markets
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We previously established that the reality of scarcity invalidates Marx's core idea of superabundance, and mortally wounds his theory. Certainly, his historical predictions about worker-led socialist revolutions around the world were off-mark. Today, Professor Shapiro presents more of the shortcomings of the Marxian tradition. These include Marx's failure to account for the ability of the state to buttress capitalism and stave off the cond...more
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Professor Geanakoplos explains how, as a mathematical economist, he became interested in the practical world of mortgage securities, and how he became the Head of Fixed Income Securities at Kidder Peabody, and then one of six founding partners of Ellington Capital Management. During that time Kidder Peabody became the biggest issuer of collateralized mortgage obligations, and Ellington became the biggest mortgage hedge fund. He describes s...more
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Options introduce an essential nonlineary into portfolio management. They are contracts between buyers and writers, who agree on exercise prices and dates at which the buyer can buy or sell the underlying (such as a stock). Options are priced based on the price and volatility of the underlying asset as well as the duration of the option contract. The Black-Scholes options pricing model is one of the most famous equations in finance and off...more
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Most people are not very good at dealing in financial markets. Professional money managers, such as financial advisors and financial planners, assist individuals in matters of personal finance. FINRA and the SEC monitor the activities of these managers in order to protect individual investors. Mutual funds, exchange traded funds also exist to assist individual investments, and pension funds provide further services. These investment instit...more
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This lecture explains what an economic model is, and why it allows for counterfactual reasoning and often yields paradoxical conclusions. Typically, equilibrium is defined as the solution to a system of simultaneous equations. The most important economic model is that of supply and demand in one market, which was understood to some extent by the ancient Greeks and even by Shakespeare. That model accurately fits the experiment from the last...more
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Donna Novitsky illuminates the operational differences between a Venture Capitalist (VC) and an entrepreneur. She contrasts them from her personal experiences. She broadly talks about three differentiating operating nodes - strategy versus execution, technology versus team building and diversity versus singular focus. Novitsky mentions that a VCs judge markets, people and technology. An entrepreneur is an expert in a field and has to dive ...more
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eBay is in 28 countries and the company is looking into cost effective ways to enter new markets, says Reedy. PayPal will attack Europe next year. Typically, eBay, being global, can enter new countries easily; in the case of PayPal it will take more effort. When making an acquisition eBay lets the business strategy define the process or platform. Over time they look for ways to move the country onto the platform as long as it does not put ...more
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How do investors gauge whether a company is one from a pool of thousands worth their resources? KPCB parter Beth Seidenberg shares her firm's five measures for financial fortitude. In this clip, she outlines leadership, and how this is the most important talisman of a growing enterprise's success. In addition, she discusses the importance of large, fast-growing, under-served markets, and KPCB's willingness to take risk with new technologie...more
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Tech companies deposit about seven times the amount that they borrow. And at Silicon Valley Bank, recalls CEO Ken Wilcox, the methodology his venture has used to invest these excess deposits is a micro-history of commercial banking itself. Learn the lessons of the bank's lending in the 1980's to 1990's, and its investment in real estate developers and under-served niche markets. Learn also how these plans failed to provide financial stabi...more
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The major market for the AIDS vaccine is in the developing world, says Francis, but there is significant demand in the United States with 40,000 new cases a year. There are a lot of unknowns in the business climate in the United States affecting the profitability of a vaccine. It is difficult to encourage investment when a blockbuster drugs would have a much higher rate of return, he adds.
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In addition to a suite of banking products, a financial institution for a growing business offers numerous other services, says Silicon Valley Bank CEO Ken Wilcox. Way beyond simple checking and savings, a great commercial bank can offer a network of resources, such as advice on the logistics of company formation. And far beyond money management, the bank offers a powerful Rolodex of indispensable capital resources, a slew of service provi...more
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Medtronic, Boston Scientific, and Johnson & Johnson all began as single-product ventures, says Mir Imran, CEO of InCube Labs and serial entrepreneur of medical devices. And while the medical community is rife with single-product ventures, a few of them do go on to become large enterprises offering a suite of products in multiple markets. What sets the bar for each venture? The market viability for each product they produce.
