Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

The Price of Bitcoin Is Going Bonkers

December 8, 2017

Over the last few months, we’ve posted a couple of stories about Bitcoin’s enormous gains in 2017. First we marveled at how the cryptocurrency’s value had risen to $4,000 in August after starting the year at just $985. By November, a single Bitcoin became worth more than $7,200. Since then the cryptocurrency has climbed even higher while also experiencing some major fluctuations. Last night, for instance, Bitcoin’s value reached a record high of $17,153 before eventually falling to around Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Ethics, Currency, Sustainability, Bitcoin

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] Bitcoin, Blockchains, and the Future of Money

November 3, 2017

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When we took a look at Bitcoin in August, the cryptocurrency had just reached a record value of more than $4,000. Since then it has only continued to grow in worth, topping out $7,200 this week. Many experts now say that Bitcoin and other blockchain-based currencies could be the future of money, even though most consumers have no clue how they work. This longform video tries to remedy that problem by comparing Bitcoin with the stone ring currency system used Continue reading →

Innovation, Currency, Global, Bitcoin, Ethics, Blockchain

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

Congress Eliminates Law that Lets Consumers Sue Banks

October 31, 2017

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In the past year we’ve featured a few stories about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and how it aims to keep consumers safe from predatory business practices. From collecting consumer complaints to limiting the power of payday lenders, the CFPB was formed to put regular people on somewhat equal footing with big companies. Still, not everyone sees the relatively new government agency this way. Opponents claim the CFPB has too much power to regulate businesses, thus harming both companies Continue reading →

Finance, Regulation, Legal, CFPB, Ethics, Banking

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

New Rules Seek to Limit the Power of Payday Lenders

October 10, 2017

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Each year some 12 million Americans take out a payday loan in order to get cash fast. But just because these borrowers can receive a quick injection of capital doesn’t mean they can pay it back with comparable speed. Many people who take out a payday loan end up drowning in a flood of loan fees and high interest rates. Last year alone the industry collected more than $7 billion in fees from customers. Borrowers can become so overwhelmed by Continue reading →

Product Development, Regulation, Financing, Ethics, Payday loans, CFPB

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Bitcoin Users Become Targets for Hackers

August 22, 2017

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When Bitcoin launched in 2008, a single unit of the mysterious cryptocurrency was worth just a little more than half a cent. Bitcoin’s value remained under a dollar for years afterward, leading many to wonder why anyone would invest in a strange new currency that couldn’t be controlled by any government or company. Besides being seemingly worthless, Bitcoin also operated through a decentralized network of computers whose owner was impossible to verify. This anonymity extended to Bitcoin’s users as well, Continue reading →

Cyberattack, Bitcoin, Innovation, Currency, Security, Smartphones, Ethics, Mobile

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] Stress Test: What Is Bank Capital?

August 4, 2017

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Since the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, banks have been required to keep a certain amount of cash on hand relative to their assets. Legislators put the rule in place so that institutions would have enough money in their vaults to bail themselves out in the event of another credit crisis. This video explains the concept of bank capital and why these regulations have caused some frustration in the finance industry.

Questions:

Why are banks required to keep Continue reading →

Banking, Finance, Regulation, Economics, Dodd-Frank, Capital

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Videos

[VIDEO] How the Federal Reserve Works

June 23, 2017

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When the economy was on the verge of collapse due to the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve dropped interest rates to zero in an effort to get money moving around again. The economy is not in such dire straits now, of course, so the Fed has once again returned to raising rates gradually. This video quickly reviews how the Fed works and demonstrates the ways that the central bank affects the nation’s money supply.

Questions:

What are the Continue reading →

Banking, Federal Reserve, Interest Rates, Money Supply, 2008 Financial Crisis, Economics

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Videos

The Tricky Relationship Between Bankers and Regulators

April 27, 2017

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

The 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform act stands as one of the most complicated pieces of legislation ever devised. The law includes more than 22,000 pages of rules, which is equivalent to about 15 copies of Tolstoy’s epic novel War and Peace. These guidelines tell banks how much money they must set aside, how they can advertise, what sort of investments they can make, and many other stipulations and requirements.

As you can imagine, keeping track of all those regulations Continue reading →

Ethics, Banking, Human Resources, Regulation, Dodd-Frank, Wall Street, Wells Fargo, Compliance

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter C: Managing Risk

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Collection of Complaints

February 23, 2017

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Formed in 2011 with the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau aims to keep citizens safe from unfair or deceptive practices by businesses. One of the ways the government organization accomplishes this task is by maintaining a database of complaints made by consumers against companies. And people have certainly taken advantage of this service since its creation two years ago. In that time, the CFPB has received more than 700,000 complaints aimed primarily at Continue reading →

CFPB, Consumer Protection, Finance, Regulation, Security, Dodd-Frank, Wall Street

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Record Number of Small Business Owners Sold Their Companies in 2016

January 17, 2017

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Running a small business takes a huge amount of work, so it’s not surprising that some entrepreneurs are more than happy to sell their companies if the right offer comes around. And according to data-tracking site BizBuySell, nearly 8,000 businesses did exactly that in 2016. This represents the largest number of small firms sold in a single year since data started getting collected in 2007.

But that doesn’t mean these companies were in financial trouble and needed outside buyers to Continue reading →

Management, Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Growth, Buyouts, Baby Boomers

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions