Finance - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] Apple vs. Banks: The Digital-Wallet War

April 13, 2023

Since launching its digital payment system in 2014, Apple has steadily increased its market share in a space traditionally dominated by big banks. This video looks at how Apple Pay has frightened Wall Street stalwarts like JPMorgan Chase and caused financial institutions to expand their own digital payment efforts in order to compete.

Questions:

What advantages and disadvantages does Apple Pay have compared to traditional financial firms?
Do you prefer to pay with cards or digital platforms like Apple Pay?

Apple, Silicon Valley, Digital payments, Apple Pay, Debit cards, Currency, Finance, Credit Cards, Wall Street

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Videos

Banks Plan to Reduce or Eliminate Overdraft Fees

February 25, 2022

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In theory, overdraft fees charged by banks are meant to be a “convenience” for customers so that their purchases are not declined when they are unknowingly low on funds. In practice, however, these fees have become a major revenue generator for banks that charge an average of $33.58 for each overdraft. That means consumers can be hit with multiple fees if they accidentally make numerous purchases while past the limits of their account. Studies show that this practice particularly harms Continue reading →

Banking, Finance, Regulation, Legal, CFPB, Ethics, Overdraft fees

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

General Electric Is No Longer Listed on the Dow Jones

September 14, 2018

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For more than a century, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has tracked the stock market performance of the country’s largest publicly owned companies. And from the very beginning General Electric was an essential component of this distinguished group. As the years went by and the company expanded into all sorts of industries, its continued dominance of the business world appeared all but guaranteed.

Then came the 2008 financial crisis. The collapse of the housing market dealt an enormous blow to Continue reading →

Finance, Dow Jones, Stocks, General Electric

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 19: Securities Markets

How Private Funding Fuels Modern Corporations

April 17, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Earlier this month, the music streaming service Spotify went public on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation worth approximately $30 billion. And while that is certainly an enormous amount of money, it pales in comparison to the $93 billion that the Japanese telecom giant Softbank privately raised last year to create a technology investment fund. In the past, major IPOs such as Spotify’s tended to be the most dependable way for up-and-coming companies to receive a major infusion Continue reading →

Spotify, Capital, IPO, Finance, Regulation, Investing, Wall Street

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

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 →

Banking, Finance, Regulation, Legal, CFPB, Ethics

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

[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

Investment Bank UBS Switches to Open Offices

March 10, 2017

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Over the years, Silicon Valley startups have become famous for developing open work spaces free of personalized desks or big corner offices. The idea is to allow employees to gather together and collaborate rather than leave them enclosed in their cubicles. While other companies avoided this unconventional approach at first, more firms have switched to open offices as the concept has become more popular. Still, these companies have tended to be smaller operations as many big businesses remained skeptical that Continue reading →

Switzerland, Finance, Motivation, Open Offices, Global, UBS, Human Resources, Work Environment

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

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 →

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

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

[VIDEO] The Volcker Rule Explained

September 14, 2016

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The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ranks among the most important laws passed in recent history. It’s also extremely complicated, amounting to some 14,000 pages of various regulations and restrictions. The video below takes a look at one of the key provisions of this landmark bill: The Volcker Rule, or the stipulation that banks cannot act like hedge funds and gamble with their own cash reserves. Although reviled by many on Wall Street, supporters say the rule Continue reading →

Dodd-Frank, Wall Street, Volcker Rule, Finance, Regulation, Ethics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Videos

Trading Pits Become a Thing of the Past

July 30, 2015

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Trading commodities is a complicated business. Employees in the industry not only have to possess financial intelligence, they also must be able to seemingly predict the future based solely on projections and estimates. For years traders like these thrived in the “pits” of Chicago and New York’s stock exchanges, shouting about everything from livestock to produce as they searched for deals. These financial foot soldiers eventually became pop culture icons, with frantically yelling floor traders appearing in everything from serious Continue reading →

Human Resources, Innovation, Finance, Product Distribution, Wall Street

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 17: Accounting, Chapter 19: Securities Markets