The median LSAT score of students admitted to Florida Coastal School of Law was among the lowest 25% nationwide. Despite the fact that the average debt of the 2014 graduating class had $163,000 in debt, may not pass the bar, and probably cannot repay the debt, this school is one of six for-profit law schools… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Advanced Accounting
To PIN or not to PIN?
Some big U.S. retailers are stepping up efforts to use personal identification numbers, or PINs, with new credit cards embedded with computer chips in a bid to prevent counterfeit card fraud. Questions: 1. Why is this being resisted by banks? 2. Which retailers are leading the movement? 3. Discuss the costs and benefits of the… Read more »
Circumventing the Courts with Nine Words
Banning class action suits have essentially disabled consumer challenges to practices like predatory lending. Additionally, a Wall Street-led coalition of credit card companies and retailers, have also engineered blocks on class action suits. In this article, various companies’ efforts to protect arbitration are discussed. Questions: 1. Why has the “birth of a thousand clauses” taken… Read more »
Vintage Frauds
The issue of fake wines started to become headline news a few years ago when the so-called Thomas Jefferson bottles, several old bottles of Bordeaux, claimed to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson were offered by a German wine collector named Hardy Rodenstock. Bill Koch, the brother of the notorious Charles and David Koch, bought four… Read more »
What’s going on with Walmart stock?
The four members of the Walton family controlling more than half the shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had $11 billion of their combined net worth evaporate Wednesday as shares of the retailer plunged on a lower earnings outlook for the coming fiscal year. Questions: 1. Who are the four Waltons that the article is talking… Read more »
The Hole in the Wall Gang?
In today’s world, the rise in ATM fees is becoming harder and harder to escape. It’s a trend that has taken the nationwide average for using a machine that isn’t in your bank’s network to a record of $4.35 per transaction, as Bankrate’s annual survey of checking account fees recently revealed. Questions: 1. According to… Read more »
Fueling Both the Upside and Downside
In the wake of the financial crisis, HUD established the Dirtressed Asset Stabilization Program. Unfortunately, this program has allowed many of these loans to be sold to hedge funds and private equity firms, rather than nonprofits. Questions: 1. What have the private equity firms done that Senator Warren is rallying against? 2. How many distressed… Read more »
American Apparel Bankruptcy
American Apparel has been in the middle of a turnaround effort that includes store closings and some layoffs. The company also faces several lawsuits from ousted CEO Dov Charney. Now they face the bankruptcy court. Questions: 1. What were the allegations against previous CEO Charney and what types of financial strains has this put on… Read more »
Kaleil Tuzman: The Rest of the Story
Kit Digital Inc.’s former chairman and chief executive officer and its former chief financial officer were arrested and charged with accounting fraud at the software company. Questions: 1. What was the type of accounting fraud that Tuzman and Smythe are charged with committing? 2. According to the article, how much money was involved and who… Read more »
New Mortgage Rules for Those with Student Debt
New rules could make it tougher to qualify for a low down payment mortgage from the Federal Housing Administration, particularly with respect to down payment gifts and deferments associated with student loans. Questions: 1. What is the role of debt-to-income ratios in this story, as they related to student loans? 2. What is the old… Read more »