Thursday, January 9

BUSINESS

Super Bowl Ad Experience The Transformation
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BUSINESS

Super Bowl Ad Experience The Transformation

In an era of increasing media fragmentation, you could describe the Super Bowl as the only annual media event where a substantial portion of the U.S. population gathers at the same time to watch the same thing: Over 100 million people tune in, and a good portion say the ads are the main reason they’re watching in the first place. For these reasons, the Super Bowl is the granddaddy of all ad buys. But in recent years, the tradition of millions of people simultaneously sharing the same commercial experience has become more complicated. As I discuss in my new book, advertisers are leveraging new technologies to track our personal habits and target us with individualized advertising. In other words, they want to make sure the ads we see are aligned with our existing tastes and preferences. ...
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The Anonymity Of Redditors Who Discussed GameStop Stock Will Likely Be Protected By The First Amendment
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BUSINESS

The Anonymity Of Redditors Who Discussed GameStop Stock Will Likely Be Protected By The First Amendment

GameStop, the video game retail chain, saw its stock rise as much as 1,800% in January 2021 after fans, who believe the stock was unfairly devalued by large investors, championed the stock’s purchase. Because WallStreetBets, an online group on the social news platform Reddit, generated intense interest in the stock, some financial experts have speculated as to whether the group engaged in market manipulation – that is, engaging in deceptive speech or stock purchasing tactics to artificially inflate the price of a stock. Experts also wonder whether the commission-free investment app Robinhood engaged in improper behavior when it restricted buyers’ ability to purchase GameStop shares, resulting in their subsequent decline. As a law professor who teaches classes on the First Amendment, I f...
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The Headlines Ignores Millions Of Unemployed People – Here’s A Better Way To Tell How Many Need A Job
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BUSINESS

The Headlines Ignores Millions Of Unemployed People – Here’s A Better Way To Tell How Many Need A Job

Many economists would agree that the official U.S. unemployment rate is an inadequate measure of actual labor market conditions. Although this is one of the most cited pieces of data on the economy as a whole, not many people understand how this indicator is calculated and who is and – more importantly – who isn’t included in it.   CC BY-NC-ND As a labor economist, I believe it’s important for more Americans to take a closer look under the hood to get a more accurate view of U.S. unemployment. What’s the unemployment rate? Unemployment is usually described in newspaper or television reports as a percentage or a rate. An article might declare, for example, that the U.S. unemployment rate fell from 6.7% in December to 6.3% in January, according to the latest jobs report released Feb....
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Essential To Keeping Capitalism From Crashing – Wall Street Isn’t Just A Casino Where Traders Can Bet On GameStop And Other Stocks
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BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

Essential To Keeping Capitalism From Crashing – Wall Street Isn’t Just A Casino Where Traders Can Bet On GameStop And Other Stocks

Shares of GameStop and other companies or assets that shot up in value in recent weeks are now dropping like stones. While I feel sorry for the many investors who will likely lose a lot of money, the stocks’ return to Earth is actually a good thing – if you want to avoid financial meltdown to the long list of crises the U.S. is facing. The reason has to do with what financial markets are – and what they are not – as well as what happens when prices of stocks and other securities become untethered from the fundamental value of the assets they’re meant to represent. As a finance professor who does research on how markets respond to new information, I believe it is important to maintain a close link between security prices and fundamentals. When that stops happening, a market collapse may b...
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Jeff Bezos Is Stepping Down From Amazon
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BUSINESS

Jeff Bezos Is Stepping Down From Amazon

Amazon announced Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO almost 27 years after he founded the company to sell books to customers over dial-up modems. Amazon wasn’t the first bookstore to sell online, but it wanted to be “Earth’s biggest.” When it first launched, a bell would ring in the company’s Seattle headquarters every time an order was placed. Within weeks, the bell was ringing so frequently employees had to turn it off. But Bezos – who will remain at the company – set his sights on making it an “everything store.” After achieving dominance in retail, the company would go on to become a sprawling and powerful global conglomerate in numerous lines of business. Today, Amazon is the third-most valuable U.S. company – behind Apple and Microsoft – with a market capitalization of around US$1....
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If They Know Many Others Are Already Doing It People Become Less Likely To Contribute To A Virtual Public Good Like Wikipedia Or Waze
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BUSINESS

If They Know Many Others Are Already Doing It People Become Less Likely To Contribute To A Virtual Public Good Like Wikipedia Or Waze

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea While people tend to contribute more to a virtual public good if they see others doing the same, this effect reverses if they become aware too many people are participating, according to research that I conducted over the summer. Public goods are things that many people share. They can be physical, such as highways, clean air and blood banks, or virtual, like a free online encyclopedia or mobile traffic app. Combining methods from geography, urban planning and big-data analysis, my co-authors and I studied millions of postings by users of a mobile navigation app called Waze, in which users voluntarily post traffic-related updates and road conditions in real time. All users of the app benefit as more of them f...
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Questions Answered – Why GameStop Shares Stopped Trading
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BUSINESS

Questions Answered – Why GameStop Shares Stopped Trading

GameStop stock resumed its dramatic ascent after a popular no-fee online broker said it would lift restrictions on trading its shares. In recent days, frenzied activity in the video game retailer’s stock led the New York Stock Exchange to briefly halt trading multiple times, while Robinhood and other brokers restricted purchases of GameStop. That prompted outrage among some lawmakers and investors, leading to calls for investigations in Washington. Jena Martin, a law professor who studies securities regulation, explains what’s going on, why trading is sometimes restricted and how to tell if it’s a sign of any funny business. 1. What prompts trading in a stock to be halted? Typically, there are two reasons that an exchange might stop trading in a stock. The first occurs when an exchange – o...
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Increasing Fuel Efficiency Matters More Than Selling Electric Vehicles, To Make The US Auto Fleet Greener
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BUSINESS, VIDEO REELS

Increasing Fuel Efficiency Matters More Than Selling Electric Vehicles, To Make The US Auto Fleet Greener

President Biden has proposed ambitious goals for curbing climate change and investing in a cleaner U.S. economy. One critical sector is transportation, which generates 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions – more than either electric power production or industry. Shifting from cars that run on gasoline and diesel to electric vehicles, or EVs, is a key strategy to address transportation’s contribution to global warming. Industry watchers expect big federal investments in charging stations and tax credits for electric cars. But as Biden’s Day One executive order on climate and the environment recognized, an even greater priority is making gasoline vehicles more fuel-efficient. My research focuses on energy problems, including transportation and climate change. I believe though EVs are impor...
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COVID-19 Won’t Kill Cities – Why?
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BUSINESS, COVID-19

COVID-19 Won’t Kill Cities – Why?

For those of you who live in cities, ask yourself: What it is about your urban lifestyle that makes it worth it despite the pollution, the noise and the traffic? Perhaps it’s the hundreds of unique restaurants that you like to dine at. Or the density that fosters a vibrant night life and cosmopolitan cultural scene. Maybe it’s the parks, the museums, the tall buildings, the mass transit. What if much of that went away? Would you still want to live there? That possibility is worrying many as the pandemic chips away at the foundations of much of what makes cities special. Restaurants, small businesses and even big brand-name retail chains are closing in record numbers. Mass transit systems, like New York City’s, are warning of severe cuts in service if they don’t get aid soon as state and ...
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I Think Big Tech Should Be Left Alone – And I’m A First Amendment Scholar
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BUSINESS

I Think Big Tech Should Be Left Alone – And I’m A First Amendment Scholar

Twitter’s banning of Trump – an action also taken by other social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat – has opened a fierce debate about freedom of expression and who, if anyone, should control it in the United States. I’ve written and taught about this fundamental issue for decades. I’m a staunch proponent of the First Amendment. Yet I’m perfectly OK with Trump’s ban, for reasons legal, philosophical and moral. The ‘spirit’ of the First Amendment To begin, it’s important to point out what kind of freedom of expression the First Amendment and its extension to local government via the Fourteenth Amendment protect. The Supreme Court, through various decisions, has ruled that the government cannot restrict speech, the press and other forms of communications ...
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