SnoQap

Nov 19

Nov 19 The January Effect

In the world of investing, the basic questions investors want to know are, “Where should I put my money?” and “When should I invest?”. Within the financial world, entire departments inside banks, and even non-financial companies, are devoted to answering these two questions. Having the answers to these questions can yield significant returns on investment, and so firms put a great deal of time, money and effort into solving them. Not too long ago, the answer to the question of “when to invest?” may have had an answer. For decades investors observed an oddity in the market that reduced risk but occurred repeatedly. Unfortunately, it is largely believed this phenomenon no longer exists in our markets today. Despite this, it is still interesting to delve into the intricacies of such a lasting event.

Nov 17

Nov 17 The Risks and Rewards of Crypto Savings Accounts

Bobby Markus

Finance

In recent years, cryptocurrencies have received a lot of attention due to their projections of utilization in the near future. Some trade the assets for speculative, profit-driven short term intentions, while others truly believe crypto is the future and want to join the long-term movement in the beginning. Either way, many investors have benefitted from the exponential growth of the popular cryptocurrencies. Some investors have looked to see how they could amplify their returns even more through earning passive income on their crypto holdings. Cryptocurrency savings accounts have become popular among crypto investors due to their high returning yields on crypto assets that many investors already owned. These accounts are similar to traditional bank accounts in that they provide a platform for consumers to store their assets for future use and the institution lends it to borrowers, and in exchange investors earn interest on their deposits. Crypto savings accounts work a little differently from traditional bank accounts and credit unions, as there are many advantages and disadvantages of this new innovative product.

Nov 10

Nov 10 Why the use of fetal cell lines shouldn’t stop you from taking the COVID-19 vaccine

Aishwarya Selvaraman

Ethics

I want you to reflect back to the time when you found out you were allowed to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Did you feel relief knowing that you would be just a little bit safer from this awful pandemic? Or did you feel dread because you knew you had to choose whether you should take the vaccine or not? I can imagine that the vast majority of you probably felt relief seeing as [as of October 23rd, 2021] 57.2% [1] of the total US population is fully vaccinated. Despite being the majority, there is still a vast population of the US that is still not vaccinated. This may seem reprehensible to you, or you may be the person who is still trying to decide whether to be vaccinated or not. In any case, I think it is important to take the time to consider why making that leap might be very easy for some and unbelievably difficult for others.

Nov 8

Nov 8 ESG: From Boom to Doom

Salonee Farreo

Investing

The ESG boom has rapidly expanded over the years growing to a $35 trillion global market set to reach $53 trillion by 2025 (Diab & Adams, 2021). More and more investors are riding the wave of evaluating investment opportunities by taking into account environmental, social, and governance factors alongside traditional financial metrics. However, a look beyond the surface depicts a different story of corruption masquerading as social responsibility.

Oct 29

Oct 29 Indebted Eight-Year Olds

Peyton Stanley

Personal Finance

It used to be that one of the main initiations into adulthood was opening up a checking account in your late teens or early twenties. All those years of begging your parents for their spare change so you could buy a soft pretzel at the mall with your friends or pestering them to make the payment for your annual summer camp were now gone. Like cell phones and other maturing privileges, the timeline to receiving a debit card has been sped up as well. Now, companies across the country are extending their services to children of all ages. With this early start to banking, parents and bankers are also faced with unforeseen risks as children begin to swipe their cards.

Oct 22

Oct 22 Single-Cell Sequencing: The Power of One Cell

Shraiy Gupta

Science & Nature

For just a moment, take a look at yourself. You are made up of anywhere from 1012 to 1016 cells [1]. Each one of them working together endlessly to help you breathe, read, eat, sleep, and walk. But if we take a closer look, and analyze a single cell, we find that there is a completely other story to tell. We like to think that all of our cells are the same, but that simply isn’t the case. Even within a single tissue, the cell population is heterogeneous, due in large part to the high mutation rate in DNA replication. Of course, that isn’t anything to be concerned about. Mutations occur throughout the body. On average, the human body creates 37 million mutations throughout all of its cells [4]. Some, such as silent mutations, are called silent because they have no effect on the body. Other mutations, which may not be silent, still do not necessarily pose an immediate threat. About 99% of the human genome is noncoding, which means our body has no use for it, so if there is a mutation there, it has no effect on us [2]. This is because there are several ways to code for the same protein in the body. Along with that, since most of the genome is non-coding, there is a higher chance of a mutation occurring in a section of the genetic code that humans don’t use. With that being said, the mutations and variations in the genetic code of a single cell can unlock a series of scientific answers about cell lineage and evolution.

Oct 20

Oct 20 Guaranteed Income Fighting Against Technological Unemployment

Juan Dufour

Economics, Macroeconomic Policy

Gloomy reports and predictions that technological advances will beget massive job displacements throughout the worldwide economy in the upcoming years have caused disquiet among many individuals. Technological advances will enhance productivity and lower prices, at the cost of high unemployment and consequently poverty caused by the lack of income to those unemployed. Artificial intelligence and robotics are expanding into transportation, manufacturing, retail, medical diagnosis, translation services, legal research, banking, financial services, and many other areas. A paper by the University of Oxford predicts that about 47% of contemporary US jobs will be automated out of existence in the near future (Frey & Osborne, 2017); and McKinsey reports that one out of three American workers are at risk of losing their jobs to new technologies (Manyika et al., 2019). This is not only a domestic issue, but a global one. That same McKinsey study asserts that 800 million jobs globally are at risk; and according to The National Bureau of Economic Research, increased adoption of robots in the US decreases employment and earnings for foreign workers as well (Kugler et al., 2020). Undoubtedly, technology will disrupt employment. Ideas on how to fight back are developing among academic circles and political parties. The most prevailing idea is that of guaranteed income. We shall examine this idea. According to economic literature, a guaranteed income program has (i) a positive financial, emotional, and physical impact, (ii) but a negative labor force impact. Further, forms of guaranteed income programs vary greatly in design, ranging from a Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) to a Universal Basic Income (UBI), to a Negative Income Tax (NIT). We shall define each program, identify if they are useful in fighting technological unemployment and poverty, and determine which would be the most effective.

Oct 11

Oct 11 Viewing the World Through Complex Adaptive Systems

Samuel Jaffe

Science & Nature

Small differences can lead to large consequences or change outcomes. A popular example of this is that a butterfly could flap its wings in New York and the next day in Tokyo there will be rain instead of sunshine. This phenomenon is commonly known as the ‘Butterfly Effect’ and it highlights the relationship between minute conditions and ending outcomes within a system. Although interesting, the Butterfly Effect is only a piece in the puzzle of understanding our greater world. A larger piece to the puzzle, but by no means the complete picture, are Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). If the Butterfly Effect represents the relationship in a system, then a CAS is the system itself.

Oct 1

Oct 1 ESG: The Future of Investing

Peyton Stanley

Investing

As society moves towards more sustainable measures and public consciousness increases, ESG components will become more prevalent and a determinant in investing. Pivotal investment companies, such as Morgan Stanley, are already prioritizing ESG in their strategies and integrating monetized measurements to provide a competitive advantage. Currently, ESG proceedings are primarily symbolic over substantive. Many ESG topics will not have prompt impact but over time, companies can reap the benefits from the longevity of their ESG investments (Insights, 2020). However, as research and technology prevail and society looks forward, tangible initiatives will transpire and ESG investing will promise a future edge for progressive investors.

Sep 29

Sep 29 Risk Mismanagement

Alex Naimo

Investing

Since closing at an all-time high share price of $100.28 on March 22nd, 2021, shares of Viacom CBS (VIACA) ripped down to an intraday low of $40.78 on March 26th. Similarly, after reaching a 52-week high of $78.14 on March 19th, Discovery (DISCA) shares shaved off nearly 27%, reaching an intraday low of $41.90 on March 26th. Chinese-domiciled companies trading in the US markets such as Baidu (BIDU) and Tencent (TME) wiped off 33.5% and 48.5% on March 26th, respectively. With the unusual share price action in otherwise strong corporations in a recently smooth-sailing capital market environment, reports quickly swirled. Most of the discussion linked to large amounts of block trades placed on each of the aforementioned equities by Archegos Capital Management, a former hedge-fund turned family office run by Bill Hwang. (#1Davies et al., 2021). Initially, the propensity and velocity in the price moves of the stocks were alarming. However, $10 Billion total in losses, the wiping out of a global investment banks risk division, and an ultimate mismanagement of risk are the most alarming aspects in the Archegos Capital Management scandal. This has led the shareholders of banks involved to question why the trades blew up, and how to ensure a situation like this does not unfold in the future.