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.
Department News
Articles about activities within the academic departments
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
Predictive Modeling Class Projects Become Twin Wins for UConn
If a pet-adoption agency wants to quickly find a home for a puppy, is it better to post a picture of the pup with its littermates—or a series of photos of the dog alone?
And if soccer club owners are trying to identify which FIFA players are underpaid based on their talent, could they accurately do so by analyzing public data about each player’s skill ratings?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
EMBA Students Dive Right In to ‘Real Life’ Business Challenges
As a self-described ‘mushy-gushy’ type, Catherine Davis-Gomez wasn’t exactly counting the days until the first session of her Financial Controls course in UConn’s Executive MBA program.
“When I learned what Financial Controls was, I thought, ‘I’m gonna hate this,'” said the highly trained therapist who helps create school-based programs to address post-traumatic stress in children.
The feeling didn’t last long.Continue Reading
Consumers: Online Restaurant Reviews are not All Equal
UConn Today – People searching online restaurant reviews give less value to those written on mobile devices than on other platforms, according to new research in the journal Marketing Science.
In a study of 275,000 restaurant reviews, researchers from the University of Connecticut, Boston College, and Peking University found differences in reader perception based on the platform where the review was generated.
At Amazon, workers unite to speak out on warehouses, climate and more
Professor Dunbar Earns National Award, Pays it Forward
Accounting professor Amy Dunbar has been honored as the top tax educator in the nation, winning a prestigious award from the tax section of the American Accounting Association.Continue Reading