Towards Sovereign Equity

December 19, 2016

Stanford Journal of Law, Business, and Finance, Vol. 21, No. 2 (2016)

Stephen Park, Tim R. Samples

Sovereigns are unique market participants in the global financial system, and sovereign debt markets largely operate in a legal and regulatory void. This Article adds an important and timely perspective by examining the concept of equity in sovereign debt finance. Governments, unlike corporations, rely almost exclusively on debt to externally finance their investments and operations. GDP-linked securities, which provide interest payments indexed to the sovereign issuer’s rate of growth, are sovereign debt instruments with certain equity-like characteristics. This Article considers whether innovation towards sovereign equity can help mitigate problems associated with sovereign debt crises. To address this question, we analyze the use of GDP-linked securities in recent sovereign debt restructurings by Argentina, Greece, and Ukraine. Drawing on this analysis, we explore more broadly the legal implications of sovereign equity, and conclude that these applications offer opportunities to help manage sovereign finance in the absence of readily enforceable international financial regulation. Full article.

UConn Foundation Receives $40,000 Grant from Newman’s Own Foundation

December 13, 2016

UConn Alumni– The UConn Foundation has been awarded a $40,000 grant from Newman’s Own Foundation, the independent foundation created by the late actor and philanthropist, Paul Newman.

The funds will support the UConn School of Business’ Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, a program offering cutting-edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management for post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their service to the country.

‘Beloved By All His Students’

Accounting professor Francis Ryan will be honored through a new scholarship that bears his name.
Accounting professor Francis Ryan will be honored through a new scholarship that bears his name.

Accounting Professor Francis Ryan Would Be Pleased with New Scholarship in His Honor

A beloved accounting professor who never regretted trading in the bustle of New York City for the tranquility of Storrs, will be honored through a new scholarship that bears his name.

Francis E. Ryan joined the faculty at the School of Business in 1949, founding and leading the accounting department for more than 20 years. His former students recalled that he taught them not only accounting, but also about hard work, dedication and honesty. Continue Reading

Contracting for Innovation and Innovating Contracts

December 12, 2016

Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation (2016)

Thomas D. Barton, Gerlinde Berger-Walliser, Helena Haapio

This special issue of the Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation (JSCAN) is devoted to “contracting for innovation and innovating contracts.” From the inception of planning for the issue, the co-editors hoped to attract contributions from a full range of professionals engaged in contract theory and practice: research academics, contract managers, corporate executives, and legal counsel, plus what JSCAN Editor-in-Chief Tyrone Pitsis told us are called “pracademics:” those who straddle research and commercial environments, making concrete contributions through collaborative projects, experiments, interviews, software development, or theory-building. JSCAN is a natural publication outlet for such partnerships, since so many of the 40,000 worldwide members of the International Association of Contract and Commercial Management (JSCAN’s parent organization) are thought-leaders in every aspect of commercial contracting. Full article.

The Full-Day Interview: What to Expect

December 9, 2016

(Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Today is interview day. The time is 7:20 am and I’ve just arrived in the hotel lobby. The company’s representative will meet me there at 7:30 am.

As I wait, nervously fidgeting with my leather portfolio, I notice other professionally dressed people also waiting. Could there be more than one MBA candidate attending the interview?Continue Reading

Demand for Healthcare IT Specialists Prompts New, Online Program

December 7, 2016

HCIT

The School of Business is launching a new, nationally recognized, online certificate program in Healthcare Informatics and Technology. Beginning in March of 2017, the program is designed to meet the growing demand for experts in that field.

“The field of healthcare IT is not only changing, but also expanding rapidly as changes take place in the industry, including the widespread use of the electronic medical record,” said Emeritus Professor Jeffrey Kramer, who specializes in the study of healthcare organizations and who designed the program. Continue Reading

“Perspectives on Private Capital” Business Alumni Event at the UN

The School of Business hosted an alumni event titled, “Perspectives on Private Capital” on Nov. 16 in the Delegates Dining Room at the United Nations in New York City. The event included networking and a cocktail reception prior to a panel discussion featuring Timothy J. Curt ’84, managing director and CFO for Warburg Pincus and Joseph E. Parsons ’79, retired management committee member for Bridgewater Associates.

10 Things I Wish I Knew as an Underclassman

December 5, 2016

“Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald

As we are wrapping up the fall semester, I am starting to reminisce on my past 6 semesters here. Your college career is the time to seize the most out of all the opportunities offered to you. With almost 7 semesters of experience being a college student, I wanted to share my outlook on how to make the best out of your first two years: Continue Reading