Jobless MBAs Seek Solace in Support Groups | BusinessWeek
With the job market in shambles, MBAs need encouragement wherever they can find it. For tea and sympathy, many are now turning to B-school support groups.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Top Business School Stories of 2009
Top Ten Business School Stories of 2009 | BusinessWeek
The global financial crisis hammered the MBA job market, school endowments, and financial aid. Some questioned an MBA's value. Bring on 2010.
The global financial crisis hammered the MBA job market, school endowments, and financial aid. Some questioned an MBA's value. Bring on 2010.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The Latest Credit-Card Tricks
With new federal rules looming, card issuers are concocting creative ways to collect fees
By Alexis Leondis
BW Magazine
Sweeping 2009 reforms take aim at the industry's most abusive practices, including abrupt interest rate changes and late-payment fees. But credit-card companies keep coming up with new ways to charge customers.
RATE FLOORS
Under the new rules, companies will find it difficult to jack up fixed-interest rates at will. That's why issuers are moving consumers into variable-rate cards, which are tied to an interest-rate index. But borrowers may not benefit when the index drops since companies are limiting how low card rates can go. In October consumer advocate attorney Lauren Bowne saw the 5.9% promotional rate on her Wells Fargo (WFC) card switched to a variable one with a minimum rate of 19.1%. As of July, 5 of the 12 largest banks that issue cards, including Wells, had floors under rates, says Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit. Wells says floors under variable rates have been standard practice for at least three years.
PICK A RATE
Almost 120 million accounts may be affected by a change that will allow issuers—when setting the variable rate on a card—to pick the highest rate in the past three months from the interest-rate index it tracks. Previously, companies used the rate on the last day of the billing cycle. The result is that borrowers pay an average interest rate that is 0.3 percentage points higher than before. The card industry could generate $720 million a year from this shift, estimates the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group.
LOWER FEE THRESHOLDS
Policymakers took a swipe at late charges by requiring a 21-day grace period for consumers to pay their bills. When cardholders don't make their payments by that deadline, they're likely to get smacked by bigger fees than in the past. Generally the charge goes up with the size of the balance. Five years ago issuers levied the largest fee on balances of $1,000 or higher. Now, it kicks in at around $250. Some 87% of cardholders pay the highest amount, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.
UNLIMITED FEES
Borrowers that move balances from one credit card to another with a low introductory rate may pay more for the privilege. Bank of America (BAC) recently upped its fee to as much as 4% of the balance, from 3%; at JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the charge can be as high as 5%. And while companies used to cap the total amount that customers would pay for abalance transfer—at, say, $50—fewer companies are doing so anymore. Roughly 68% of balance-transfer deals in the second quarter of 2009 had no limits on fees, compared with 44% the previous year, says Mintel Comperemedia, a firm that tracks marketing trends.
INACTIVITY FEES
While consumers try to cut back on spending, they're increasingly penalized for not pulling out their plastic. More issuers are hitting cardholders with fees for not using their cards or closing accounts that have balances. The annual charge can run as high as $36, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. In June, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) in Cincinnati added a $19 inactivity fee on most of its cards. "We want to encourage active use and management of the accounts," says Fifth Third spokeswoman Stephanie Honan.
By Alexis Leondis
BW Magazine
Sweeping 2009 reforms take aim at the industry's most abusive practices, including abrupt interest rate changes and late-payment fees. But credit-card companies keep coming up with new ways to charge customers.
RATE FLOORS
Under the new rules, companies will find it difficult to jack up fixed-interest rates at will. That's why issuers are moving consumers into variable-rate cards, which are tied to an interest-rate index. But borrowers may not benefit when the index drops since companies are limiting how low card rates can go. In October consumer advocate attorney Lauren Bowne saw the 5.9% promotional rate on her Wells Fargo (WFC) card switched to a variable one with a minimum rate of 19.1%. As of July, 5 of the 12 largest banks that issue cards, including Wells, had floors under rates, says Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit. Wells says floors under variable rates have been standard practice for at least three years.
PICK A RATE
Almost 120 million accounts may be affected by a change that will allow issuers—when setting the variable rate on a card—to pick the highest rate in the past three months from the interest-rate index it tracks. Previously, companies used the rate on the last day of the billing cycle. The result is that borrowers pay an average interest rate that is 0.3 percentage points higher than before. The card industry could generate $720 million a year from this shift, estimates the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group.
LOWER FEE THRESHOLDS
Policymakers took a swipe at late charges by requiring a 21-day grace period for consumers to pay their bills. When cardholders don't make their payments by that deadline, they're likely to get smacked by bigger fees than in the past. Generally the charge goes up with the size of the balance. Five years ago issuers levied the largest fee on balances of $1,000 or higher. Now, it kicks in at around $250. Some 87% of cardholders pay the highest amount, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.
UNLIMITED FEES
Borrowers that move balances from one credit card to another with a low introductory rate may pay more for the privilege. Bank of America (BAC) recently upped its fee to as much as 4% of the balance, from 3%; at JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the charge can be as high as 5%. And while companies used to cap the total amount that customers would pay for abalance transfer—at, say, $50—fewer companies are doing so anymore. Roughly 68% of balance-transfer deals in the second quarter of 2009 had no limits on fees, compared with 44% the previous year, says Mintel Comperemedia, a firm that tracks marketing trends.
INACTIVITY FEES
While consumers try to cut back on spending, they're increasingly penalized for not pulling out their plastic. More issuers are hitting cardholders with fees for not using their cards or closing accounts that have balances. The annual charge can run as high as $36, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. In June, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) in Cincinnati added a $19 inactivity fee on most of its cards. "We want to encourage active use and management of the accounts," says Fifth Third spokeswoman Stephanie Honan.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Unemployment - A Labor Study
This link is a compilation of different unemployment research I've conducted over the past six weeks. I touch on the Rate of Unemployment, Underemployment Rate, Duration of Unemployment (in weeks), Exit Rate from Unemployment (in months), Beveridge Ratio (% of getting employment), and Inflation*.
Enjoy.
Labor Study
Enjoy.
Labor Study
*More research will be conducted in regards to inflation on a later posting where I will discuss CPI, Stagflation, etc, etc.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Fun with Numbers - The Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off Deal @ Express
Hello shoppers.So let's say you have two pairs of jeans, both at a cost of 69.90 each. Normal price is $139.80 (plus tax) for both.
Now let's say you see Express has their "deal" of Buy 1, Get 1 half off...now one pair of jeans is $34.95 and if you were to purchase two pairs, you'd pay $104.85.
So let's recap:
Normal price, jeans (x2) = 139.80 (plus tax)
"Deal" price, jeans (x2) = 104.85 (plus tax)
-Now the fun with the numbers...
Let's take the original price of two pairs of jeans and divide them by two (139.80/2) which equals $69.90.
(so far so good)
-Now let's take the "deal" price of the two pairs of jeans and divide them by two (104.85/2) which equals $52.43.
(makes sense)
-Now let's find the difference...
69.90-52.43 = $17.47 (difference) - Now to some of you this may look like a good deal (saving $17 per pair of jeans) and perhaps it is. My point to you is to look at the original sale price; seems a little high doesn't it?
$70 is excessive for a pair of jeans, so don't fall into the trap of spending more money ($104) and thinking you're "saving" money. Sure, if you're in the market for two pairs of jeans than maybe this works for you (much like shopping the day after Thanksgiving works out for some people as well) for others though, they're tricked into thinking they're saving money by spending money.
And you can guarantee Express is banking on that.
We covered simple math and I dropped some logic on you. Two for the price of one...
...now THAT is a good deal.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Food, Inc.
In June 2009, a stirring new documentary called Food, Inc. (link to blog post) is being release in theaters. From the producers of An Inconvenient Truth, this film takes a pointed look beyond the dinner table at how your food is grown, processed and sold. For many, youll never look at dinner the same way again.
Who Killed the Electric Car?
A 2006 documentary film that explores the creation, limited commercialization, and subsequent destruction of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the 1990s. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, the Californian government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology.
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