and a good number of international) students who will be the ones flung into deeper debt. Considering the financial turmoil that “wreaked havoc” in the US for over a year since September 2008, this rise in tuition seems to not only diverge in behavior from the patterns set by low inflation rates and declining Consumer Price Indices, but also leaves many skeptical of its correlation with the quality of education.

To view New York Times report on this matter, head here

Oct
27
2009

Written by:
Raja Goel

Students Look to Government for Loans to Pay Rising Tuition

According to the Wall Street Journal, new data suggests that more college students are leaning more towards federal student loans rather than private loans to pay for college as the cost of tuition continues to rise. On Tuesday, October 21, 2009, College Board released data that indicates that the volume of private student loans dropped 52% in the 2008-09 school year. During the 2008-09, families borrowed an estimated $11 billion in private loans, a sharp decline when compared to the $22.8 billion taken out in the 2007-08 school year.

Oct
24
2009

Written by:
Shali Zhu

Illiteracy in College: A Look at the Financial IQ of Undergraduate Students

Although college students everywhere are acquiring plenty of knowledge about subjects ranging from architecture to zoology, it appears that they may not be learning enough about personal money management to take good care of their own finances. In its 2004 study of credit card usage by undergraduates, the student loan lender Nellie Mae noted that 76 percent of college students have credit cards and that by the time they reach their senior year, 56 percent of students carry four or more credit cards, accumulating an average balance of $2,864. In addition, a recent survey commissioned by Bank of America found that approximately 58 percent of college students have no set budget, and 18 percent have no solid idea of how much money they have at any point in time. Even more alarmingly, the Richmond Credit Abuse Resistant Education (CARE) Program reported that the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who have declared bankruptcy has increased 96 percent in just 10 years.

Oct
23
2009

Written by:
Andrea Schiller

A New Generation of Social Networking Develops

Social selling, according to Dow Jones’ Tom Aley is quickly becoming the next generation of business to business (B2B) social networking. The idea of social selling goes beyond the typical “it’s not whom you know but what you know” idea that has filled the minds of many, causing them to scramble for any connection they can get. But, this new and improved social selling extends outside the workplace, as the sales department of a company works together to find internal connections to other businesses. These connections found within their employees and also through information offered through public databases would ultimately lead to positive business deal outcomes.

Oct
22
2009

Written by:
Ryan Shyu

Paul Krugman speaks about his book and the economic crisis at Princeton Wednesday

There are many indicators of the severity of the 2008 financial crisis. Perhaps the clearest and most incisive indicator is the celebrity status of economist Paul Krugman. The man hardly requires an introduction--among other things, he is a Princeton professor, NY Times columnist, and Nobel laureate.

Oct
21
2009

Written by:
Zach Liebmann

Recent Nobel Laureates Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson and their work on transaction costs

The Economist details the work of economists Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson, the most recent Nobel Laureates in the field of economics. The article describes the development of the study of transaction costs, which Ronald Coase started with his now famous 1937 work. Check it out here.

Oct
19
2009

Written by:
Jimmy Connolly

What do the Hangover, Frost Nixon and Harry Potter have in common?

All of these films, along with hundreds of other popular titles, have been produced under the guidance of Ron Meyer, President and COO of Universal Studios, who will be coming to Princeton this coming Monday, October 19th. Addressing students in Robertson Hall 100 (Dodds Auditorium) at 7:30 pm, Mr. Meyer will speak to us about his remarkable career in the movie industry and then open the floor to questions from the audience. A high-school dropout with no formal education, Mr. Meyer began his career as a messenger with the Paul Kohner Agency in 1964, becoming President and COO of MCA in 1995 (the company to be renamed Universal Studio a year later). Under Mr. Meyer’s leadership, Universal has also produced such Oscar-winning box-office hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Gladiator,” and “A Beautiful Mind.” Mr. Meyer has told us that he is expecting a wide range of questions, so feel free to ask about anything you ever wanted to know about him.

Oct
15
2009

Written by:
Raja Goel

CEO of Centennial Communications discusses leadership with Princeton students

On October 13, Michael Small, CEO of Centennial Communications spoke to Princeton students about “Thoughts on Leadership in High Performance Organizations.” Mr. Small completed his undergraduate degree at Colgate University and received his M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago in 1981. He's served as the Chief Executive Officer of Centennial Communications Corp. since January 1999 and served as the President of Lynch Corporation prior to joining Centennial.

Oct
13
2009

Written by:
Jimmy Connolly

Marquette students protest speech by CEO of Wellpoint, Inc.

Business Today was founded over 40 years ago by Steve Forbes, Johnathen Perel, and Mike Mims on the Princeton campus with the goal of fostering communication between students and executives. Back then, the first issues of the BT magazine were burned on college campuses and bomb-threats were made on the BT headquarters, indicating a very harsh disconnect between the two. Since then, one would think that the times have changed for good, and that communication between business executives and college students has fully healed.

Last month, Angela Braly (CEO of Wellpoint, Inc. - a $61 billion health insurance firm) spoke at Marquette University at its 10th Annual Business Leaders’ Forum Luncheon. There, students from JUSTICE (Jesuit University Students Together in Concerned Empowerment) protested her speech in the grounds that "Wellpoint profits from actively denying insurance to many sick and poor people" and that these values conflict with the University's Jesuit tradition.

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