According to financial headlines around the globe, the banking industry is on a steady rise from the great recession era. America’s biggest banks are making profits, the government is earning money from its bailouts of institutions and the Obama Administration is pushing new financial rules, but the bigger picture is being lost. Many risks still remain as regulation is more complex, return on equity is too low and costs are still rising.
So where do we go from here?
The 2ndZicklin-Capco Conference in Finance – Industrialization and Innovation, a New Perspective – will explore with high profile industry executive and leading researchers, how cutting-edge approaches to regulation, risk and reporting are transforming the fortunes of forward-looking institutions. There will also be a focus on a resurgence of interest in industrialization in the financial marketplace.
This event will give students with an interest in the financial industry a behind the scenes look on the Wall Street reform. Key speakers include executives from the International Continental Exchange, Jeffries, HSBC North America, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, TABB Group, Morgan Stanley, Capco Institute, and the New York Stock Exchange.
Date: Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013
Time: 8:30AM – 6:30PM
Location: VC 14-220
To RSVP, please contact (646)-312-2070. Please keep in mind there is limited availability for students so be sure to reserve your seat as soon as possible.
Name: Anna Deng
Major: Marketing
Expected Graduation Year: 2014
Anna Deng, a member of AIESEC Baruch, worked abroad in Budapest this past summer. She volunteered to be a part of GlobeKids, an organization that enables people to strive for a better world and strengthens cultural understanding while improving their own abilities. As a trainee, Anna worked with kids in Budapest in order to directly impact tomorrow’s society. GlobeKids makes it a mission that trainees can discover the heart of Europe and build life-long friendships with other trainees all around the world. Q. What compelled you to seek a work abroad experience?
A. I really wanted to experience another culture besides American culture, and the opportunity presented to me by AIESEC Baruch almost seemed too good to be true. It’s always great to meet new people and working abroad seemed like a wonderful way to broaden my horizons and expand my perspectives. Q. How did your experience change your view of the world?
A. My view of the world was changed drastically through my experience. I realized that there’s so much more to the world than just my own personal life. There are differences between cultures which need to be respected and accepted. I learned so much about another environment and by experiencing it first-hand, put a huge impact on my life.
Q. What did you enjoy most about your work abroad experience?
A. The thing I enjoyed most about my work abroad experience was that I was able to meet so many people from different parts of the world. It was not only locals that I met, which was awesome in itself, but meeting other interns who were just like me, working abroad, but from so many different countries. I was able to meet young adults from Ireland, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, and many more. Learning about their culture and hearing their opinions and ideals, as well as sharing my own, is something I will appreciate and remember for the rest of my life.
If you want to see what it’s like to work overseas or have questions about our Center’s exclusive travel grant, stop by the Weissman Center or call us at 646-312-2070 to schedule an appointment to speak to our Work Abroad Coordinator.
Twoarticles from Bloomberg Businessweek that cover the current state of China’s economy have interesting viewpoints. The Chinese economy, the second largest in the world, is slowing down. However, what is surprising many economists is the rate that it is decelerating. The first-quarter GDP growth of 7.7 percent was well below the 8 percent predicted by a Bloomberg survey of economists. This was even lower than the 7.8 percent rate for all of last year making it China’s slowest growth in 13 years.
KFC parent YUM! Brands (YUM), which gets around half of its revenue from China, says it expects this year’s profit to suffer a “mid-single digit” decline. That’s in part because the fast-food franchise has been hard hit by food safety scares in China, including the spread of bird flu, with sales at its 5,400 restaurants in China dropping by 24 percent in the first quarter.
The continued rise in worker salaries is an added motivation to move to a less labor-intensive and higher-value added economy. According to Roberts’ article, shifting from a reliance on exports and investment to an economy more driven by consumption and services is vital to China’s changing economy.
While China’s economy may slow to less than the 8-10 percent growth it normally averages, a real collapse, to growth rates of 2-3 percent or less is improbable. The Chinese economy is not going to melt down soon and, in fact, it might still grow much more strongly this year than most other countries in the world. Chinese companies alone occupied 73 of the top 500 slots in Fortune’s 2012 ranking of the largest companies in the world by sales.
Overall, China’s real economy remains strong, compared with nearly every other economy globally. The Conference Board, an independent economic forecasting organization, projects that China will grow around 7.5 percent in 2013. In fact, China’s forecasted growth is far higher than that of the average developing country, which is projected at 3.3 percent growth in 2013 and countries such as India and Brazil are projected to grow less than 5 percent.
To learn more about current conditions of the Asian countries in the context of global politics and economics, be sure to check out courses such as POL 33103 and 3346, taught by Professor Myung Koo Kang.
Amidst ongoing debate over the benefits and drawbacks of hydraulic fracturing (or fracking), Bloomberg reported two weeks ago that U.S. oil production reached its highest level since 1992. The prospects for U.S. energy independence seem cheery; foreign oil and gas imports met just 11% of the United States’ energy needs. When fracking first entered the limelight several years ago, other countries also viewed shale gas as a viable alternative to relying on foreign oil. In 2011 Poland hoped to be at the forefront of the shale gas boom in Europe and drastically reduce its dependence on Russian oil imports. Today, however, it appears that Poland won’t be free of Russian energy any time soon.
Fracking is the process of extracting oil or gas from shale, a type of rock. A mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected into a well to create cracks in nearby rocks of shale. In Poland, the process has proven to be more difficult than it first seemed. But the greater hindrance to Poland’s shale gas dreams is the regulatory environment. In 2012, Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressed the need for “a tax system concerning this wealth, and a legal system that will be profitable not only for our own country, but also friendly for those who will cooperate with us on this venture.” The Polish government has been unable to deliver such systems, and three major investors, including Exxon Mobil, have already pulled out.
The Polish oil industry’s main lobby group is worried about unclear and unfavorable regulations surrounding the drilling of shale gas. For example, drilling licenses only last a short period of time and can only be renewed twice. A host of penalties on delayed work schedules and high tax rates are also dissuading investors from pursuing shale gas exploration in the country. An executive from one of the discouraged oil companies was quoted saying that the industry “will not fulfill its potential” if the government doesn’t change its approach. In my opinion, the current state of shale gas exploration in Poland serves as a cautionary tale to other countries seeking to exploit local natural gas reserves. Only time will tell if Poland can still become the shale gas giant that it set out to be two years ago.
Do you think Poland can lead the natural gas revolution in Europe? What can it do to attract investors? Voice your thoughts in the comments section below.
Check out the following links for more on the state of natural gas exploration in Poland:
Global go-getter Pietro Barone is nothing short of amazing! Graduating from Baruch College in May with a BA in Political Science and a minor in English, he was a recipient of the Colin Powell Fellowship in International Diplomacy which offers students completing an unpaid internship at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., or overseas, a stipend to cover travel and living expenses. The Fellowship is a joint program of the Weissman Center for International Business and the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. Pietro shares his current internship experience at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. with the Weissman Center Blog. While at the Department of State, he worked on President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Pietro was also the recipient of the C.V. Starr Study Abroad Fellowship which enabled him to study abroad in Italy at the American University of Rome during the fall 2011 semester. Pietro will be pursuing a Master’s degree in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science beginning in September 2013.
Q. How did the Colin Powell Fellowship assist you with your internship at the State Department?
A. The Colin Powell Fellowship assisted me with the entire application process and provided me with advice on what life at the Department of State would be like. Meeting with former Ambassadors Carl Spielvogel and Thomas Niles provided me with expert insight on the type of work I would be doing at the State Department.
Q. Can you tell us more about the “Young African Leadership Initiative” and how you are contributing to it?
A. The President’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) is going to be a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. This program provides African youth with the opportunity to obtain skills that could be utilized effectively back at home in Africa. I am working to identify eligible and outstanding candidates for the program, organizing meetings and consultations from interested applicants and updating the YALI website.
Q. As a student from Zimbabwe myself, I am curious to know how you think this initiative will affect the continent of Africa and young leaders like myself.
A. I think that the YALI program will help to launch many bright minds in Africa toward further success. The program will not only educate participants but connect them with one another. The goal is to help foster bright minds and bring them together to improve their communities. There have been many success stories from the YALI program and other similar programs. The potential in Africa has yet to be “tapped.”
Q. What other projects have you been working on during your internship?
A. I am working on a number of projects here at the Department. I am organizing the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Civil Society meeting that will be taking place in Ethiopia in early August. I am also working on a project of my own with another colleague. We are learning about “Impact Investing,” which is a rising form of investing. Impact Investing is a type of investment where social impact and financial return are important. It is similar to writing a grant for a project but expecting an eventual return. This type of investing will help to bring more money into Africa for growth. We are looking into how the Department of State could form public-private partnerships to begin Impact Investing.
Q. What kind of advice would you give students who are looking to explore opportunities with the State Department?
A. I would encourage everyone to apply for an internship at the Department of State. There are offices for all disciplines. You do not have to come from a political background. It is an extremely rewarding experience that could open many new opportunities for you.
Contributing writers: Albert Mathew and Romanowski Jules
If you are interested in learning more about the 2014 Colin Powell Fellowship application process, you should attend the upcoming orientation session which is scheduled for Thursday, September 19, 2013 from 12:45-1:45 pm. Contact the Weisman Center at (646) 312-2074 for more information.
