Monthly Archives: March 2017

HBCU Money™ Business Book Feature – The World Is Flat

When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now, and they come to the chapter “Y2K to March 2004,” what will they say was the most crucial development? The attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq war? Or the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world’s two biggest nations, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization? And with this “flattening” of the globe, which requires us to run faster in order to stay in place, has the world gotten too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner?

In this brilliant new book, the award-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman demystifies the brave new world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt. The World Is Flat is the timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.

The Finance & Tech Week In Review – 3/25/17

Every Saturday the HBCU Money staff picks ten articles they were intrigued by and think you will enjoy for some weekend reading impacting finance and tech.

What’s the secret to success? Be nicer to yourself / WEF wef.ch/2ndGqUv

Is R&D Getting Harder, or Are Companies Just Getting Worse At It? / Harvard Biz ow.ly/3sxx30aeOwo

Value of housing market hits 10-year high / Housing Wire  bit.ly/2mZzAxY

The state of women in the credit union movement / CU Journal  ow.ly/KMIa30aeN3w

Per capita auto and student debt rose in fourth quarter of 2016, but at a slower pace / St. Louis Fed bit.ly/2n7sB7M

Cancer cells cast a sweet spell on the immune system / Science News ow.ly/bJiW30aeM0H

Science-backed benefits of marine reserves / Pew Environment pew.org/2kwUYhO

Refillable vest offers last-mile wearable transport for clean water / New Atlas newatl.as/2n2pIUX

Drone dogfight event aims to draw out the best drone safety tech / New Atlas newatl.as/2mzAqWJ

Equipping #youth in agriculture with #innovative technologies / SciDev bit.ly/2nkNePm

HBCU Money™ Business Book Feature – Is the US Trade Deficit Sustainable?

The global financial crisis of 1997-98 and the widening US trade deficit have precipitated fresh inquiry into a set of perennial questions about global integration and the US economy. How has global integration affected US producers and workers, and overall growth and inflation? Is a chronic and widening deficit sustainable, or will the dollar crash, perhaps taking the economy with it? If the problem was one of “twin deficits,” as many thought, why has the trade deficit continued to grow even as the budget deficit narrowed to zero? If US companies are so competitive, why does the trade deficit persist? Is the trade deficit a result of protectionism abroad? Will it lead to protectionism at home? What role do international capital markets have?

Each chapter presents relevant data and a simple analytical framework as the basis for concise discussions of these major issues. The final section of the book provides an outlook for the deficit and suggests alternative policy courses for dealing with it. This book is designed for policymakers and others who are interested in the US role in the world economy. It is also suitable for courses in international economics, business, and international affairs.

The Finance & Tech Week In Review – 3/18/17

Every Saturday the HBCU Money staff picks ten articles they were intrigued by and think you will enjoy for some weekend reading impacting finance and tech.

What might an aging population mean for wealth inequality? / St. Louis Fed  bit.ly/2mDC6wG

The benefits of being bilingual – it’s more than just useful / WEF  wef.ch/2mBM2rd

Over the past year, average student loan debt in the 10th District has increased 6% / KC Fed ow.ly/yAqI308T1px

Simple living and conscious buying come with the territory for tiny home owners. / Practical Money pmsfl.us/2nnUfQS

If the housing bubble bursts, is the #US ready? / WEF wef.ch/2m0T9dq

Is it time to rethink gravity? / New Scientist ow.ly/LFXO309VNmf

The brain needs a moment to move on from mistakes. / Science News  ow.ly/1z8y309Wqcr

7 tips for developing a powerful data disaster plan / NetworkWorld  ow.ly/6TNg309WnU8

TRAPPIST-1 worlds are close enough for life to hop between them / New Scientist  bit.ly/2mJzE6g

DYK? More than 40,000 schools across the U.S. participate in #FarmtoSchool programs. / USDA ow.ly/6WCe309Rjwr

 

State Bank of Texas Acquires Seaway Bank & Trust: Black-Owned Banks Reduced To 20 Nationwide

The beginning of the year has not proven kind to African American owned banks in the past three years. To begin 2015, two African American owned banks closed their doors, followed by 2016 where North Milwaukee closed, and now Seaway Bank & Trust will exist in name only. Its deposits and assets were acquired in January 2017 by Sushil Patel, the president of the State Bank of Texas and part of the family that owns the acquiring bank. In an interview, Mr. Patel states on the potential dynamic of their ownership in the midst of the #BankBlack movement, “I’m not a black bank,” he says in an interview. “I’m not a white bank, but I’m definitely not a black bank.”

This means that within the last seven months as of January, $420 million in assets have been wiped from African American owned bank balance sheets. An amount that is equal to ten percent of all remaining African American owned bank assets. For perspective, US banks in total have approximately $15.3 trillion in assets. The loss of $1.5 trillion is an amount twice the initial size of the US bank bailout from the Great Recession. In other words, this hurts and it hurts bad.

For the full FDIC press release on Seaway Bank & Trust’s closure, click here.