Clarification on Assignment for MBA 604

A few students have asked so...

since we did not get as far as I had hoped, only sections 1A and 1C will be due tonight.

The rest will be discussed and collected next week.

HOWEVER, I do want you to think about how to do the forecasting. There will be a discussion of it tonight.

Hope this helps!

What are you doing Saturday?

Build your resume, network, meet new friends, have fun, get in line for a scholarship for our future trips to the Gulf, oh and you will also be doing great work that will help the local community and make you feel much better!

Sounds like too much? Well, come out and find out!

THIS SATURDAY (SEPT 16, 2006) BonaResponds will be meeting at 8:00 AM at
Archbishop Walsh (Behind Subway--turn at AJs/Friendly's).

Sign-in will be in the entrance area. Volunteers will then be directed into the gym where there will be tables set up for volunteers to "pack a lunch".

At about 8:15 we will have a brief "meeting" where we will explain the day. We are asking for people from each site to be at this meeting. We will then break into groups and go to the various work sites.

(Note if people show up late, we will still find places for them, but they will likely have no/little choice as to where they go).

Some of the sites include: St. Bonaventure University, Allegany River Trail, St. Elizabeth Motherhouse, the Village of Allegany, SBU, Trail creation on State Forest land, Olean Historical Society, Olean General Hospital, Allegany State Park, SPCA, and Mt. Ireanous.

Hopefully people will begin "rolling out" at about 8:30.

We want to have everyone back by 2:45 for a BBQ and "wrap-up"/reflection period--this will be very similar to Handson with each group reporting in on the work they did.

Great Quote!

"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action---Frank Tibolt"

Answers left unaswered in class

Having listened to last week's classes (both 401 and 604) a few comments and answers:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's divisior is .12

A list of NYSE specialist firms can be found here, the price of a NYSE seat can be found here.

Hope these help!

jim

Office hours on Monday

Office hours will be canceled this Monday (September 11th) because of the Finance Club trip to Rochester.

Sorry for any inconvience. Please email me any questions.

From Career Services

From Career Services:

Attention Accounting & Finance Majors

Deadlines for resumé submissions for on-campus interview opportunities are quickly approaching. The following are some of the recruiters who will be coming, and the dates that resumes are due for internship and full-time positions :

PricewaterhouseCoopers : Friday, Sept. 8

Insero & Co. CPA's : Wednesday, Sept. 13

Ernst & Young : Thursday, Sept. 14

Deloitte & Touche : Friday, Sept. 15

Freed, Maxick & Battaglia : Tuesday, Sept. 19

DeJoy, Knauf & Blood : Wednesday, Sept. 20

Information about these companies and their application requirements are available on the Career Center's On-Campus Recruiting Page at: http://www.sbu.edu/go/student-services/career-center/students/on-and-off-campus-recruiting/index.htm

Also, the deadline for sign-ups to attend the Mengel, Metzger, Barr & Co.'s Open House has been extended to Monday, Sept. 11. Accounting juniors and seniors are encouraged to RSVP in the Career Center, room 216 Reilly Center, or to career@sbu.edu .

Does Ivy League Matter?

From the WSJ's College Journal:

Question: Does going to a very prestigious college really make a difference in landing a good first job, for example, on Wall Street?

Answer: You don't necessarily need a Rolls Royce to get you where you need to go.

There's nothing wrong with attending a prestigious school. But don't despair if you don't have a super-pricey diploma.

It's possible to get to Wall Street without an Ivy League degree. "More important than the school you attend are your grade-point average, extracurricular activities, as well as your interest in and knowledge about business," says Rachel Radway, managing editor of WetFeet.com, a San Francisco-based research and publishing company focused on careers and management.

Deutsche Bank recruiters, for example, visit more than 40 university campuses in the U.S., less than half considered "Ivy League," in search of candidates for its analyst program.

These universities are chosen based on academic reputation, their historic hiring relationship with the school, and degree disciplines, says Kris Peters, head of university recruiting at Deutsche Bank.

She adds that the bank's hiring criteria "is based entirely on the skills that we think lead to success in our businesses," among them educational background, as well as experiences that demonstrate leadership, work ethic and teamwork.

"As long as you've done well at a school with a decent reputation, you will be a good candidate," says Ms. Radway. She emphasizes the importance of references, summer internships and relevant coursework to gaining a foothold as an entry-level job candidate."

P/T Real Estate Opportunity

We do not have a real estate class at SBU, but here is an opportunity to work part time and get some real estate experience and to work flexible hours.

Oversee 4 apartments (2 duplexes). Rent, record rents, make sure rents are paid, clean up as necessary, etc.

Pay is 10% of collected rents.

Resume to jim

Class Codes for Clickers

PLEASE BE CAREFUL when adding yourself to the class. If you are wrong (i.e. you enter yourself in the wrong class) it is very difficult for you to change and you will have to do this through the kind people at einstruction.com.

So after being sure what class you are in, you go to einstuction.com and enter the following code (you go to St. Bonaventure University ;) )

• Finance 401-01: Class Key: G23207B621
• Finance 401-02: Class Key: H23208B338
• MBA 604: Class Key: I23206B812

We will be having first quizzes this week, so please register as soon as possible. :)

Thanks!

jim

Welcome back!

Hi everyone (both old and new)...

Today begins a new school year at SBU.

New School years are always both exciting and frightening. Think back and remember your first day of school. Or first day at a new school. Or to your feelings waking up today getting ready for today. The excitement tempered with inner butterflies of nervous anticipation.

To keep those "inner butterflies" in perspective consider:

The year ahead will be full of new learning, new opportunities, fun, and friends. It will also have its share of hard work, long hours, sadness, uncertainty, and needless worrying.

Let us work to ensure that the good trumps the bad. That we take advantage of our learning opportunities while not letting our fears get in the way. That we remain upbeat and positive in the face of uncertainty and challenge. That we are caring with others and that we treat others as we would like to be treated.

If we do these things, then assuredly this will be a great school year!

Quotes etc

As this blog is more informal and mainly for students, I think I will go back to the newsletter tradition of including quotes on a regular basis...

* Adapt or perish, now as ever, is Nature's inexorable imperative"---H.G. Wells

* The greatest obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness---Bernard de Fontenelle

* If you want to do something, do it!---Platus

As quoted in The Book of Positive Quotations by John Cook

sleep and memory

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Snooze or Lose: Memory Retention Enhanced by Sleep

"Sleep aids memory. Whether tested in animals or humans, studies have shown that sense memories--such as learning a certain sequence of dance steps--take root more solidly when paired with adequate rest. Now new research shows that so-called declarative memories--such as a sequence of facts--also benefit from slumber, especially when subjects are challenged with subsequent, competing information."

Looking for a one credit course?

From the Chautauqua Institute:

A dynamic new partnership has created an exciting new opportunity for you and your St. Bonaventure colleagues and students this summer. Jamestown Community College and Chautauqua Institution are collaborating to offer “College Credit at Chautauqua,” a series of one-credit courses based on lecture themes at historic Chautauqua’s Institution Amphitheatre.

Each of the courses will include an introductory class, five Amphitheater lectures, five post-lecture classes of approximately one hour, and a wrap-up class. Students completing the course(s) for credit will be required to complete a writing assignment in addition to class and lecture attendance. Each course is offered at a special tuition rate of $44 for New York state residents and $80 for non-residents. Each student will also be assessed a $75 fee for Chautauqua Institution gate and parking passes for each course.

Please note that Week Eight (August 14 -18) focuses on “Business and Finance: America and the Fiscal Future,” and whether the American economy will boom or bust. Does America lead the world with innovation and a resilient and productive economy or is America ‘running on empty’ as the world’s leading debtor nation? What are the effects, if any, of the aging baby boomers, the development of alternative energy sources and the birthrate? What are the likely effects of tax policy, state and federal spending and the strength of the dollar? The week will also explore the financial health of major markets and developing economies around the world and their relationship to the United States economy. Scheduled guest speakers include Paul Solman, Phillip Marineau, Richard Bernstein, and US Rep. Michael Oxley.

To register for this unique educational experience, call 716/376-7500, ext. 2332.

Spreadsheet errors

The Unknown Professor over at FinancialRounds has an interesting article on spreadsheet errors. We can all benefit from looking over our spreadsheets!!

There are no magic bullets, but much good advice!

Lack of jobs lead to people leaving

From NY Times:

"In 13 counties that include cities like Buffalo, Syracuse and Binghamton, the population of young adults fell by more than 30 percent. In Tioga County, part of Appalachia in New York's Southern Tier, 42 percent fewer young adults were counted in 2004 than in 1990.

"Make no mistake: this is not business as usual," Robert G. Wilmers, the chairman of M & T Bank in Buffalo, told his shareholders this spring. "The magnitude and duration of population loss among the young is unprecedented in our history. There has never been a previous 10-year period in the history of the upstate region when there has been any decline in this most vital portion of our population.""

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PUT ON FACEBOOK!!!

Yes, I was screaming in the headline. How can people be so stupid? and yet I see many of my own students doing the same thing.

From the NY Times:

"At Facebook, a popular social networking site, the executive found the candidate's Web page with this description of his interests: "smokin' blunts" (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex, all described in vivid slang.

It did not matter that the student was clearly posturing. He was done.

"A lot of it makes me think, what kind of judgment does this person have?" said the company's president, Brad Karsh. "Why are you allowing this to be viewed publicly, effectively, or semipublicly?""

You work so hard to get an interview and then blow it. Stupid.

College Debt

Does this sound like you?

From USAToday:

"After years of rising college costs and shrinking financial aid, it's come to this: Some graduates are now leaving college with student-loan debt in the six figures.

Graduates with more than $100,000 in debt still account for a small subset of borrowers. But their numbers are rising. And the proportion who are leaving college with some level of unmanageable debt — debt they can't repay without significant hardship — is swelling."

but on the good side if it does:

"Still, students remain willing to load up on loans in large part because studies have long shown that an investment in college pays off. The Census Bureau has estimated that college graduates will earn about $1 million more over their lifetimes than individuals with only a high school diploma."

Mental outlook impacts learning

From ScienceDaily.com

"Those who consider intelligence a natural gift—or the lack thereof the
fault of bad genes—may have trouble recalling a fact they have just learned. On
the other hand, those who believe that intelligence is something that can be
acquired through dedication and hard work demonstrate more vibrant memories of
things past. Jennifer Mangels, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at
Columbia University in New York, says that such flexible thinkers have better
memories because they are less concerned about forgetting. "They look at a
mistake at a more meaning based level, rather than superficially." she says.
As a result, explains Mangels, the brains of flexible thinkers process
information in greater depth, increasing the likelihood of memorization."

If around Olean

from the SBU Notice Board

Sr. Margaret on WHDL/WPIG radio this Sunday

On Sunday, June 11, WPIG 95.7 FM and WHDL 1450 AM will air an interview with Sr. Margaret talking about the exciting St. Bonaventure campus construction, the Capital Campaign, the University’s commitment to the Atlantic 10 Conference and a number of other University-related topics. Tune in at 6:45 a.m. on WPIG and at 10:05 a.m. on WHDL.

Online spreadsheet from Google

From the Mercury News:

"Jonathan Rochelle, product manager for the Google Spreadsheet, said the service is targeted at individuals who want to do things like plan a reunion or track baseball scores for a little league team or small businesses.

It allows up to ten users to collaborate together, and reflects their changes in real time. It also offers a number of standard features, like frozen column headings and sorting, but does not have charting, autofilter or drag-and-drop capabilities. Rochelle said Google plans on adding new features based on feedback from users."