Professor Elam

Accounting & Investing Info for San Antonio A & M

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  • Professor Elam

    Innovation

    I discuss the importance of Design on these pages. Here a Business Week article looks at 

    innovation.  It seems to me that the USA has frittered away a lot of opportunity. Money has been borrowed to build houses and more is being borrowed to keep people in those houses they cannot afford. This is hardly innovative. 

    the article laments the lack of a longer life span, but the life span of those that take care of themselves is up. Those tanking up on junk food gain weight and acquire diabetes, surely the fastest growing malady in the US, look at the diabetes testing supplies in the drugstore. 

    The lack of salary increase in 'college grads' is not surprising, most of them take majors with no job demand, not the case for accounting majors. Indeed the cost of college has soared in relation to salary increases.  A good article, take a look. 

  • Professor Elam

    Money Supply

    Picture 1


    Milton Friedman won the Nobel for his work on Money Supply. The Fed understandably no longer reports various levels of M or money supply. AS you can see above, it is simply exploding. I cannot post the Laffer article in today's WSJ but you get the picture. As Laffer says we have never seen this in a non war economy. See my posts at professorelam.typepad.com/markets for more. 


    The bond market is already moving up in yield, higher yields lie ahead. 

    Hmm nassim  Taleeb the author of Black Swan, is on CNBC this morning pointing out all the western countries need to reduce debt. He says there is not way to reduce debt but hyperinflation, see M graph above. Taleeb makes the point that the same forecasters who were wrong on 2008 are still making the same wrong forecasts. 

  • Professor Elam

    Books

    As one of my PhD professors observed, it is interesting to just go round the table and ask everyone what they have read lately. Students have reported on a number of interesting books including 

    Blue Ocean, Black Swan, Gladwell's recent best sellers, or the Panic of 1907.

    For ideas business and investing is a search category at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders all offer a business category that lists current best sellers. There is a fine library at Palo Alto Community College, indeed one of the best building designs I have visited with indirect natural lighting.  The Cortez Public Library is north one light on Poteet Blvd. And of course there are public libraries all over San Antonio. 

    We take writing very seriously here at A & M San Antonio.  No matter your major, eventually you will be called upon to produce a serious report at your job. Your future at that job will likely be determined by just how well you write and communicate.  Reports with grammar and spelling errors will not be accepted and will likely get your career permanently derailed on the job.

    Class is your laboratory, this is the time to attempt your best. Do not delude yourself that you do not have to rise to the occasion now but somehow some way will do so in the future 'when it counts.'

    The counting has begun….

  • Professor Elam

    Character of Nations

    Tom Sowell recomends The Character of Nations.

    I have not read the book but did read the column and three reviews at Amazon. As Sowell notes, Russia is a nation rich in natural resouces that still offers little opportunity for its citizens. This is so much so that Friedman in his book (see my post 5/26/09) suggests that declining demographics will spell the end of that country. Russia is not offering stipends for women who have children. Certainly bribery and the lack of a real legal system has kept Mexico,another country rich in resources from advancing a level closer to Canda and the US. Japan does not consdier bribes which are a way of life just next door in China, why?

  • Professor Elam

    World Airlines to Lose $9 B this Year

    Did you know there is an International Air Transport Association with 230 airline members?

    Well that is another reason to read the blog.

    The point here is that we will be studying break even and target profit in chapter 5 and 6 in cost accounting this summer. There will be plenty of work for management accountants in restructuring these arilines to at least hit break even.

    Learn more about CMA here.

  • Professor Elam

    World Airlines to Lose $9 B this Year

    Did you know there is an International Air Transport Association with 230 airline members?

    Well that is another reason to read the blog.

    The point here is that we will be studying break even and target profit in chapter 5 and 6 in cost accounting this summer. There will be plenty of work for management accountants in restructuring these arilines to at least hit break even.

    Learn more about CMA here.

  • Professor Elam

    KIA Better by Design

    Improving business with superior design is another theme of the blog.  In this article

    we learn that Kia hired chief Audi designer Peter Schreyer.
    Sales are up so that a lower cost car now has a more chic image.

    Again I suggested that MBA programs would be improved with an emphasis on Design. Some around the country are already doing just that. 

  • Professor Elam

    Cut Taxes

    Politicians rarely learn, they continue to believe that raising taxes brings in more money. 

    Economist Mandell argues the record suggests just the opposite. 
    HIgher taxes bring son more cost of compliance and less incentive to produce. 

  • Professor Elam

    It’s All About Ethics

    The Dalai Lama has some thoughts on what caused the economic crisis.

    We studied great philosophers in Ethics Class, here is one living among us. Worth a read. 

  • Professor Elam

    Bad by Design

    I believe that we should consider a graduate business degree with a Design component. Here is another example of what I mean.

    Design Drain This is a photo of the parking lot across from the Municipal Auditorium. That is a new curb holding water in the parking lot. Yes you read it correctly. In the background is a mural on the San Antonio River. So since the water cannot drain through the newly laid curb, everyone parked in the lot is sloshing through ankle deep water. Why not put spaces in the curbing so that the water could drain into the river? 

    This is another example of not just bad but atrocious design.

    Drain II This shot includes the river below. It highlights the irony that the water which should drain into the river, cannot thanks to a poor design by someone no doubt paid to make a good design. For all I know the water is still there!

    Have you seen any examples of good or bad design?