Economic Crisis Wallops Business Grads

Overseas opportunities lure MBAs away from Wall Street

(NEWSER) - Exports of American business school graduates are soaring as the recession turns grads away from the traditional path to Wall Street. Taking a post abroad generally means a lower salary, but grads from some of the country's top business schools say the career boost from working in thriving foreign economies can more than make up for it, Newsweek reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Executives have taken a lot of blame for the financial crisis, whether for focusing on short-term gains in stock price or placing too much faith in ultra-complex financial instruments, writes Bradford Plumer for the New Republic. But what about the business schools that taught them to manage that way in the first place? With Wall Street in ruins, MBA programs are re-examining priorities. More»

More adult children are moving in with parents

(NEWSER) - A bleak job market and skyrocketing rents have college grads—even working adults—boomeranging back to their childhood homes, something that's fast losing its social stigma, the Boston Globe reports. About half of adults ages 18 and 24 live with their parents. More»

Firms descend on Washington to work on the bailout

(NEWSER) - With Washington the focal point of the financial crisis, consulting, real estate, and legal firms are moving from New York to DC, the Washington Post reports. Financial firms see vast opportunities to advise DC companies on the bailout bill and fight for Treasury contracts. Why relocate? “Our business is a people business. It is important to be accessible to the people you're working for,” notes an investment banker. More»

Insurance giant's dependence on computer predictions made situation far worse

(NEWSER) - “All I can say is beware of geeks bearing formulas,” Warren Buffett once said. AIG didn’t heed his advice. The huge insurer bet tens of billions on credit-default swaps, guided by imperfect risk-assessment models created by a moonlighting finance professor, the Wall Street Journal reports. AIG knew Gary Gorton’s models left out many market forces, but followed them anyway. More»