globeandmail.com : Mergers hit $166-billion

Takeovers have been coming fast and furious of late in Europe and North America. The NY Times' Deal Book reported on trend from a global perspective today. I'll try to further summarize this activity.First Canada' Globeandmail.com reports on the large spike in Canadian activity: Mergers hit $166-billion: "Merger-and-acquisition activity in Canada jumped 47 per cent to a near-record $166-

Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide

Finally!Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide: "The New York Stock Exchange's plan to take over Archipelago Holdings Inc. and end 213 years as a member-owned stock market today received final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.Buying Archipelago, a Chicago-based electronic market, will enable the world's largest stock exchange to compete better with the Nasdaq Stock Market and to expand

FRB: Speech, Ferguson--The Importance of Education--February 24, 2006

The Fed's Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson on The Importance of Education--February 24, 2006: "Perhaps more indicative of the economic value of education, workers with college degrees earn an education premium, and that premium has risen over the past twenty-five years. Most economists have found that an additional year of schooling typically raises an individual's earning power between 8 and 15

How The IPO Market Got Its Buzz Back

A note to my students: we start IPOs next week! Business Week's look at the current IPO market.How The IPO Market Got Its Buzz Back: "With 32 offerings priced since Jan. 1, up 14% from the same time last year, 2006 is shaping up to be the busiest year for new issues since before the tech crash.And IPOs are performing well in the aftermarket. They returned an average of 18% in 2005 and 10% so far

Postcard from China: Banking Accounts, Part 1 | PFBlog: The Unique Personal Finance Weblog

A few "look-ins" from PFBLOG's discussion of Banking in China.Postcard from China: Banking Accounts, Part 1:* "It is important to understand that the current regulations in China does not allow a bank to offer insurance or brokerage products, so a bank is a bank and a bank only."* "Although checking account is among the core offerings, there is no personal check per se. Access to checking

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Retirement age 'should reach 85'

Yeah I know it is a science/nature article. But for a second think about the ramifications on social security and pensions etc. BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Retirement age 'should reach 85': "The age of retirement should be raised to 85 by 2050 because of trends in life expectancy, a US biologist has said.Shripad Tuljapurkar of Stanford University says anti-ageing advances could raise life

Stock Market News and Investment Information | Reuters.com

On Friday the deal appeared still shaky, but it is of local interest at Bonaventure since Cerberus is William Richter's firm (of the Richter Center fame)Stock Market News and Investment Information | Reuters.com: "NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - A group led by hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management and a unit of Citigroup has taken the lead in negotiating a potential purchase of General Motors Corp.

The iShares Have It (State Street, Barclays, Bank of New York, Nasdaq 100 Trust, SPDR Trust)| SmartMoney.com

Another topic from this week's class is in the news:The iShares Have It (State Street, Barclays, Bank of New York, Nasdaq 100 Trust, SPDR Trust)| SmartMoney.com:"...226 ETFs currently trading in the U.S. State Street is the No. 2 provider of ETFs behind Barclays (BCS), based on total assets. In third place is Bank of New York (BK), creator of the popular Nasdaq 100 Trust (QQQQ).ETFs are baskets

The Australian: Money drives us crazy: it's official [February 09, 2006]

Gee in a week where we spoke of behavioral finance in almost every class I taught, comes this:The Australian: Money drives us crazy: it's official [February 09, 2006]: "The pleasure of orgasm, the high from cocaine, the rush of buying Google at $US450 a share - the same neural network governs all three, Knutson, 38, concluded. What's more, our primal pleasure circuits can, and often do, override

What a perfect way to introduce the Fed (and its actions) to a Money and Banking class!From Voice of America:"The Federal Reserve affects interest rates mainly through its open market operations. The Fed can either buy or sell United States government securities. These bonds, bills and notes are all debt guarantees that pay interest until they are repaid. Thirty-year Treasury bonds are the

FRB: Testimony, Bernanke-Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, U.S. House of Representatives-February 15, 2006

FRB: Testimony, Bernanke-Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, U.S. House of Representatives-February 15, 2006: "The U.S. economy performed impressively in 2005. Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased a bit more than 3 percent, building on the sustained expansion that gained traction in the middle of 2003. Payroll employment rose 2 million in 2005, and the unemployment rate fell below 5

breakingviews | Sample Story

For those of you that have never had a corporate class from me, you don't know how often we discuss the Nexius of contracts. Well here is a great example!breakingviews | Sample Story:" BAA is caught between a rock and a hard place. Its bondholders are demanding better terms - a so called change-of-control clause - on bonds that have yet to settle. Bond investors fear Spain's Ferrovial's highly

FT.com / Home UK - Banks hope to cash in on rush into hybrid securities

The Financial Times has a very cool article on financial engineering and the development of securities that combine debt and equity-like features.FT.com / Home UK - Banks hope to cash in on rush into hybrid securities: "Securities that straddle the debt and equity worlds are not new. They combine features of debt such as regular interest-like payments and equity-like characteristics such as long