The Economics behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Coming off a much-hyped phase 4 announcement and a record-breaking end to phase 3 with Avengers: Endgame, The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is on a roll like no other. Not many expected this back in 2008, but with a few macroeconomic strokes of luck, the MCU has changed the face of the box-office.
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Is Big Data Really that Big a Deal?
Over the past twenty years, there has been a tremendous increase in the utilizable and interpretable data available to companies. This has led to an arms race amongst investors to gain an informational edge. Business managers have started using collection software and data analysis techniques to look beyond the purely-financial data and gain deeper insights about their customers and business. While many investors are aware of using social media and web scraping to gauge customers’ views on businesses and their products, hedge funds and asset managers have also started using alternative data such as credit card receipts and geolocation because of its potential to achieving higher alpha. So what is alternative data and does it really provide investors with an advantage when making investing decisions?
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Playing the Game: Investing in eSports
99,600,000. That’s how many unique viewers tuned in to the 2018 League of Legends eSports Finals, a viewership on par with the Super Bowl. With the advent of video game live streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming, a rapidly developing culture centered around competitive video games challenges the age-old status quo of the sporting world and creates new opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs.Continue Reading
Climate Change and Inequality: A Vicious Cycle
As the costs of climate change mount. policy-makers and environmentalists alike are struggling to find solutions. What is often overlooked through this process, however, is the impact of climate policy on inequality.
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Disintermediation of the Doggy-Doctor Relationship: Following the Puppy Profit
The business of selling things for pets has always been that of selling things to people. In the U.S., money spent on pets has more than doubled in the past decade, and these increases have spurred new products, services, and business models. Continue Reading
The Housing Crisis & Its Implications
In response to the housing crisis Berkeley experienced seventy-five years ago, former UC President Robert Gordon Sproul stated that “The gravity of the situation cannot be overemphasized.” …Continue Reading
Playing the System: Financial Aid Fraud
With more than $150 billion in aid distributed each year, does the money truly make it into the hands of America’s scholars? …
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The Year of the Unicorn
Unicorns – the venture capital backed startups that graze throughout Silicon Valley – were once an endangered species. However, this year they have begun to appear everywhere with a record number of companies filing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO)…Continue Reading
Can’t You See We’re All Shortsighted?
It is undeniable that we all suffer from myopia. In the span of a single day, we face a multitude of decisions, and yet, more often than not, we end up making the “wrong” choice. ..Continue Reading
How Co-Working Spaces Can Help Startups Bloom
How do you find a place to not only run your startup business but also meet your customers? A place with comfortable meeting rooms at a low cost?…Continue Reading