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A current awareness resource for students & faculty members in Business & Economics


On the movie industry, as we approach Oscar night...

Published by Mark Bodnar

As I write this, there are just 8 days and 5 hours left until the 2016 Oscars begin.  (Well, the red carpet portion, anyhow, which I'm told is just as important as the suspense, satire, and speeches of the actual ceremony.)  Although, technically I guess they've already begun if you consider the fact that a quartet of V

Introducing WRDS Classroom!

Published by Mark Bodnar

Some welcome news from the folks behind WRDS, our interface for many financial/accounting datasets such as Compustat, CRSP, TAQ, and I/B/E/S: they've created Classroom Tools by WRDS.

Their description:

WRDS is pleased to announce the launch of WRDS Classroom, a valuable addition to WRDS that brings the power of our flagship platform to the classroom. 

In praise of the news (and of reading it!)

Stability: Simple line graph showing a flat (unchanging) line between past, present, and future.
Published by Mark Bodnar

Imagine for a second that our world was remarkably static.

No new products or services would ever be created, largely because no new consumer demands ever arose. Demographics & desires... demand & supply -- all unchanging.  Companies wouldn't be competing with each other through new ways of advertising, innovative distribution systems, and improved production methods, so they'd all have settled into whatever slice of market share they'd captured back in the days when things were more dynamic.

In such a world, incumbent companies in any given industry would, I suspect, be very hard to push aside. New companies and new solutions would be rare, if not nonexistent.

A companion for your journey into a new research area...

Published by Mark Bodnar

colourful line drawing of three books with smiling faces
When you're new to a particular subject area, there aren't many warmer words than "Companion" and "Handbook."

I picture a friendly sort of guidebook that will help me with the key information I need as I start to navigate my way through a new field, sort of like the dog-eared travel guides I carried during my global backpacking days.

Hold that image in your mind as you consider the value of our new online collection of...

<Read on for details.. and links!>

Canadian Classification of Institutional Units and Sectors (CCIUS) 2012

Published by Mark Bodnar

Semantics matter. 

We can't study, discuss, or understand anything until we agree on what to call it and how to define it.

I realize that may seem a trite truism, but the foundations of many of the most complex concepts are often formed of such simple principles. 

On Gary the Guppy and Google...

Published by Mark Bodnar

<Bear with me... I'm going somewhere with this...

Does a fish truly understand the water in which it swims?  

If H20 pervades the entire world of Gary the Guppy from the day he's born to the day he, well, turns belly up, does he ever consciously think about it at all?