Accounting & Investing Info for San Antonio A & M
Monday Sept 20, 2010
A student asks about skipping questions in Connect and moving ahead without answering a question. I quickly sent this to MH and got this response.
You can skip ahead as a student without penalty, using the “prev” and “next” buttons. It’s not until you click Submit Assignment that you are penalized for not answering any questions.
Monday Sept 20, 2010
VITALSOURCE
E-BOOKS
STUDENT/FACULTY WORKSHOPS
Representatives from VitalSource will be on on-campus to talk about e-books and their bookshelf product.
WHEN: Several sessions are available at both campuses
Wednesday 9/22/10 and Thursday 9/23/10
WHERE:
|
Gillette Campus student center |
Satellite Campus student center |
|
Wed: 3-4pm & 4-5pm Thurs: 9-10am |
Wed: 6-7pm & 7-8pm Thurs: 11am-12pm |
WHY: Learn how to optimize your study habits with your e-book. Find out about the ipad/ipod/iphone application. Also, learn how to
· search,
· highlight,
· create notes and share them your classmates
BRING: You are welcome to bring your laptop with your VitalSource bookshelf and follow along.
FACULTY ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING THEIR CLASS!
Monday Sept 20, 2010
Mish reports that pension plans are massively underfunded. There was a front page article in the WSJ this weekend saying the same thing. This is a ticking time bomb that is not being addressed. the WSJ article pointed out that plans are still using wildly optimistic return assumptions of 8%. The stock market went returned zilch in the last year and over the last ten years.
We study pension accounting in Intermediate II. We will be posting more examples this semester.
Sunday Sept 19 2010
Read about the incredible reporting requirement for all business at the WSJ Link.
A 1099, if you did not know, is a statement to the IRS that one has received income. Apparently this is the ultimate Big Brother intrusion into every transaction that business makes. The Obamacare Bill requires all to report every transaction of over $600-an unbelievable paperwork requirement.
If there is anything accountants should oppose it is this. Oh did I mention the effort to repeal this described in the WSJ article, failed.
Sunday Sept 19 2010
Bernie Marcus founded Home Depot. ON CNBC he holds forth on
excessive regulation
cap and trade
health care
lack of jobs for college grads
the national debt
A Must See.
Sunday Sept 19, 2010
The month’s exhibition and
sale of new Harvey works-which has the reverberating force of a cattle stampede
in the exclusive Western art world- is the fist big Texas event since 1986
This
is more top of the market psychology. The article notes that his works
originally sold for $50-800 now may fetch $230,000. While the exhibitors may or
may not realize it, this sort of sale would have been impossible a year ago.
The social mood had to return to a ‘don’t worry, everything is okay’ state of
mind. The cattle are
stampeding, while investors are stampeding into junk bonds and a high state of
denial regarding risk. 1986=87 of course as a market top before the infamous Crash of 1987.
Texas
Tech University plans a $1 Billion fund raising campaign. Again this would not
have been announced a year ago. Only the giddy atmosphere that coincides with a
30 year anniversary of a silver price high makes such psychology possible.
HOB
begins showing Boardwalk Empire, a mob story of the
1920s. Starring Steve Buscemi, usually a supporting player though always superb
in our opinion. Martin Scorcese is co-executive producer, said to be itching to
get into the HBO series game. With star talent and star directors not bringing
the fees they are accustomed to, no wonder, This of course follows HBO’s
successful Sopranos series. Mob stories are the dark side of the force, this is an
echo of the success of the Godfather during
the worst of the 1972-74 bear market.
Oliver
Stone’s Money Never Sleeps
has been released a rough 21 Fibonacci years after its 1987 release. The
original saw a Wall Street crash, will lightning strike twice?
Socionomics is a theory of prediction relying on social behavior and mood. Such changes originate within, these are endogenous changes. Changes in mood are reflected in the actions of people on a mass scale.
Friday Sept 17, 2010
Attention, SACPAS student and candidate members, if you're still not sure how to use your degree after graduation, we can help. Plan to attend the Fall 2010 Accounting Careers Workshop on Friday, October 1, from 6-8 p.m. at the SACPAS CPA Center. For details and to get your name on the list,
contact Anne Sewell at asewell1@satx.rr.com.
Last year Texas A & M had the second greatest number of students there of any school in town. Our fine student rep Anne Sewell is forming a list.
At the annual
Fall Accounting Careers Workshop
Experienced CPAs from public practice, retail/manufacturing and government
offer tips for career options and success
Friday, October 1, 2010
Registration 5:30 p.m. Program 6 – 8 p.m.
SACPAS Training Center
SACU Building, 901 NE Loop 410, Ste 420, San Antonio, TX 78209
Pizza and soft drinks available
Business-appropriate attire suggested
Door prizes & sponsored TSCPA/SACPAS student memberships* available
RSVP to your Accounting Professor or contact SACPAS
@info@sacpasociety.com (210)828-2722 toll free (888)828-8680
*current declared accounting majors who have never been TSCPA student members
Thursday Sept 6 2010
Here is a list of industries that are not likely to recover from this recession.
Why realtors still get 6%, in an age where I can trade stocks for $1.50 is beyond me.
One can add video rental stores to the list.
And I expect some casual dining restaurants and the way too many retail outlets.
Thursday Sept 16 2010
Walt Mossberg examines E Readers for the iPad. iPad costs $499 which is more than Kindle and this is an exam of Readers on the IPad not a comparison of the different hardware.
I recently went to Denver by plane, and I can readily see the advantage of the lightweight iPad. My iPhone is a bit small to read anything more than e mail. Like Syed Harun, I think I will wait for Gen 2 on iPad, let's see if it will have a direct USB port.
As you know I just had and am recovering from eye surgery. The iPad offers a wonderful feature for visual problems, just flick your fingers and the print gets larger, iPads are already catching on with seniors as a result.
Tuesday Sept 14 2010
THe Governor of PA has promised to ail out its capital city, Harrisburg.
Please read this article as we are studying bonds in Intermediate II and the state of the economy in Adv Cost. This reflects the mentality of local governments. Consider this quote
"I see this as Wall Street versus Main Street," said city councilman Brad Koplinski. "The bondholders are not willing to budge and they expect us to completely take care of this on the backs of our city's taxpayers."
This of course reflects the mentality of not just small cities like Harrisburg, but of entire states like CA IL NY, the Federal Govt, or someone will backstop all their bad decisions. This of course is fiscally impossible. I will be showing you graphs of past eras of economic stagnation in class, this is what typifies those eras, an indifference towards financial responsibility. 1976 saw the default of NYC, at the time, then as now, Mayor Abe Beam could not believe President Ford said no to requests for money. Now we have entire states in the same predicament and sporting the same What Me Worry attitude. See our post a few days back on the Bexar Met fiscal mess, there is much more anger in municipals than the public imagines.
Professor Elam 