THE BULL, BEAR & LION

VOL. II, NO. ii

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEYS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY & MIGRATION

OCTOBER 2015

THE FED,

BY KRISTEN TOWNEND
Masses of refugees are fleeing
Syria amidst violence from the nations
civil war. For Europe, this is the largest influx of migrants since the Second
World War. While some countries are
willing to take in those migrants at
their borders, others are overwhelmed.
Many European countries are
concerned that refugees will strain
resources. Turkey has already taken in
millions, burdening its economy. Issues will undoubtedly arise, as some
resources may deplete and others will
need to be shifted as populations
change. Michele Naples, Ph.D., a professor of economics at The College of
New Jersey, says this migration will
strain income support programs, as
many refugees will be seeking aid. Additionally, citizens who already reside
in these burgeoning areas may experi-

ence scarcity of demanded resources.

Some European countries already
have ongoing political or economic
struggles, such as Greece and its current debt crisis. These countries worry
that the need for more provisions will
produce additional difficulties. As areas become overburdened, groups of
refugees may move to seek better opportunities, and governments must
respond with aid programs in new
locations.
Others believe that the pros outweigh the cons. Historically, refugees
have been entrepreneurial and workoriented, and increased demand has
allowed earnings to surpass initial aid
costs. However, resource management
issues still persist. Dr. Naples states
that no morally sound alternative to
aiding these refugees exists, and that

they can contribute through cheap

labor. Their labor in low wage industries would help generate growth, but
in some nations, like Lebanon, a resource shortage has left many unable
to contribute. Prospects for growth
depend on the country, and whether
or not it can provide sufficient opportunities.
Host countries are most likely
facing a prolonged migration situation,
and while initial costs are large, they
can be manageable for some. In the
middle of these facts and figures, however, there are people simply seeking
normalcy. Countries whose infrastructure can handle this large adjustment
can help, and can possibly gain economic benefits in the future.

NEW ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT FACULTY:

DR. TREVOR OGRADY AND DR. RICHARD BAKER
BY KRISTEN BOROWSKI
Trevor OGrady, Ph.D., is one of
two new economics faculty to join
TCNJ. Dr. OGrady attended Rutgers
University earning his B.A. in Economics and Biology in 2006. He continued his education, earning his Ph.D.
in Economics and Environmental Science from the University of California
at Santa Barbara in 2013. He then became a Dan Searle Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Economics
at Harvard University. Some economic topics about which he enjoys studying include applied econometrics, public economics, and economic history.
He is currently working on a paper

encompassing the economy of the

American Frontier during the time
period of 1820-1940. Dr. OGrady is
currently teaching Applied Business
Statistics (ECO-231) here in the School
of Business. We welcome Dr. OGrady
and wish him the best of luck at TCNJ.
Richard B. Baker, Ph.D. is the second new economics faculty. Dr. Baker
earned a B.A. in Economics from
Clemson University, a M.A. in Political Economy from Boston University,
and a Ph.D. in Economics from Boston
University. Dr. Baker previously instructed economics courses at Vander-

bilt University. His research interests

include labor economics, development
economics, and applied econometrics.
He is currently working on a paper
regarding school funding in the South
during the first 40 years of the twentieth century. Dr. Baker is currently
teaching Principles of Microeconomics
(ECO-101). We welcome Dr. Baker
and wish him the best of luck at TCNJ.

Upcoming
Employer
Events
Fall Opportunities Fair
(Over 165 Employers in Attendance)
Friday, October 2: 11am-2pm
Student Rec Center
iCIMS Information Session
Tuesday, October 6: 6pm-7:30pm
Career Center (RW 102)
CIT Information Session
Wednesday, October 7: 6pm-8pm
Career Center (RW 102)
JP Morgan Chase Information Session
Thursday, October 8: 6pm-8pm
Business Building Lounge

TCNJ Career Center

609-771-2161;
career@tcnj.edu
Follow us on Twitter: @Bull_Bear_Lion

INTEREST
RATES,
AND THE

YEAR

AHEAD
BY JOANNA DICICCO
On Thursday, September 17, the
United States Federal Reserve bank held
a meeting in which the Committee made
the decision to keep the federal funds
rate between 0 to 0.25 %. This decision
aims to continue the efforts to move our
nation toward maximum employment
and stable prices.
The Fed released a statement soon
after that explained recent global economic and financial developments may
restrain economic activity somewhat and
are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term,
which further justifies their decision to
maintain the current rate. The Committee will decide how long to pursue this
decision based on factors such as labor
market conditions, indicators of inflation
pressure, inflation expectations, and financial and international developments.
According to the Committee the decision to raise the rate will be implemented when the labor market improves consistently and inflation moves back to a
reasonable level. This decision was made
by a majority vote of nine to one. The
lone dissenter, Mr. Jeffrey M. Lacker,
CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Richmond, believed that the federal
funds rate should be raised by a quarter
point. He backed his decision by stating
that such exceptionally low real interest
rates are unlikely to be appropriate for an
economy with persistently strong consumption growth and tightening labor
markets.
According to The New York Times
Federal Reserve chairwoman, Janet
Yellen, informed reporters that the central bank is not planning to wait much
longer to raise the rate, expecting that
the labor market and inflation conditions
were on their way to improvement. She
stated that fortunately, prospects for the
United States economy generally appear
solid. In addition to Yellen, 12 of the 17
Fed officials believe that the rates will be
raised at least one time before the end of
this year.
With the uncertainty of labor market
conditions, inflation, and disagreement
of the Fed officials, it is difficult to determine what the next decision will be. The
upcoming committee meetings are expected to be held on October 27 and 28
and December 15 and 16.

THE BULL, BEAR & LION

OCTOBER 2015

REVIEW: THE MORNING BREW

DAILY BUSINESS E-MAIL

BIG DATA PART II:

The Rise of the Data Scientist!
BY DAVID W. LETCHER, PH.D.
PROFESSOR EMERITUS

BY ALYSSA J FREITAS
In a time when we are continually
inundated with information and have
limitless access to media, it can be
overwhelming to approach the news
and stay updated on current events.
For those who wish to be informed on
all facets of business, welcome to the
daily email The Morning Brew. This
free subscription is delivered to your
inbox every weekday morning (when
the market is open) with an easy to
digest breakdown of business news and
events.
Starting off with the Market Corner you can quickly scan the movements of the S&P 500, NASDAQ,
DJIA, 10-Year Treasury, Gold, and Oil
(all so useful to keep you oriented to
the market but also great for class discussions). There is then a Market
Snapshot, Corporate Primer, and
Today in Tech section which gives

just the right amount of information

and includes links to other articles if
you want more details on the selected
stories. The newsletter also includes a
Water Cooler story that is great for
discussions with friends and coworkers.
The last, and highly valuable, section has a brain teaser/interview question to get your mind working for the
day, as well as a financial term defined,
and a Food for Thought headline
which is not necessarily business related.
While no replacement for reading a
more in-depth publication, The Morning Brew is a superb way to get you
oriented to the stories of the day and is
perfect for busy college students and
professionals alike. If youd like to subscribe visit : morningbrewdaily.com

SOLEDAD OBRIEN ON
WORKPLACE DIVERSITY
BY KRISTEN BOROWSKI
On September 30 The College of New
Jersey hosted Soledad OBrien, an award
winning journalist, to give a speech
about the topic of diversity.
Many students and members of the
community packed into Kendall Hall to
hear the former host of the CNN program, Starting Point, talk about diversity in the U.S., in her life, and in her
work.

Ms. OBrien (second from right) with students.

How does this lecture apply to

School of Business students? Although
we may not study many topics in the
fields of social science, given the exceptions of management and economics
courses, this topic is important. In the
near future most of us will be working
in an office. One day some of us will
own our own business. Our seniors will
soon be joining the workplace, and juniors will begin their internships. Com-

panies have become increasingly globalized and, because of this, we must learn
how to function in a cross-cultural
work environment.
I asked Ms. OBrien for her advice to
our students regarding what they can
expect in workplace climates. At the
end of the day the world is a diverse
place, Ms. OBrien said, we should
navigate that world. Ms. OBrien continued to describe how important it is
to listen to the stories people have to
tell. Engage in real conversations she
said, elaborating that we must learn to
listen to what people have to say in order to grow. Even if we do not agree,
which half of the time we will not, at
least we will be having a conversation.
This advice can be applied in many
contexts, most importantly in business.
If you do not ask questions; if you do
not foster creative, innovative environments; your career and business will
suffer. If we do not listen to the ideas of
colleagues and co-workers we may risk
losing the next million-dollar idea. The
bottom line: Do not feel compelled to
agree but give people the chance to
speak.

[See the August/September Edition

for Dr. Letchers first article in this
series.]
HPs half-page ad entitled Dream
big data on page A14 of the September
9th edition of The New York Times
showed that big data techniques analyze both structured and unstructured
data files. Last months issue of The
Bull, Bear & Lion stressed that the
ability to analyze unstructured data
files distinguishes big data from traditional data analysis. Remember, too,
that massive amounts of big data continue to flow into the countless number of business information systems.
Now we are witnessing the rapid
rise and importance of data scientists;
the people that businesses are searching for and hiring to do their required
complex analyses of big data files.
Todays data scientists show unique
traits and characteristics that are sorely
needed by businesses engaged in big
data projects.
First and foremost, they are scientists. Many authorities point out, however, that data scientists do not necessarily have to be active scientists in the
traditional areas of physics, mathematics, and biology. Although many current data scientists have backgrounds
and training in physics and mathematics, the real business need is for someone who has the ability to design and
conduct experiments, gather data, analyze that data and describe the results.
So undergraduates interested in pursuing a career in big data should not feel
they need to major in physics or math-

ematics or some such field.

Second and equally important, the
data scientist must have skills in coding
and computer programming. They
have to be competent in some programming languages so as to write a
wide variety of applications such as
algorithms. Examples of current programming languages used in big data
applications include scripting languages such as Phython, Hive, and Pig
(No kidding here!) as well as traditional languages such as R, C++, SAS and
SPSS.
A third trait, skill in quantitative
analysis, is not just reserved for the
data scientist. It has been a requirement of all business data analysts for
the last 50 years al least. But todays
data scientist is called upon to use
many new statistical and mathematical
techniques as well as data visualization
tools that were not around years ago.
Finally, two additional requirements for the data scientist are not
new and, indeed, have always been
valued by people in business: One is
the ability to work cooperatively with
others and communicate their findings
to their peers and management while
the other is having a full, deep
knowledge of how the business works.
Big data projects are big and expensive;
there has to be an effective focus on
how a big data project fits into the
goals and objectives of the business at
hand.
Where do data scientists get their
training? My next essay will answer
that question.

Is your School of Business club or

organization holding an event?

Do you need publicity?
FREE advertising space for the
November/December issue.

Salient World News

L i mi t e d s p a ce , c ont a ct

A Bulleted Brief

borowsk1@tcnj.edu

Alexis Tsipras regains PM position, government after

Greek elections, 9/21 Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn resigns amid fraudulent emissions data debacle Pope Francis visits Capitol, NYC, Phila. Pres. Obama meets with Xi
Jingping, Vladimir Putin, Raul Castro, ALL on separate occasions seventieth Session, UN General Assembly (General
Debate, 9/2810/3) Jeremy Corbyn becomes new leader of
UK Labour Party Upcoming GOP Primary Debate, 10/28
Follow us on Twitter: @Bull_Bear_Lion

THE BULL, BEAR & LION

The Student Newspaper of The College of New Jerseys School of Business
October 2015 ~ Volume II, Number ii

STAFF:
Editor-in-Chief
Kristen Borowski, 2017

Contributors
JoAnna DiCicco, 2017
Alyssa Freitas, 2017
Sarah Wallin, 2017
Kristen Townend, 2019

ADVISORS:
Patty Karlowitsch, Manager of
Operations, TCNJ School of
Business
Dr. Jean Brechman, Assistant
Professor, Marketing
Thank you to Dr. Letcher for
contributing to the Big Data series.

CONTACT:
Join our team! Write, take
photographs, or help manage
The Bull, Bear & Lion!

Write to Kristen Borowski:

b or ows k1@ tcnj. edu
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