Seasonally adjusted what now? Consumer price thingamajig?
Ok, we admit it — sometimes the business world gets a bit bogged down in jargon. But this is important stuff, so we want to help clear up any confusion. In our LINGO [the language of business] series, University of Texas experts offer bite-sized explanations of business vocabulary, sure to help you feel more informed.
Tax day is just around the corner, and it’s only natural to wonder about how you might shave a few bucks off the bill before mailing it to Uncle Sam. As Accounting Professor John Robinson says, tools that help people minimize their taxes or taxable income may seem unfair ... until you qualify for them.
Finance maestro Sandy Leeds explains what goes wrong when a handful of US banks get too big for their britches.
Some investors are more engaged than others, and demand more from the management of the companies in their portfolios.
What happens when someone is insulated from the repercussions of their actions and never has to face the consequences?
Tax maestro Lillian Mills discusses the question of whether a flat tax is simpler or more fair than our current progressive tax system.
How the instability of a financial market on the other side of the globe can affect the rest of the world. Eurozone, meet U.S. debt ceiling crisis.
Lingo video: Much like Tinkerbell, doubt and disbelief can prove fatal to a fledgling economic recovery.
Economist and former McCombs senior lecturer of finance Michael Brandl illustrates how economists correct for short-term variances in employment data through the use of seasonal adjustment.
Lingo video: The debt ceiling is a simple economic concept that has brought the nation to its knees. But what is it, and why is it such a contentious issue?
Tax maestro Lillian Mills sheds light on the IRS's practice of giving businesses credit for the taxes they pay to other countries.
Accounting guru Lillian Mills dispels the myth that graduating to a higher tax bracket decreases your income.
Economist Mike Brandl explains how some measures of the economy can signal a coming change, and others take a while to catch up to the big picture.
Finance expert Jim Nolen explains what motivates entrepreneurs and investors in the different stages of fundraising for a start-up.
Lingo video: When you want to be your own boss, you have to make do with the resources at hand.
Pessimistic economists in the 1970s made up a new word for an economic worst-case scenario. When rising prices from inflation combine with an already stagnant economy, the resulting "stagflation" is a dire condition of self-perpetuating economic doom and gloom.
Economist Mike Brandl explains the danger of deflation, where constantly falling prices and wages set the stage for economic collapse and depression.
You see them every day, but nobody knows where they came from, what they do, or who they even are. To their managers, they might as well be dead. Don't be a "Ghost Person."
What happens when dead institutions are allowed to continue to function? Will the healthy survive? The McCombs School of Business presents a chilling tale from Senior Finance Lecturer Michael Brandl.
By allowing investors to take out "insurance" on others' bonds, credit default swaps have gotten a bad reputation for promoting speculation on the misfortune of others. McCombs Senior Lecturer of Finance Sandy Leeds explains how this practice has also been blamed for setting up the financial crisis.
If you want to sound like a biz pro, drop words like "leverage" when a simple "debt" would suffice. McCombs Senior Lecturer of Finance Sandy Leeds explores the ups and downs of downs of carrying debt, regardless of what you call it.
McCombs Professor of Management Janet Dukerich explains the Distributive approach to negotiation that pits parties against one another in a battle for the best value.
McCombs Professor of Management Janet Dukerich explains how both parties can benefit from an integrative, or "value creating" model of negotiation.
Is your portfolio "overweight"? Get fiscally fit with finance whiz Sandy Leeds as he uncovers the meaning of "exposure," and what it means for the health of your investments.
Finance guru Sandy Leeds illuminates the concept of the "risk premium" that less-trustworthy borrowers pay on their loans.
