April 2013 archive

Businessweek Publishes Its List of Top Undergraduate Business Schools

Businessweek has released its current list of the top undergraduate business programs in the US.  The top three placeholders held strong from their 2012 ranking: University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management   The fourth and fifth place …

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What is it about all the Benjamins ($100 Bills)?

With the advent of e-commerce and increased usage of credit cards, intuition might suggest that $100 bills in circulation would not keep up with inflation. However, from 1990 through 2012, the number of $100 bills in circulation has increased by an average of 8.6% per year, far outpacing the average inflation rate of 2.5% for …

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GAAP Exception Buffet Offer for Private Companies

In 2012, the Private Company Council (PCC) was formed to establish exceptions and modifications to U.S. GAAP appropriate for private companies. Such differences may include alternative recognition, measurement, disclosure, display, effective date, or transition guidance.  Proposed differences for private companies must be agreed to by both the PCC and FASB and include a period for consideration of public comment …

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It’s a rare occurrence when the DJIA moves 0.00%

Last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed at 14,865.06, down ever so slightly from 14,865.14, a move of 0.00%, or more precisely, -0.000538%. This non-move was especially surprising given the volatility during the day–the DJIA reached a low of 14,785.36, nearly 80 points or 0.54% below where it both started and finished. Such …

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Venture Capital Funding Declines in Southern California

The Los Angeles Times reported that venture capital funding has declined considerably in Southern California.  The article sourced data compiled from Dow Jones VentureSource, which provided the following statistics: Southern California companies raised $507.6 million from venture capital investors for Q1 2013, a 42% decline from Q1 2012 The amount raised in Q1 2013 was …

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Dentist’s Pre-Treatment Non-Disclosure Agreement Leads to Class Action Lawsuit

There have been a number of cases in recent years regarding damages allegedly caused by negative online reviews.  A dentist in New York is currently the target of a class action lawsuit regarding efforts to head off such issues.  Stacy Makhnevich, DDS, allegedly had patients sign a form prior to treatment that they would not denigrate …

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Law and Economics Unite for the Greater Good? In Theory, but Maybe Not in Practice.

A fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld Mississippi’s $1 million cap on what Plaintiffs can recover for pain and suffering (aka non-economic damages) in personal injury cases with pharmaceutical product liability.  The jury initially awarded Plaintiff, Ms. Learmonth, a total of $4 million for injuries suffered from a car crash with a Sears …

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Renaming Hurricanes Probably Wouldn’t Have Increased Donations by $700 Million

Adam Alter, Professor of Marketing and Psychology at NYU, thinks that he’s found a way to increase aid donations in the aftermath of hurricanes. His solution: give hurricanes names with very common initials (e.g. “J” or “M”) because people allegedly donate more when Hurricanes share their first initial. To support his suggestion, Alter cites a …

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Be sure you’re using the right calculation when assessing portfolio performance

Many investors never evaluate their investment performance beyond simply noting gains and losses. Perhaps this is because they are not aware of how to conduct a proper evaluation. A couple basic calculations can help you better assess your portfolio returns and your financial advisor. A growth calculation is quite simple for the portfolio that never …

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Giving Away Amazon Prime Likely Won’t Make Everyone Big Spenders

Wired Business reports that analysts at Morningstar and Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) believe that Amazon could dramatically increase profits by selling its Prime membership for much less than the current price of $79. The Amazon Prime membership, which provides a full year of free two-day shipping, is associated with much larger consumer spending. According …

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