Top 25 Web 2.0 Apps for Money, Finance, and Investment

What a useful site! It has apps that help you do everything to find out good deals if you are renting an apartment to how much you should expect for a salary, to find real estate values to personal budgeting tools. Top 25 Web 2.0 Apps for Money, Finance, and Investment: "This guide to the top 25 web 2.0 applications should help you with the above will come in handy when it comes to managing all

SSRN-Are Elite Universities Losing Their Competitive Edge? by E. Han Kim, Adair Morse, Luigi Zingales

More evidence that the world is getting more flat. I don't have time to discuss it, but will provide the part of the abstract and a link:SSRN-Are Elite Universities Losing Their Competitive Edge? by E. Han Kim, Adair Morse, Luigi Zingales: " "Abstract: We study the location-specific component in research productivity of economics and finance faculty who have ever been affiliated with the top

Costs and Benefits of Regulation

As part of a study on the impact of regulation on market, the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation provides the SEC with several sudies today that try to guage the costs and benefits of regulation.Particularly interesting is Zingales' look at whether regulations following the Governance Crisis of 2002 had a detrimental impact on the relative advantages of a US listing.From the WLS (via

Skirt lengths and Stock prices

A few weeks ago I mentioned this in class and I got many weird looks (even more than normal). I'll admit that the idea that hemlines and fashion could be linked to stock prices does seem quite ridiculous, but there may be some ties. The theory is that as hemlines rise (be it for less risk aversion or some other reason) so too do stock prices. Thus the best time to buy stocks is when hemlines

Grade inflation from HS to Grad school

Three related stories that are not strictly speaking finance but that should be of interest to most in academia.In the first article, which is from the Ottawa Citizen, accelerated and executive MBA programs come under attack for their supposed detrimantal impact on learning in favor of revenue. MBAs dumbed down for profit: "An increasing number of Canada's business schools are literally selling

Marketplace: Was Grasso worth it?

Marketplace: Was Grasso worth it?: "Dick Grasso's critics have long said he was paid too much, particularly for heading what was at the time a nonprofit institution. And that the compensation process was flawed. But the Wall Street Journal reports today that he just didn't do a very good job, at least according to a report commissioned by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.A University of

Google’s Shares Climb Above $500 - New York Times

The New York Times has an interesting look at Google's meteoric rise. Google’s Shares Climb Above $500 - New York Times: "Google’s shares gained $14.60, or 3 percent to close at $509.65, passing the $500 mark for the first time....Not bad for a company that was forced to reduce its initial share price to $85 barely two years ago because of lackluster demand. It quickly confounded the skeptics,

Newswise | Average Investors Shouldn’t be So Confident

Newswise | Average Investors Shouldn’t be So Confident: "An increase in the stock market’s overall performance, like the one that took place in October, can turn inexperienced investors into trade-happy amateurs, according to Brigham Young University business professors in a study published in The Review of Financial Studies.“When investors start off in the market, they tend to trade pretty

SSRN-Payout Policy in the 21th Century: The Data by Alon Brav, John Graham, Campbell Harvey, Roni Michaely

What a cool paper!! By Brav, Graham, Harvey, and Michaely on Dividend payout rations. They essentially redo Lintners' clasic 1956 paper but also provide the data!SSRN-Payout Policy in the 21th Century: The Data by Alon Brav, John Graham, Campbell Harvey, Roni Michaely: "Our findings indicate that maintaining the dividend level is on par with investment decisions, while repurchases are made out

Is it time to rethink accounting?

While I doubt a major overhaul is forthcoming, the fact that accounting firms are calling for the changes is telling and a good step.Institutional Shareholder Services -- Corporate Governance Blog: Accounting Firms Seek Overhaul Submitted by: Tad Kopinski, Staff Writer: "The six biggest international audit firms have called for a complete overhaul of corporate financial reporting as the U.S. and

FMA Online

This has to be one of the most underrated sites in finance!FMA Online: "Feature Presentations (video)2006 FMA European Conference Keynote AddressesMichael Brennan, UCLA and London Business Schoool'Rational (and Irrational) Prices, Returns, and Strategies'Michael Brennan is a professor of finance at both UCLA Anderson and London Business School. His research interests include asset pricing,

Rewriting the Rules for Buyouts - New York Times

Ironically my Depattment chair said this exact thing to me last week too! Rewriting the Rules for Buyouts - New York Times: "MANAGEMENT-LED buyouts, by their very nature, are meant to benefit management and their private equity backers,” Stephen Lowey, a lawyer who often represents institutional investors, said to me last week. He contended that public investors almost always get cheated, and

Red Hat seeks NYSE listing | CNET News.com

In class the other week I was asked why firms choose on market over another. Here is why RedHot is changing from the Nasdaq to the NYSE:Red Hat seeks NYSE listing | CNET News.com:"'We believe that listing on the New York Stock Exchange will increase Red Hat's visibility among investors, reduce trading volatility and offer more efficient pricing,” said CFO Charlie Peters said"

College football contracts are dotted with extras and provisions - USATODAY.com

Not strictly corporate finance, but a very interesting look at some contracts of college football coachesCollege football contracts are dotted with extras and provisions - USATODAY.com: "Head football coaches' contracts with NCAA Division I-A schools can be more than a matter of money."a few examples (for more read the article):*"Cincinnati's Mark Dantonio and Florida's Urban Meyer can be

Study Charts Broad Manipulation of Options - New York Times

Study Charts Broad Manipulation of Options - New York Times: "Abuses of stock option grants are perceived to have spread like a virus among high-technology companies. But a new study suggests that hundreds of old-economy companies may also have caught the backdating bug.In a paper to be released today, researchers estimate that 590 nontechnology companies appear to have manipulated options so

Economist Milton Friedman dies at 94 - Yahoo! News

Economist Milton Friedman dies at 94 - Yahoo! News: "Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who advocated an unfettered free market and had the ear of three U.S. presidents, died Thursday at age 94.Friedman died in San Francisco, said Robert Fanger, a spokesman for the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation in Indianapolis. He did not know the cause of death."

Compensation Special Report, Parts I & II -- CFO.com

CFO.com hhas a great series of articles in their spoecial report on CFO pay. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!Compensation Special Report, Parts I & II -- CFO.com: "Thanks to a growing battle for finance talent, CFOs are making more. Those at big companies saw their pay surge as much as 25 percent. Many firms are seeking to upgrade their finance talent, and the dwindling of the chief operating officer has

FRB: Speech, Kroszner--The Conquest of Worldwide Inflation: Currency Competition and Its Implications for Interest Rates and the Yield Curve--November

Great read: It is from today's speech by Fed GOvernor Randall Kroszner. PERFECT for a money and banking class!FRB: Speech, Kroszner--The Conquest of Worldwide Inflation: Currency Competition and Its Implications for Interest Rates and the Yield Curve--November 16, 2006: "I will begin by providing a few facts about the substantial improvement of inflation during roughly the past decade compared

Utah finance conference

What a cool thing to do if you want to know what is is going on in the field of finance!SSRN : "The Utah 2006 Sixteenth Annual Winter Conference has partnered with the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) to provide electronic journal distribution and online subscription management services.Registration is required to receive the E-mail abstracting journal and free access to the issue’s full

Hedge Manager Is Almost Famous - New York Times

An interesting look at how Hedge funds have become the profit centers for Investment Banks.Hedge Manager Is Almost Famous - New York Times: "More than any other investment bank, Goldman Sachs relies on trading gains to drive its profits. Mr. Agus had a very good year in 2005 — he is estimated to have made $10 million to $20 million — and he will surely get a raise in 2006. His year is further

Risk and Reward Column: The Invisible Problem of Risk Blindness

As the semester begins to wind down, many classes (mine included) take a look at various financial cases and what events led to the problems. Thus the timing of the FENews article on " The Invisible Problem of Risk Blindness is especially good:A few look-ins: "There is an old saying that everything changes, but everything remains the same. This is especially true with financial disasters. The

Small cos problem clouds US Sarbanes-Oxley revamp | Reuters.com

Small cos problem clouds US Sarbanes-Oxley revamp | Reuters.com: "Work on revising 2002's post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) corporate audit reforms is hung up on the question of how small companies should be treated, with U.S. regulators expected to meet on the issue on Sunday.The chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are expected to

Too Many Regulators For Wall Street? - Forbes.com

We always talk in class, that when the environment changes, so too do the various contracts and relationships that affect the firm. Here is a good case in point:Too Many Regulators For Wall Street? - Forbes.com: "With two pending trans-Atlantic stock exchange mergers, the world's largest futures exchange forming in Chicago and rumors of more consolidation in the markets to come, there is the

VC Deals More Company-Friendly - - CFO.com

VC Deals More Company-Friendly - - CFO.com: "Venture capital backers are getting friendlier. In the past four years, the deal terms they've been handing start-up companies have shifted in favor of fledgling companies, says a new survey released by Dow Jones VentureOne's. Indeed, new deal terms offer improved liquidation preferences and decreased percentages of investor ownership, noted the study,

NYSE Group to cut more than 500 jobs - MarketWatch

I am fascinated at the way the NYSE-Archipelago merger is having concrete results in reducing costs. It will continue to interesteing to see how they mesh the electronic with the floor trading. Stay tuned.NYSE Group to cut more than 500 jobs - MarketWatch: "Since March 2005 -- when the NYSE, Archipelago Holding and Securities Industry Automation Corp. had 3,484 employees on a combined adjusted

Financial page: PBS Frontline: Can You Afford to Retire

Barry over at Financial Page points to an interesting article on the state of retirement planning in the US.Financial page: PBS Frontline: Can You Afford to RetireA quick look-in:" Half of America's private sector workforce are not covered by any retirement savings plan; their retirement will be anchored only by Social Security and whatever they have managed to save on their own. The other 50

SSRN-A Comparison of Five Federal Reserve Chairmen: Was Greenspan the Best? by Ray Fair

SSRN-A Comparison of Five Federal Reserve Chairmen: Was Greenspan the Best? by Ray Fair: "Abstract: This paper examines the performance of the past five Federal Reserve chairmen using optimal control techniques and a macroeconometric model. Each chairman is judged by the actual performance of the economy under his term relative to what the performance would have been had he behaved optimally.