Finance Loans

With Jobs Scarce, MBAs Create Their Own

Finance Loans — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:53:10 +0000

After six frenetic years, credit analyst Jennifer Wright watched her industry cool off overnight. What had been a bustling area prior to mid-2007 — collateralized loan obligations — went into shutdown mode. Firms liquidated, investors grew leery, deals dried up, and suddenly "there wasn't any significant career potential," says Wright. It was a perfect excuse to go back to school. By January of 2008 she had enrolled in Columbia Business School's Executive MBA program with the aim of switching to another area of finance, like capital markets. But with Wall Street reeling and on-campus recruiting down, Wright, 39, decided to start a business of her own.

A friend's idea for a cleverly perforated pizza box, which divides into plates and a storage container, was the catalyst. Wright honed the "Green Box" idea (it's made of recycled materials) in entrepreneurship classes and entered it in B-school competitions across the country. By graduation last May she had seed funding and had decided to make a go of it. Says Wright: "The feedback I'd gotten was so incredibly positive I felt I'd be crazy not to pursue this."

MBA students who in years past may have easily snagged jobs in finance or consulting are turning to entrepreneurship as their plan B. At top schools like Columbia and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, record numbers of students are drawing up business plans. Driving the trend are risk-tolerant members of the millennial generation, ages 18 to 29, who are entering B-schools in droves but don't want traditional careers. "It's a sea change," says Thomas Kinnear, director of Michigan's Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

One sure sign that entrepreneurship is taking off: surging interest in business plan competitions, where moguls-in-the-making present ideas to angel investors and venture capitalists. Applications for Rice University's MBA competition, which offers $800,000 in prizes and is the world's largest, are up 40%. Ross' Michigan Business Challenge had a record 85 applications, while submissions to the Wharton competition are up 22% this year.

One of the Wharton semifinalists is Brendan McCorkle, 29. He was laid off by Sunoco before starting school last August, and in school decided to focus on a business plan he and a friend had toyed with. The idea, Texturant, is software restaurants can use to alert diners via text message when tables are ready. Says McCorkle: "The economy galvanized my decision to work on it full-time." He's testing the concept at a Chili's in Burlington, Mass., and courting investors.

For some students, entrepreneurship isn't a lifeline but is a fallback. When Reed Shelger, 27, at Rice's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, couldn't find a summer consulting internship last year, he used his background as a former NCAA Division 1 college wrestler to open a wrestling and martial arts gym in Houston. Nearly a year later, he says the business is thriving. His career prospects have improved, too — he's fielding consulting job offers. "In hindsight, it couldn't have worked out better," he says. "I have the best of both worlds."

Return to the B-School Life Table of Contents

Read more on BusinessWeek via Yahoo! News

Online Marketing – Peter Griffin & Aidan O’Curry

Finance Loans — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:39:25 +0000

Download Video

Online Marketing – Peter Griffin & Aidan O’Curry speaking at 15 Hatfields, London in May 2009

Pennsylvania Insurance Department Reminds Consumers of Insurance Options as Flooding Risks Rise

Finance Loans — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:39:22 +0000

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario today reminded Pennsylvanians to consider buying flood insurance to protect their homes and businesses.

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 11 –

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario today reminded Pennsylvanians to consider buying flood insurance to protect their homes and businesses.

Ario cautioned that even if a flood insurance policy was purchased today, it would not take effect in time to help anyone affected by flooding that is expected to occur this weekend.

"There is a 30-day waiting period before a flood insurance policy becomes effective. The sooner you can purchase coverage, the better," he said. "It's important to remember that standard homeowner policies do not include coverage for flood damage."

Information detailing coverage and how to obtain flood insurance can be found at www.floodsmart.gov, the official site of the National Flood Insurance Program, a federally-funded resource for flood victims.

The President recently signed a 30-day extension of the National Flood Insurance Program. A recent U.S. Senate bill proposes to extend the program through 2019.

For more information on insurance products and protections, visit www.insurance.pa.gov or call 1-877-881-6388.

Media contact: Rosanne Placey or Melissa Fox, 717-787-3289

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Insurance

Read more on PR Newswire via Yahoo! News

Business English – How to minimize problems

Finance Loans — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:39:11 +0000

Download Video

www.engvid.com By following a few simple techniques, you can make any problem sound less serious. Learn how to resolve your difficulties more easily, in business and in life. This English lesson will show you how. You can take a quiz on this lesson at www.engvid.com

PureSafety Welcomes New Marketing Team Members

Finance Loans — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:50:42 +0000

Becky Sargent and Andie Sanders have joined PureSafety’s growing marketing team.

Franklin, TN (Vocus) March 9, 2010 — Becky Sargent and Andie Sanders have joined PureSafety’s growing marketing team.

Sargent is senior marketing manager for the workforce safety and training management solutions business unit, which delivers innovative software and information solutions to today’s busy training, safety and risk management professionals. In this role, she will develop product rollout strategies, key messaging, campaigns, presentations, sales tools, competitive intelligence and general sales support.

Sargent was previously product marketing director at Passport Health Communications, a leading healthcare information technology and services organization. She is a certified product manager from the Association of Product Management and Product Marketing (AIPMM) and a member of the Nashville American Marketing Association. Sargent earned her bachelor of arts in public relations from Eastern Kentucky University.

Sanders serves as the company’s tradeshow and event manager. In this role, she will provide strategic leadership for PureSafety's tradeshow, event and conference programs, while ensuring alignment with the PureSafety brand and business goals.

Prior to joining PureSafety, Sanders served as the marketing and event-planning specialist at Spheris, a leading global provider of clinical documentation technology and services. She managed the company's tradeshow program as well as internal company events. She is an avid supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the American Heart Association and the Music City Pug Rescue. She received her bachelor of arts in business administration from Murray State University and is completing her graduate studies in the school’s MBA program.

About PureSafety
Born out of a workplace tragedy in 1999, PureSafety empowers its customers to protect their organization's most valuable assets: their people and profits. PureSafety provides comprehensive, web-based software and information solutions that support compliance requirements, overall risk management needs, and the enhancement of governance and company culture through improved programs, processes, awareness, understanding, visibility, and accountability within workforce safety and health. The company’s growing team of 160 employees serves more than 2,000 companies operating in more than 20 major industries including manufacturing, construction, distribution, energy, and healthcare, and encompasses 34 percent of the Fortune 500. Headquartered in the Nashville-area, PureSafety has an additional location in Colorado Springs, Col. To learn more, visit www.puresafety.com or call 888.202.3016.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Amy Gray, APR


Gray Public Relations


615.497.1799

###

Amy Gray
615.497.1799
E-mail Information

Put Options Trading for Income and Insurance

Finance Loans — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:42:19 +0000

Download Video

How to make money through Put Options Trading in a falling market. For more info visit: www.julecorp.com

20. Guest Lecture by Stephen Schwarzman

Finance Loans — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:42:16 +0000

Download Video

Financial Markets (ECON 252) Stephen Schwarzman, Co-Founder of Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, speaks about his experience in the industry. He discusses his thoughts on global finance, particularly at such an interesting and challenging point in the history of financial institutions. Although the near future might be rough for the United States and economies around the globe, capital does tend to come back and regulators are busy figuring out how best to put safeguards on the system. He also offers career advice and mentions some of the surprises he came across upon entering the world of finance. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu This course was recorded in Spring 2008.

Banks shuttered in Fla. , Ill. , Md. , Utah

Finance Loans — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:02:00 +0000

Regulators on Friday shuttered banks in Florida, Illinois, Maryland and Utah, boosting to 26 the number of bank failures in the U.S. so far this year following the 140 brought down in 2009 by mounting loan defaults and the recession.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Regulators on Friday shuttered banks in Florida, Illinois, Maryland and Utah, boosting to 26 the number of bank failures in the U.S. so far this year following the 140 brought down in 2009 by mounting loan defaults and the recession.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over Sun American Bank, based in Boca Raton, Fla., with $535.7 million in assets and $443.5 million in deposits. Also seized were Bank of Illinois of Normal, Ill., with $211.7 million in assets and $198.5 million in deposits; Waterfield Bank in Germantown, Md., with $155.6 million in assets and $156.4 million in deposits; and Centennial Bank in Ogden, Utah, with $215.2 million in assets and $205.1 million in deposits.

First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co., based in Raleigh, N.C., agreed to assume the assets and deposits of Sun American Bank and to share losses with the FDIC on $433 million of the failed bank’s loans and other assets. It was First-Citizens’ fourth acquisition of assets of a failed bank since last July; the others were First Regional Bank of Los Angeles, Venture Bank of Lacey, Wash., and Temecula Valley Bank of Temecula, Calif.

Heartland Bank and Trust Co., based in Bloomington, Ill., is buying the assets and deposits of Bank of Illinois, and is sharing losses with the FDIC on $166.6 million in loans and other assets.

For Waterfield Bank, because no buyer was found, the FDIC set up a new savings institution that will operate until April 5 to allow customers access to their deposits and give them time to open accounts at other banks.

The FDIC was also unable to find a buyer for Centennial Bank, and it approved the payout of the institution’s insured deposits. As a result, checks to the retail depositors for their insured funds will be mailed on Monday. Zions First National Bank in Salt Lake City agreed to accept the failed bank’s direct deposits from the federal government, including Social Security and Veterans’ payments.

The failure of Sun American Bank is expected to cost the federal deposit insurance fund $103.8 million. The cost of resolving Bank of Illinois is estimated at $53.7 million; that of Waterfield Bank is $51 million; and Centennial Bank is $96.3 million.

The pace of bank seizures this year is likely to accelerate in coming months, FDIC officials have said.

As the economy has weakened, with unemployment rising, home prices tumbling and loan defaults soaring, bank failures have mounted, sapping billions of dollars out of the deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red last year, hitting a $20.9 billion deficit as of Dec. 31.

Banks, meanwhile, have tightened their lending standards. U.S. bank lending last year posted its steepest drop since World War II, as the volume of loans fell $587.3 billion, or 7.5 percent, from 2008, the FDIC reported recently.

President Barack Obama recently promoted a $30 billion plan to provide money to community banks if they boost lending to small businesses. The program, which must be approved by Congress, would use money repaid by banks to the $700 billion federal bailout fund.

But many lawmakers want the $30 billion sent directly to the federal Small Business Administration. It would then decide which businesses should get loans.

The number of banks on the FDIC’s confidential “problem” list jumped to 702 in the fourth quarter from 552 three months earlier, even as the industry squeezed out a small profit. Banks earned $914 million, compared with a $37.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008, at the height of the financial crisis. Still, nearly one in every three banks reported a net loss for the latest quarter.

The 140 bank failures last year were the highest annual tally since 1992, at the height of the savings and loan crisis. They cost the insurance fund more than $30 billion. There were 25 bank failures in 2008 and just three in 2007.

The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to grow to about $100 billion over the next four years.

The agency mandated last year that banks prepay about $45 billion in premiums, for 2010 through 2012, to replenish the insurance fund.

Depositors’ money — insured up to $250,000 per account — is not at risk, with the FDIC backed by the government. Apart from the fund, the FDIC has about $66 billion in cash and securities available in reserve to cover losses at failed banks.

___

Augstums reported from Charlotte. Gordon reported from Washington, D.C.

Switching Car Insurance Companies in Florida

Finance Loans — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:55:24 +0000

There are plenty of reasons why, as a Florida inhabitant, you can prefer to move insurance coverage of your vehicle to a different company. You could have changed workplaces and are suitable for a group discount via another insurer, or you're unsatisfied with your present company's service. Probably you've found another company that offers you the same coverage level for significantly less payment. Today, you can get free information through websites or phone services. Examining your options has never been simpler. Review your vehicle coverage regularly to be assured that you receive the best insurance merit for your money. You'll see that it acquits shopping around. Premiums for equal policies may widely differ among various companies, in Florida. The reasons for such a variety can be very complex, but it retrenches to claims experience of a company with policyholders in group of your coverage. For example, if a major number of people in your coverage group files will claim pending a given year, your rates will probably be raised. Lower general premiums and better discounts might be available at other companies, when this happens. You'll see it's pretty simple to move your auto insurance to a different company, when you settle to do so. Before you cancel the old insurance coverage, you should always have a new policy instead. The gap in protection will asset serious risk, in case you've had a claim or an accident.

It can also cause your auto insurance rate to strikingly rise. Luckily, there is almost no jeopardy of this to happen. All drivers, living in Florida are obliged to carry a lesser level of insurance. The majority of companies also requires to present new coverage confirmation before canceling an old policy. Actually, all you have to do to cancel your vehicle policy is to notify your insurance company in written form, defining the date you want to cancel the policy. In several states, the new agent must inform the previous one of the policy shift.

Find Richard Stallings's other contributions at http://www.autoinsurance-guidance.com/auto-insurance-tips/insurance-companies-in-florida.html

Belgian PM moots European finance ministry

Finance Loans — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:50:54 +0000

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Laterme proposed Friday to create a European finance ministry along with a group to manage debt for the 16-nation eurozone.

FRANKFURT (AFP) –
Belgian Prime Minister Yves Laterme proposed Friday to create a European finance ministry along with a group to manage debt for the 16-nation eurozone.

"I propose to take the next step and create a common finance ministry and a European debt agency for the eurozone," Laterme wrote in a piece published by the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD).

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Junker, who currently chairs the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, voiced support meanwhile for a European ratings agency that would be a part of the European Central Bank.

"We are listening too much to ratings agencies" such as Fitch, Moody's and Standard and Poors', Juncker told the German radio Deutschlandfunk.

Those groups "contributed to the plunge of financial markets" after US investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008, Juncker added.

"It would be wise for that we set up ourselves a European agency" to rate sovereign, or country debt, he said, backing an idea that was mooted in German press reports this week.

The German finance ministry has said it is unaware of such a plan.

Laterme said the debt agency he had in mind could be called the EDA, or European Debt Agency, and be charged with issuing and managing eurozone government debt.

It would be controlled by the eurogroup, with the European Investment Bank acting in a secretariat role, he told the FTD.

"The EDA would take charge of existing credits and issue new ones with the approval of the council of EU economy and finance ministers (Ecofin) and the eurogroup," Laterme suggested.