Category: Economy
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PEST analysis for marketers: Economic factors
Have you ever heard of a PEST analysis? It’s not something you do with annoying people on Facebook or around the house. It’s a basic form of business analysis that looks at four key “big picture” factors that might influence your business, factors in the environment around you and your company. These factors are political,…
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How sparkleponies might just save the world
One of the most dangerous things about a consumer-focused material goods economy, from an environmental perspective, is that in order for you to have a sustainable business, you have to consume resources. Not only do you have to consume resources, you have to consume a lot of them. That’s at odds with the long-term environmental…
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Leading economic indicators
Predicting the future is no easy task, especially in uncertain economic times. One of the ways economists, market watchers, and armchair pundits try to ascertain what’s happening and going to happen is by focusing on economic indicators. Economic indicators are metrics that are derived from a variety of data sources such as manufacturing firms, census…
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Dark economic times ahead?
Are you good at putting together the pieces? There’s a lot going on in the world, and individual pieces may not seem like much, but put together they can create an attention-getting picture. Here are a few pieces you need to put together right now. 1. Europe’s financial system is crumbling. Specifically, the European Union’s…
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The incredible danger of third-party payee systems
USA Today and Get Rich Slowly both featured an absolutely amazing statistic recently that blew me away: The amount of student loan debt outstanding in the US now exceeds the amount of credit card debt outstanding. Rattle that around in your brain. The legions of people buying crap they don’t need with money they don’t…
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Financial aid swansong: Massachusetts College Goal Sunday
Financial aid swansong: Mass. College Goal Sunday It’s fitting that my last work in the world of financial aid was to volunteer at Massachusetts College Goal Sunday. This year’s CGS was significantly different for me personally than in years past for several reasons. First, this is the first year I’ve presented at College Goal Sunday.…
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Financial Literacy presentation at MASFAA
Here’s a recording of a financial literacy presentation I did for the Massachusetts Association of Student FInancial Aid Administrators. Please watch this with a friend or colleague present and do the exercises together for maximum benefit! Video Slides Financial Literacy 2.0 View more presentations from financialaidpodcast. Did you enjoy this blog post? If so, please…
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What Farmville should teach us about profitability
Profits! Profitability! The holy grail of business. Yet surprisingly, one of the most difficult things to calculate. Companies spend thousands of dollars a year in consulting, technology, software, systems, and accounting firms just to get a vague idea of their profitability. Why? Here’s an example of how difficult profitability can be even in a very…