Finance

Answers to Your Questions About the Interest Rate Increase

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

UConn Today– The Federal Reserve Board announced Wednesday that it would raise interest rates just in time for the new year. During its meeting on Dec. 14, the Federal Open Market Committee voted for a 0.25 percentage-point increase, raising the federal funds interest rate to 0.75 percent. It was the first increase since an identical rate boost at this time last year, which was the first increase in almost a decade.

Yaacov Kopeliovich, assistant professor-in-residence in the Department of Finance, discusses what the increase means for the economy and consumers. Kopeliovich recently left a career in industry to join UConn. Now he instructs students on such current issues as the microstructure of specific markets and the contemporary way that financial institutions manage their financial assets and set their targets.

Demand for Healthcare IT Specialists Prompts New, Online Program

Posted on by Claire Hall

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

Exploring All Avenues at UConn Finance Conference

Posted on by Claire Hall, Joshua Weist
Careers in investments, asset management, banking and prestigious Wall Street opportunities were the focus of the inaugural Finance Conference at the School of Business. (Joshua Weist/UConn School of Business)
Careers in investments, asset management, banking and prestigious Wall Street opportunities were the focus of the inaugural Finance Conference at the School of Business. (Joshua Weist/UConn School of Business)

Experts Encourage UConn Finance Students To Seek Jobs in Most Prestigious, Demanding Sectors

Careers in investments, asset management, banking and prestigious Wall Street opportunities were the focus of the inaugural Finance Conference at the School of Business.

“The conference continues the School of Business efforts to make a greater push to place students in more prestigious and demanding areas of the financial sector,” said Professor Larry Gramling, associate dean for undergraduate programs. Continue Reading

Brainstorming, Friendships & Mansions

Posted on by Claire Hall
From left: Alexis Flowers, Southern University of Baton Rouge; Tshepo Makobela, University of Johannesburg; Alison Witschonke, University of Vermont; and Laura Van Eeckhoudt, Belmont University. (UConn School of Business)
From left: Alexis Flowers, Southern University of Baton Rouge; Tshepo Makobela, University of Johannesburg; Alison Witschonke, University of Vermont; and Laura Van Eeckhoudt, Belmont University. (UConn School of Business)

CIBER Challenge Gives Students an Advantage in the Workplace

Career advice from GE executives, a scavenger hunt at Newport, R.I.’s famous mansions, a brain-teaser on global transportation, and a chance to meet business students from around the globe highlighted the 2016 UConn CIBER Case Challenge. Continue Reading

A Winning Team

Posted on by Claire Hall
From left: Roma Romaniv, Joaquin Sanchez and Stephen Mwangi, the team of undergraduate finance students who took place in the Cornell Stock Pitch Challenge. (UConn School of Business)
From left: Roma Romaniv, Joaquin Sanchez and Stephen Mwangi—the team of undergraduate finance students who took place in the Cornell Stock Pitch Challenge—pictured at a Popeyes Restaurant. (UConn School of Business)

UConn Finance Students Victorious at Highly Competitive Cornell Stock Pitch Contest

A team of UConn undergraduate finance students took third place in the highly prestigious Cornell Stock Pitch Challenge in Boston, going toe-to-toe with teams from Harvard, Columbia, Duke, Notre Dame and Amherst.

“We are very proud of our students’ success in the face of extremely tough competition,” said finance professor and department head Chinmoy Ghosh. “Their success confirms what we already know, that our students are able to compete and win against anyone.” Continue Reading

A Little White Lie – or Worse?

Posted on by Claire Hall

Lying?

UConn Researcher Discovers that Retail Execs Downplay, Mislead Outlook in Reports to Stockholders

Many CEOs from major U.S. retailers tend to soften, possibly even distort, their company’s financial standings and offer stakeholders pessimistic predictions about the future, even when their companies are thriving.Continue Reading

What’s Normal?

Posted on by Claire Hall

U.S. Economic Expert Shares Vast Knowledge With Our Graduate Students

Economist Cletus C. Coughlin, senior vice president and policy adviser to the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, was a guest lecturer in the School of Business’ graduate program on Sept. 27.

Coughlin presented his knowledge on “The U.S. Economy: What’s Normal?” in Professor Jeffrey Cohen’s “FNCE 5533 – Real Estate Capital Markets” class at the Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford.

Cletus Coughlin, senior vice president and policy adviser to the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
Cletus Coughlin, senior vice president and policy adviser to the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

In his 30 years at the Federal Reserve, Coughlin’s responsibilities have focused on advising senior officials on monetary policy, as well as on academic research on the topics of international trade, urban, regional, and real estate economics. He has been with the Federal Reserve since 1987.

Coughlin and Cohen have been collaborating on research for the past 15 years, having published on a wide range of topics, including property taxation, airport infrastructure issues, housing price impacts of airport noise, and the boom and bust of U.S. housing prices.

Most recently, they co-authored an article with a third researcher on foreclosures, which was published in September 2016 in the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review. Read their article here.

‘You are an Entrepreneur!’

Posted on by Claire Hall
Kathryn Friedrich, Head of Global Monetization, YouTube (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Kathryn Friedrich, Head of Global Monetization, YouTube (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

UConn’s New Xcite Conference Draws 200+ Women; Strives to Increase Connecticut’s Women Business Leaders

It was a simple assignment that YouTube executive Kathryn Friedrich gave to the audience of 200 business women: take a minute and think of an entrepreneur.

“If you’re not thinking of yourself, think again, because you are an entrepreneur,” she said. “Entrepreneurship is a mindset. You don’t have to start your own company to be an entrepreneur. You can start working on it right away!” Continue Reading

Welcome New Faculty

Posted on by Claire Hall
Fourteen new faculty members join the UConn School of Business for the Fall 2016 semester. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
New faculty members pose for a photograph during orientation. Fourteen new faculty members join the UConn School of Business for the Fall 2016 semester.  (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

School of Business Adds 14 Professors to Ranks

An OPIM professor with a near-perfect student rating, an expert in entrepreneurship and startups, an MSA graduate who wants to help lead the program she loves, and a management professor who specializes in international business growth are among 14 new faculty members joining the School of Business for the Fall 2016 semester.

Our new faculty include: Continue Reading

A Fast Track to Economic Growth?

Posted on by Claire Hall
Jeffrey Cohen, who specializes in real estate and finance, has received a $194,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to start investigating economic changes along the CTfastrak bus route. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Jeffrey Cohen, who specializes in real estate and finance, has received a $194,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to start investigating economic changes along the CTfastrak bus route. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Real Estate Professor Jeffrey Cohen Eager to Study Impact of New Transit System on Central Connecticut

Will the state’s new bus rapid-transit system – CTfastrak – which has already carried 4 million riders since its inaugural trip in March 2015, also spur growth in housing, restaurants, and other businesses along its route in central Connecticut?  Continue Reading