Talk about grade inflation!

In Law Schools, Grades Go Up, Just Like That - NYTimes.com:

"The school [Loyola Law School Los Angeles] is retroactively inflating its grades, tacking on 0.333 to every grade recorded in the last few years. The goal is to make its students look more attractive in a competitive job market.

In the last two years, at least 10 law schools have deliberately changed their grading systems to make them more lenient.

Growth of Unpaid Internships May Be Illegal, Officials Say - NYTimes.com

Growth of Unpaid Internships May Be Illegal, Officials Say - NYTimes.com:

"Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.

Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential future employer."

Time Is Money. How Much Are You Wasting? : Work At Home Covert Opps!

Time Is Money. How Much Are You Wasting? : Work At Home Covert Opps!:

"Now I’m not calling anyone lazy or anything like that, if you’re in this position now, you’ll know it. You’ll find that it feels like you’ve been working really hard, but not actually going anywhere. You’ll wonder how you spend so much time at the computer, wake up, and keep having to do it all over again, but still, you’re not moving forward. If this is the case, the first thing I suggest you do is eliminate your distractions, stop waiting for things to happen, sit down at your computer and be pro-active instead of reactive."

I am as guilty as anyone, but still good advice!

On Job search from Career Center

Did you know 65 to 85% of jobs are found through networking?

Join us Friday, February 12, in the Hall of Fame Room (Reilly Center) to practice networking skills and pick up tips and advice from recent Bonaventure graduates.

From Here to Career - 4 to 5 p.m.
Young alumni share their stories on transitioning from college to career via panel presentation.

Meet and Mingle: Student-Alumni Networking Reception - 5 to 6 p.m.
An opportunity for students to casually meet and network with alumni from a variety of career fields.

Pre-registration with the Career Center is required for both events. Sign up in Reilly Center, room 216, by e-mailing career@sbu.edu or by calling (716) 375-2384. Light refreshments will be provided. Business casual dress is recommended.

The Career Center
career@sbu.edu

MBA 610 chapters

For the five week session (Hilbert)

So far we have covered chapters...

Chapters 1-12 + 14 so far...

For the "On campus class":

Chapters 1-3 so far

hope this helps!

Ten Essential Time Management Tips - by Dumb Little Man

Ten Essential Time Management Tips - by Dumb Little Man:

"Over the past six years, I’ve picked up a lot of time management tips. Some of them have been helpful and, frankly, some have been useless. Here, I’ve compiled the ten that have served me best. And yes, I’m sure you’ll have heard some of them before ... but are you actually doing them?"

The Next Wall Street Hiring Hot Spots - WSJ.com

The Next Wall Street Hiring Hot Spots - WSJ.com:

"Wealth management, investment banking and research are expected to see a hiring surge in the coming years, according to Joseph Logan, founder and managing director of Pinnacle Group International, a New York executive recruiting firm specializing in the financial services industry.

'A strong background in accounting plus financial [knowledge in] evaluation is the key—and being well-rounded will help a lot,' says David Smith, an associate professor at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia who specializes in corporate finance and banking. Strong social skills and the ability to think creatively are important to round out more technical and quantitative talents."

kaChing Raises $7.5 Million To Turn Mutual Funds On Their Heads

This might be something SIMM wants to look into. I can imagine many paper ideas out of it as well!

kaChing Raises $7.5 Million To Turn Mutual Funds On Their Heads:

"...invites top traders to publicly share all of their trades, revealing information that until now was only revealed to the likes of Ivy League institutions. Rachleff says the top traders benefit because they can accept many amateur investors as clients with very little extra work on their part. And everyone else benefits because they gain access to this data.

Here’s how it works: kaChing has gathered a dozen top investors, many of them professionals, which it has certified to be “Geniuses”. Anyone who comes to the site is free to look at the full trading history of these Geniuses, free of charge. If you like what you see, you can sign up for kaChing and create a brokerage account through its partner, Interactive Brokers (a well established and publically traded brokerage firm). Deposit some money (the minimum is $3,000) and you’re set. From then on, the site will automatically execute trades for you to exactly mirror the Genius you’ve signed up for."

Assessing the Value of a College Degree - WSJ.com

Assessing the Value of a College Degree - WSJ.:

"...a long-term study of 6,335 college grads published in 1999 by the National Bureau of Economic Research found graduating from a college where entering students have higher SAT scores—a sign of exclusivity—didn't pay off in higher post-graduation income.

What matters more, it seems, is graduates' personal drive. In a surprising twist, a stronger predictor of income is the caliber of the schools that reject you. Researchers found students who applied to several elite schools but didn't attend them—presumably because many were rejected—are more likely to earn high incomes later than students who actually attended elite schools. In a summary of the findings, the Bureau says that 'evidently, students' motivation, ambition and desire to learn have a much stronger effect on their subsequent success than average academic ability of their classmates.'"

70 Words of (Unconventional) Wisdom for 2010 - Bill Taylor - HarvardBusiness.org

70 Words of (Unconventional) Wisdom for 2010 - Bill Taylor - HarvardBusiness.org:

"The idea is simple: Each of us suggests one word — literally one word — that all of us should think about in 2010, and then takes one page to explain why and how that word matters.

The result is an intriguing, inspiring, and at times downright moving collection of unconventional wisdom that is available free to everyone as of this morning."

What Matters Now

You Think The Google Interview Is Tough? Try Getting A Job At A PE Firm

You Think The Google Interview Is Tough? Try Getting A Job At A PE Firm:

"The Business Insider's story on Google's interview process sounds pretty fun to one banking analyst trying for a job at a major PE firm.

On his search for a job in private equity at KKR and TPG, two asset management
funds, he has been in interviews that are grueling in comparison.

First, he says, the typical interviewee is walked into a little room and told he has two hours to write out the steps necessary in something like an LBO (leveraged buy-out), for example."

Research from Rollins MBA Disputes Myth about the Financial Value of Pre-MBA Work Experience - Forbes.com

Research from Rollins MBA Disputes Myth about the Financial Value of Pre-MBA Work Experience - Forbes.com:

"The study investigated the economic benefits and costs associated with choosing to delay matriculation to a full-time MBA program to gain work experience, rather than enrolling immediately after completion of undergraduate studies. It concluded that there is a financial disadvantage to delaying matriculation into a full-time MBA program.

While students who have less work experience had lower starting salaries, the difference was overcome by the advantage of getting an early start on careers"

MBA 610

MBA 610: "Famous ' Smith-Masulis ' papers"

this is what we used in class for 401.

Simoleon Sense » Blog Archive » Free Book: Competitive Strategy By Michael Porter

Simoleon Sense » Blog Archive » Free Book: Competitive Strategy By Michael Porter

A MUST READ!

YouTube - New center at Stanford to study brain's role in compassion, altruism

YouTube - New center at Stanford to study brain's role in compassion, altruism: "A new Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education has been launched at the Stanford University School of Medicine, with the aim of doing scientific research on the neural underpinnings of these thoughts and feelings"



gee, sounds like Behavioral Finance class.

Skype and Job Interviews: Webcam Meetings on the Rise - TIME

Skype and Job Interviews: Webcam Meetings on the Rise - TIME:

"Get ready for a closeup: your next job interview might be on webcam. Looking to save time and money, companies are turning to video-chat software as a cheap, low-hassle way to vet job candidates. That means a growing number of people looking for work are meeting their prospective new bosses not at the office but in the comfort of their own home."

Ivo Welch, Teaching, Fall 2006

Ivo Welch, Teaching, Fall 2006:

"Recommended Curriculum For Students Interested in Finance

The following are my personal opinions for a good curriculum for students that want to specialize in financial economics. They have not been endorsed by any other faculty or committee."

Some links that might hep the assigment for fin 401

I have had a couple questions such as

* But I'm having a hard time finding a stock that has fallen because of bad news
* "I am working on the assignment to research a stock that has had a major collapse. I have been on yahoofinance, but I am really unfamiliar with searching for stock. Basically, I am at a loss on how to even start. Appreciate any help you can give me."

I am guessing a few others might be having trouble:

So, let's see, if I were doing this, I would start by looking for large losers for the year. Here is a very good stock screen from MSN Money that gives us the biggest losers for year.

Power Searches: Investing - MSN Money

Listing of biggest losers







Then go to the SEC Edgar site and look up some of the losers.



Hope this helps.

YTD Assets Class Returns: ...

Twitter / Lawrence McDonald: YTD Assets Class Returns: ...:

"YTD Assets Class Returns: Leveraged Loans 44%, High Yield 41%, Emerging Mkts 25%, S&P 15%, IG Credit 13%, MBS 7%, Treasuries -3%"

A good check of if you remember your intro finance? Check the S&P return using a spreadsheet and Yahoo finance.

Links we used in class

S0me of the links we used in 401 class:

Section:Business - Google Fast Flip

The News timeline

Here is the option calculator we used in SIMM