ESPN’s Nate Silver went on Sportscenter this morning and revealed his favorites for the Final Four. The prediction: • Louisville (#4 seed, Midwest region) • Florida (#1 seed, South region) • Arizona (#1 seed, West region) • Michigan State (#4 seed, East region) These are the favorites in each region according to Silver’s statistical model…. Read more »
Posts Tagged: risk
Justice goes after “Rigged” rates
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has sued 16 big banks that set a crucial global interest rate, accusing them of fraud and conspiring to keep the rate low to enrich themselves. Questions: 1. Which banks are included in the suit? 2. What was the rate and for how long are they accused of rigging it?… Read more »
Seventeen police officers to ticket Gator fans?
Only 1,260 feet of Route 301 runs through Hampton, Florida, a city with a population of under 500. Yet between 2011 and 2012, Hampton officers wrote 12,698 speeding tickets. Now Hampton, an 89-year-old city, is fighting the state legislature threatening to wipe the town off the map, after a state audit last month uncovered significant… Read more »
Humans are Bad at Understanding Compound Interest
Maybe you haven’t even thought about your retirement, but according to Matthew O’Brien, you should. This is particularly true if you are contributing to a 401 (k). Questions: 1. What should you look at rather than the returns when picking your 401(k) funds? 2. According to O’Brien, what do 1.25 % annual fees for retirement… Read more »
Easy Come, Easy Go… It’s only Money (and Stock)
Facebook’s largest acquisition ever was announced this week. The company said it would pay at least $16 billion for WhatsApp, a text messaging application with 450 million users around the world who pay little or no money for it. The purchase price dwarfs the $1 billion Facebook paid for Instagram, the photo-sharing service. Questions: 1…. Read more »
Federal Financial Aid Fraud
A federal lawsuit was filed by seven former employees against Harris School of Business and its for-profit parent education company, Premier Education Group, which owns more than two dozen trade schools and community colleges operating under several names in 10 states. The suit alleges that school officials routinely misled students about their career prospects and… Read more »
What is a Super Bowl Ad Worth?
Derek Thompson presents evidence on both sides of the debate about whether Super Bowl ads are a waste of money or worthwhile advertising venues. Questions: 1. Rather than the price you pay for the advertisement, what does Mr. Thompson say that Super Bowl advertising is all about? 2. What is this year’s Super Bowl ads… Read more »
Starbuck’s App: Are You At Risk?
The Starbuck’s app, used by more than 10 million customers that purchase drinks and food directly from their smartphones, was exposed as risky by security researcher, Daniel Wood. According to Wood on January 13, “There are multiple instances of the storage of clear-text credentials that can be recovered and leveraged for unauthorized usage of a… Read more »
The Airline Industry in Africa is Expected to Boom in the Coming Year(s)
Africa is a continent with the 2nd largest population but only 3% of the global air traffic. The region’s economies are growing robustly and by all indications will continue to do so in the coming years. With a rise in GDP, a corresponding rise in demand for aviation services is to be expected. Questions: 1…. Read more »
Is it better to look good than have money?
Here’s a quirky little story. American money has been consolidated into a single system of currency since the late 1800s. As part of this, U.S. dollars have been printed on a unique cotton blend paper, supplied by only one company (Crane) for more than a century. The chief cotton ingredient has been denim. However, since… Read more »