The Wall Street Journal – Houses are pretty good at keeping secrets. A hairline crack in a pipe or a worn belt on the clothes dryer may go undetected until something goes wrong.
Finance
Hometown Advantage? CEOs Tend to Acquire Companies in Familiar Stomping Grounds
UConn Today – Multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway bought CEO Warren Buffett’s struggling hometown newspaper. Amazon acquired Whole Foods, which is headquartered in the same state where CEO Jeff Bezos grew up and owns a home.
New research shows these deals aren’t coincidences. Companies are 2.5 times more likely to acquire firms headquartered in the state where their CEO grew up than similar firms located elsewhere, the study found.
Coveted Class: Financial Services

The Instructor
Associate professor-in-residence in finance, Paul Gilson grew up in the Thames River town of Gravesend, 20 miles east of London, and earned a degree in mathematics from Bristol University. His plan was always to go on to a Ph.D. “But first,” he says, “I needed a job.” So he went to work in London for KPMG, the global accounting giant. His first day at the office, stock markets around the world collapsed in the Black Monday crash of 1987, still the greatest one-day loss by percentage in Dow history. During the long recovery that followed, KPMG was kept very busy, and Gilson gained extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, a specialty of his department. “The late 1980s in London,” he says. “It was an exciting time.” Continue Reading
While CT’s reserves rise, Wall Street compensation shrinks
Hartford Business Journal – While Connecticut’s budget reserve just hit a new high, one of the driving forces behind that accomplishment may be cooling down. According to a recent report from the New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, compensation on Wall Street was down 6% last year, driven by a 17% drop in bonuses.
Alum Helps Disruptor ‘Fundbox’ Solve Small Business Cash-Flow Needs
For many small business owners, the months-long gap between completing a job and getting paid threatens the growth, potential, or even solvency of their firms.Continue Reading
Tax breaks for seniors could widen gap between Connecticut’s rich and poor
Combat’s Other Toll on Veterans: Increased Risk of Addiction
UConn Today – In what is described as the first study of its kind, a UConn professor has found that combat service substantially increased the risk of prescription painkiller abuse and illicit heroin use among active-duty American servicemen.
U.S. combat veterans deployed as part of the global war on terror, since 9/11, have an opioid abuse rate that is higher than servicemen who were not deployed to combat zones, the study found.Continue Reading
Opioid Epidemic Affects Combat Veterans More Than Civilians
Married CEOs Are More Committed to Social Issues Than Non-Married Peers
UConn Today – If a company wants a leader who is committed to corporate social responsibility, it would be wise to hire a married man. Married men in the top leadership jobs typically have greater concern for their employees’ well-being, and are more accepting of diverse employees, than are their non-married peers.