Monthly Archives: June 2015

HBCU Money™ Business Book Feature – Farms with a Future: Creating and Growing a Sustainable Farm Business

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What makes a farm sustainable and successful? And what special qualities and skills are needed for someone to become a successful farmer?

Rebecca Thistlethwaite addresses these and other crucial questions in this uniquely important book, which is a must-read for anyone who aspires to get into farming, or who wants to make their farm business more dynamic, profitable, and, above all, sustainable. Over an entire year, the author and her husband-experienced farmers themselves-took a sabbatical and traveled the length and breadth of the United States to live and work alongside some of the nation’s most innovative farmers. Along the way they learned about best practices, and a whole lot about what doesn’t work.

Farms with a Future shares this collective wisdom in an inspirational yet practical manner; it will help beginners avoid many of the common mistakes that first-time farmers make. Just as importantly, it discusses positive ideas that can help make any farm enterprise vibrant and financially profitable. Profiles of more than a dozen representative farms help round out the invaluable information and encourage farmers to embrace their inner entrepreneur. Younger growers, in particular, will benefit by learning about “the right stuff” from both their peers and longtime experts.This book provides a useful reference for beginning and experienced farmers alike. While many other books address agricultural production, there are very few that talk about business management for long-term sustainability. Farms with a Future offers an approachable, colorful take on building a triple-bottom-line farming business.

HBCU Money™ Dozen 6/22 – 6/26

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Did you miss HBCU Money™ Dozen via Twitter? No worry. We are now putting them on the site for you to visit at your leisure. We have made some changes here at HBCU Money™ Dozen. We are now solely focused on research and central bank articles from the previous week.

Research

How CIOs can create the IT workforce of the future l CIOonline http://trib.al/LHt1isi

Exploring dark energy with robots l Symmetry Magazinehttp://ow.ly/OOaaU

Want to install rooftop #solar? Expensive structural tests may be overkill l Department of Energy http://1.usa.gov/1Nkr7NN

Solar power will draw $3.7 trillion in investment through 2040 l Renewable Cities http://ow.ly/OI3eh

Gentle sex? Females are just as feisty as males over reproduction l New Scientist http://ow.ly/OKCzr

US Energy Dept. Funds Two New Projects & $1 Million Prize l Clean Technica http://dlvr.it/BKWdg0

Federal Reserve, Central Banks, & Financial Departments

Business activity in #Maryland increased notably in June, according to our new survey l Richmond Fed http://ow.ly/OOcIp

The Carolinas economy expanded at a relatively steady pace in June, our new survey found l Richmond Fed

Why income #inequality is bad for growth l World Economic Forum http://wef.ch/1IF5gyH

Developing the #creditunion branch of the future, right now l CU Journal http://bit.ly/1eJhJrz

How To Be A Better Bear: Shorting ETFs vs. Inverse ETFs

Real personal consumption expenditures rose 0.6% in May, the most since August l St. Louis Fed http://bit.ly/1BDOi3Z

Thank you as always for joining us on Saturday for HBCU Money™ Dozen. The 12 most important research and finance articles of the week.

The HBCU Money™ Weekly Market Watch

Our Money Matters /\ June 26, 2015

A weekly snapshot of African American owned public companies and HBCU Money™ tracked African stock exchanges.

NAME TICKER PRICE (GAIN/LOSS %)

African American Publicly Traded Companies

Citizens Bancshares Georgia (CZBS) $9.86 (0.00% UNCH)

M&F Bancorp (MFBP) $4.75 (0.00% UNCH)

Radio One (ROIA) $3.25 (8.45% DN)

African Stock Exchanges

Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres (BRVM)  274.53 (0.09% DN)

Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE)  10 610.30 (0.08% DN)

Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE)  2 369.30 (4.79% UP)*

Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE)  162.51 (N/A)

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) 52 669.75 (0.35% DN)

International Stock Exchanges

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) 11 029.28 (0.06% DN)

London Stock Exchange (LSE)  3 683.84 (0.75% DN)

Tokyo Stock Exchange (TOPIX)  1 667.03 (0.23% DN)

Commodities

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Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s June 2015 Press Conference (Video)

“Obviously we have to look at the pace of job creation, we have to look at what’s happening to labor force participation to part time employment for economic reasons, to job openings, to the pace of quits, to wage inflation and other indicators of the state of the labor market. I did say when we agreed that labor markets slack has diminished to some extent, in the inter-meeting period and clearly over a longer span of time over the last several years, obviously we have made considerable progress in moving towards our goal of maximum employment. So in spite of the fact that there is some progress on that front the committee wants to see some further progress before feeling that it will be appropriate to raise rates.” – Chairwoman Janet Yellen

HBCU Money™ Business Book Feature – Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood

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The fatherless black family is a problem that grows to bigger proportions every year as generations of black children grow up without an adult male in their homes. As this dire pattern grows worse, what can men do who hope to break it, when there are so few models and so little guidance in their own homes and communities? Where can they learn to “become Dad?”  When Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Pitts—who himself grew up with an abusive father whose absences came as a relief—interviewed dozens of men across the country, he found both discouragement and hope, as well as deep insights into his own roles as son and father. An unflinching investigation, both personal and journalistic, of black fatherhood in America, this is the best, most pivotal book on this profoundly important issue.