economy

Mar
19
2010

Written by:
Thomas Loeffler

Spring Break: A Simple Solution

As we are constantly encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities thrown our way, it is understandable why many of us students today find ourselves anxiously in need of a “break.” Fortunately, it’s that time of year again. Although, the progression through a college career unveils a new meaning of spring break, and there is a lesson to be learned no matter how you chose to spend your time off. While some students spend their breaks at home, others will be on cruises, beaches, or sharing an alternative spring break with friends. Reflection should be considered when we are provided the time; but the thought of our future may bring other deliberation. Particularly, careers weigh heavily on any student’s mind. We can learn an important lesson now that will save us some anxiety in the future – breaks need to become an integral part of our daily routine.

Mar
17
2010

Written by:
Dylan Robertson

The Wealth Gap: a societal issue

It would be so simple to point the finger at all of the wealthy American’s and blame it all on them. But hold on, what if you yourself are part of that elite group? How would you feel if everyone wanted to take just because they deemed your wealth unfair. The wealth gap in America is a very personal issue that has everyone defending his or her own stance. However, I tend to think that most of us are heavily biased in this arena. The numbers are in fact staggering. The renowned 80/20 rule, originally termed the Pareto principal, originated in Italy as Vilfreado Pareto witnessed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.

Mar
6
2010

Written by:
Savil Gupta

Intersection of Students and Business: An Indian Perspective

In the very first of my articles for Business today, I thought being an Indian student entrepreneur, it would make sense to write about the Indian perspective of how is student-business relationship viewed and its future going ahead.

India is home to a significant portion of today`s world youth population and the country itself has 51% of its population under 25. Such a substantial proportion of potential consumers and future business leaders and entrepreneurs is hard to neglect due to which businesses have lately tried to go an extra mile to tap the potential for out-of-box innovation and next big consumer market.

Mar
5
2010

Written by:
Wade Senti

The Changing Landscape for Venture Capital

The traditional business model for venture capital (VC) firms has been to develop a portfolio of superstars along with long-shots. This idea that nine failures will breed one success may be somewhat ‘prehistoric’ following one of the greatest economic downturns since the Great Depression.

Across the board, the mere size and number of deals have declined since 2008. This past year marked one of the lowest years for VC funding in the last fourteen years, with a decrease of almost 20%. Notably, Biotechnology, with ‘$3.5 billion’ going to over 400 deals, is one of the few strong areas for venture capital investments (According to PwC Money Tree).

Regardless, to be successful in this post-recession era, venture capital may need to take on a new approach, a value-added ‘Business Model.’ Traditionally, the formula has been to invest, grow, and exit, all within 2-4 years, after achieving fairytale-like growth (10x; $10M to 100M).

Feb
28
2010

Written by:
Thomas Loeffler

Nearsighted Approach

Today, in the world of business, we have fallen short in many regards. The irony is in our shortsighted approach. One would think it would be difficult to fall when they are looking at what is in front of them. I can see where we missed a step after attending Princeton’s Business Today conference in Austin, Texas. In Austin, I discovered a fundamental function of business that needs to be reevaluated in our nation: people. The “human capital” of a company is known as just that, and we have essentially lost our most valuable asset because we do not treat them as such. Our drive to make the statements meet our expectations for the quarter has left a disregard for the people doing the work to make those numbers happen – the employees. All we have to show is an economic recession, higher than quoted rates of unemployment, and a bleak outlook for sustainable growth in the future.

Feb
2
2010

Written by:
Laiyin Li

Haiti Receives Wall Street’s Short-term Aid

Since a devastating earthquake shook the hopes of millions in Haiti just a few days ago, donations from individuals, corporations and governments have continued, a slight sign of optimism amongst much tragedy. Wall Street firms, once condemned for causing the recent financial crisis and turning a blind eye on the less fortunate, have cranked up the magnitude of their altruism: the biggest names on the Street have committed up to $2 million to help the earthquake victims of one of the most economically challenged nations in the world.

Feb
2
2010

Written by:
Laiyin Li

Haiti Receives Wall Street’s Short-term Aid

Since a devastating earthquake shook the hopes of millions in Haiti just a few days ago, donations from individuals, corporations and governments have continued, a slight sign of optimism amongst much tragedy. Wall Street firms, once condemned for causing the recent financial crisis and turning a blind eye on the less fortunate, have cranked up the magnitude of their altruism: the biggest names on the Street have committed up to $2 million to help the earthquake victims of one of the most economically challenged nations in the world.

Jan
18
2010

Written by:
Laiyin Li

Green or GDP?

In the weeks following the climate talks at the Copenhagen Conference, the fundamental issue of the potential hindrance that gas-emission regulations have on a nation’s GDP has been lurking right under the surface of discussions. Wall Street Journal observes that the summit is “shaping up to be a pivotal economic showdown between the US and China as representatives of the developed and developing countries of the world”. For more information, read their [article](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126074144005789473.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories).

On a different note, the summit now puts increasing ethical pressure on businesses with unsustainable production practices. But should these businesses take the responsibility of revamping their production processes and even investing in a more environmentally friendly good, or should the next generation of hyper-consumers, largely comprised of today’s students, give up some liberty in shopping?

Jan
11
2010

Written by:
Shali Zhu

Greener College Endowments

Just about everyone knows that endowments across the nation’s colleges and universities suffered colossal losses in the past fiscal year. But with colleges seeing less green in the bank, does this imply students should expect to see fewer green initiatives on campus? Researchers at the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a Cambridge-based nonprofit organization engaged in sustainable research and education, don’t think so.

Jan
6
2010

Written by:
Laiyin Li

America’s Costliest Cities

As students across the nation are emerging from the winter holidays and some intense traveling, Forbes has compiled a recent list, seen [here](http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/09/costly-cities-cost-lifestyle-real-estate-living-housing-prices.html), of the costliest American cities to avoid during the holiday season.

The criteria used to compile this list included six categories: grocery items, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services. Though health care won’t be of interest to most visiting tourists, all other standards of calculation are significant to those who will be looking for things to buy, a place to stay, a way to travel and lots of fun (that comes with a price).

New York City tops the list, followed by San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Photo courtesy of [Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarabadan/1808076962/).