Psychology in Finance
According to conventional financial theory,everyone in the world, for the most part,acts in their own best interests rationally. However, there are many instances where emotion and psychology influence our decisions, causing us to behave in unpredictable or irrational ways. Behaviorial Finance is a relatively new field that seeks to combine behavioral and cognitive psychological theory with conventional … Read more
Can companies do good and do well at the same time?
After putting my Toms shoes through a year and a half of extensive wear and tear they were officially through. I had bought them after returning from Paris France on my 2010 summer study abroad trip. So I went to the website to order some new ones. I appreciated the fact that they made stylish … Read more
Is Technology the next bubble?
First I want to start by explaining what I mean by bubble. An economic bubble can be defined as trade in high volumes at prices that are considerably at variance with intrinsic values. Economies (perhaps) essentially go through booms and busts, referred to as expansions and recessions. But what happens when the price of an … Read more
Do normal people use hedging in everyday life?
Lets say you are 2012 graduating senior majoring in finance and you receive a job offer at a bank like Citibank or JP Morgan Chase upon graduation. (You are graduating in finance so already know what hedging is but this is an example to explain what normal people might do but without actually knowing they are hedging.) You … Read more
Baby Boomers and Social Security
Baby boomers are defined as those in the population born between and including 1946 and 1964. There are around 75 million baby boomers in the United States and they comprise about 29% of America’s population in 2012. The term baby boomer was created to describe the surge in the group of babies born after … Read more
Facebook for good?
Kony 2012 has become the most watched youtube video. In a space where viewers interests are fleeting, this 29 minute video has captivated the world. Its goal was to make Joseph Kony famous and at almost 75 million hits it maybe safe to say Invisible Children has accomplished that goal. The real question is whether … Read more
Gold as an investment vehicle
Warren Buffet dislikes gold as an investment vehicle but should it be a part of your portfolio? The Oracle of Omaha has been noted as saying that he would bet a good business to deliver better returns over a period of time.”Gold really doesn’t have utility,” the 80-year old told shareholders at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual … Read more
Gap between rich and poor
Plato is purported to have said that, ideally, the person at the top of an organization should earn 6 times more than the person at the bottom. J.P. Morgan said it should be around 20 times. The gap beween the rich and the poor has been an age old struggle. Here is an infographic from … Read more
Technical versus Fundamental Analysis
What do investors use when analyzing companies to determine potential future returns? Rules based investors, that is those who believe that the investing should be emotionless, disciplined and carefully calculated use a proven strategy to get them through the inevitable ups and downs of the market. Common rules based approaches include the technical, fundamental … Read more
What is Money?
There are specific definitions for what money is but it has different connotations for different people. In some cultures having money is seen as virtuous, a sign of creating value for others. Yet to some, the only way someone can make more money is for someone else to have less. Money is defined as … Read more
Graduate school or Real Job?
Hello my name is Tourean Francis and as it says in my profile I am a graduating finance student in Louisiana. One of the most important decisions I have coming in the near future is what to do after graduation. I had basically four years of my life mapped out for me and now … Read more
Is the school of hard knocks the best way for entrepenuers to learn?
We always hear stories about the great entrepreneurs dropping out of school and striking out on their own to start a successful business. There is Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg, Michael Dell and countless others who left school early to start businesses that changed the way we live today. Still is dropping out of school the best … Read more
