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Publishers publish lists because they think readers swarm to them. There are lists (and rankings) for almost everything. There is a cottage industry of lists. Some are frivolous, many are arbitrary, and others are humorous. Most are meant to sell magazines and newspapers or attract attention. Some are a serious attempt to report a trend or celebrate the efforts and programs of participating institutions.  Lists occasionally confuse, because students, readers, consumers, and business people who peek at them don't know what is subjective, credible or useful. Finance professionals rush to see deal lists, underwriting rankings, league tables for transactions, M&A rankings or rankings of the best capitalized financial institutions. The list of business-school rankings can be useful, except what list is most reliable or captures the correct attributes of an MBA education? What list is updated and, beware, what list uses irrelevant criteria? There are many b-school lists--from the Eco...

When purchasing a new home, buyers must decide if they want mortgage life insurance and mortgage disability insurance. Both forms of coverage provide some degree of protection if the purchasers become disabled, become terminally ill or die. It is important to know what options are available before deciding. The following points define the various options for both insurances. 1. Reducing Term Mortgage Life Insurance In the past, this was the most popular type of coverage chosen. The amount owed on the mortgage is the insurance amount, and the death benefit decreases each year as the mortgage is paid down. If the policyholder died suddenly, the remaining amount would be enough to pay off the home. This reduces the chance that the insurance company would pay out more than necessary. For example, they would not want to pay $250,000 to survivors if the current amount owed was only $50,000. 2. Term Life Insurance Mortgage Protection As a rule, this economical form of coverage is th...

What is a trendline? Trendline is a straight line drawn on a chart through or across the significant limits of any price range to define the trend of market movement. Trendlines are one of the first technical aspects of the market to be discovered. Technical analysis is based on the fact that the stock prices move in fairly definite trends. Technical analysts use trendlines in two ways: first, to identify the direction of the movement of the stock prices; second, to determine if and when the movement will change. Uptrends and Downtrends An “up trendline” is whereby a line is drawn on th e chart by connecting the low points of the security as its price continues to rise. Each low point is successively higher than the previous low. This progression gives the trendline its upward slope. A “down trendline” is drawn with a line on the chart connecting the high points of the security as it continues to fall. Each high point is successively lower than the previous hig h. This p...

NYU-Stern graduate Daria Burke Who are the women of color, the women from under-represented groups who occupy "C-suite" positions at companies involved in global business? A roster of such names usually includes Ursula Burns at Xerox , Andreae Jung (until earlier this month) at Avon , and Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo , CEOs of companies with billions in revenues and even greater numbers in market value. Burns, Jung, Nooyi and others preside over companies, business sectors, geographic units, corporate brands, major subsidiaries and functions in finance and treasury. They would also be women from who hustled, regrouped, paused to raise families, scratched, climbed and willed their way into top spots, board rooms and significant leadership positions.  Their  few numbers, while growing, suggest there is still a ways to go. Those in CEO roles, such as Burns, Nooyi and Jung, are known and are seen commanding the podium at shareholder meetings or outlining strategic plans in a broadca...

Tuck: Over 2,700 applications for just 250 spots At top business schools, including the Consortium 17 , this is the time of the year  admissions offices fine-tune and compose a new class that will start in the fall.  Many schools have rolling admissions, while most schools notify applicants during the spring. The Consortium , too, notifies those who will be invited for membership and those who will have earned full fellowships. How will the Class of '14 be different? How will it be like others? What do members of the class hope to achieve from two years on campus? The application numbers and statistics are likely similar to those in recent years.  At selective schools from Harvard to Haas at Berkeley and from Chicago to Carnegie Mellon , gaining an acceptance letter for a spot in the first-year class is still a hard task and the result of perhaps a half-year process of securing recommendations, writing essays, taking tests, visiting campuses, expressing interest and tryin...

Insurance policies have become an important part of life with the increase in risks related to life and accidents. These policies can be very complicated and surrounded with a lot of false information. You must not believe everything you hear, because there are many myths associated with your insurance policies.  The 10 most common myths are as follows:  1. Benefits should equal premiums:  Your policy is your buffer against severe financial problems and not to be used for daily ups and downs in life. You must not feel cheated if you have been paying premium for years and never made a claim.   2. Everyone needs life insurance: For some even this policy is unnecessary. The policy is designed to give financial care to your dependents. This includes your children or any elderly person who depends on you. If you do not have any dependents, then you may not need the policy.   3. Only the breadwinner needs to be insured:  It is generally believed th...

Have you heard before that human tends to be emotional during the full moon? The reason why I want to talk about this is because statistically shown that mankind behaves irrationally during these periods and this will affect our decision making process in the financial markets. A study suggests that a full moon really can bring out the beast in us, turning us into irritable animals. While we may not actually transform into the bloodthirsty creatures of fables and movies such as An American Werewolf In London, research suggests we do display worrying symptoms. A study conducted in Australia found that in 2009, 91 emergency patients with violent, acute disturbances were happening in one hospital north of Sydne y. According to the research, "some of these patients attacked the staff like animals, biting, spitting and scratching, and the patients had to be sedated and physically restrained to protect themselves." Of course we can do another research on the crime rate an...

Consortium Alumnus Boomer Sometimes experienced professionals among minority groups choose the route of being an entrepreneur--taking a risk and having the courage to go out on their own. They do so, once they figure out the timing and are confident about resources, opportunity, and often family support and understanding. There is a long history of blacks, Latinos and women, who gained experience at established institutions and decided to start their own firms in banking, brokerage, or investment management. Muriel Siebert, widely known as a pioneer in the industry, started her own retail brokerage decades ago after a long stint as New York state's supervisor of banking.  Her firm evolved partly into Siebert Branford Shank, now an established women- and minority-owned firm and prominent in municipal finance.  MR Beal, Loop Capital, Guzman, W.R. Lazard, Blaylock, Advent, Williams Capital and Utendahl are other examples of minority firms that launched af...

In 1993, a new measurement for the index of volatility for the S&P 500 stock index came out with the purpose of measuring fear and greed. It is called the “VIX”. If the VIX index goes up, the traders and investors may be heading for the exits. Conversely, if the VIX goes down, confidence and optimism are restored, money is coming off the sidelines and moving into equities. We can't trade the VIX directly but the VIX is traded on the futures exchange and can be traded just like any other investments. In general, VIX values greater than 30 are generally associated with a large amount of volatility as investors are fearful of uncertainty; VIX values less than 20 associate with less volatility and less stressful in the market. On the other hand, when the VIX is consistently below 20, it means that the underlying S&P is in overbought position and it is due for a correction and vice versa. There are 4 variations of the volatility index: the VIX tracks the S&P 500, the VXN t...

Financial indiscretions or poor money decisions affect your future and your family. Making late payments, missing payments, owing high balances or opening multiple credit cards lowers your credit score. Even if you made these mistakes during your college years, negative information remains on your credit report for up to seven years. When future creditors evaluate your credit history, your past mistakes indicate that you are a high credit risk. Creditors may refuse to extend credit to you or may assess high interest rates on new loans. Your family’s finances and future are adversely affected by bad credit. Bad credit limits your ability to meet your family’s current needs. When you owe money to numerous creditors, you spend your income repaying the debts. You have no excess money to repair the leaking house roof or buy new clothing for your growing children. Your spare money goes toward repaying debt accumulated in the past. You also have access to limited financial resources. Already...