Recently, the Wall Street Journal ran an article on enrollment declines facing private colleges that may lead to closures and mergers. The story is right on, but it made me wistful because I pitched a similar story to almost every business publication out there five years ago or so. Such is the life of a… [Read More]
Blog
Economic efficiency in this Etsy/Blogger/Food Truck economy
Like most self-employed people, I do it all: accounting, advertising, tech support, you name it. I spend almost as much time running the business as I do writing or consulting. That’s not unusual, and a lot of the stuff of running a business is fun. But some of it is a drag. I do many… [Read More]
Lies, damn lies, and misused statistics
Recently, I attended a presentation put on by a television network to promote a show that would be going in syndication on one of its channels. Everyone who attended received a t-shirt and a glossy booklet touting a new demographic study that would compare the characters to Americans nowadays. The results were really interesting. They… [Read More]
Fun at FinCon13
Last night, I went to a party held at a hotel rooftop bar across the street from Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won. How fun!
Barbarians at the Gate, workers, and wages
I’ve started showing Barbarians at the Gate in my corporation finance classes because it is a great story that ties together so many items on the syllabus: investment decisions in existing businesses, sunk costs (the Premier cigarette), the differences between cash flow and accounting income, and the use of leverage. Plus, James Garner is so… [Read More]
