Month: December 2012

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Shadow banking: Help is on the Way

 

Despite being recognized as a primary culprit of the financial crisis, shadow banking has continued to flourish. According to the Financial Stability Board (FSB), shadow banking has grown since the onset of the crisis from $62 trillion in 2007 to $67 trillion[i]. Fortunately, the FSB plans to release regulatory recommendations by the end of the year. This article will summarize the risks inherent with shadow banking, the effects of the Dodd-Frank Act, and possible reforms designed to mitigate these risks and any inadequacies of Dodd-Frank.


Shadow banking refers to largely unregulated bank-like activities performed outside of the traditional banking sector by non-bank financial institutions (NBFI). NBFI include: hedge funds, investment banks, money market funds, and other devices that aggregate and hold financial assets. Banks engage in financial intermediation between savers and lenders by using deposits to finance long-term assets, including loans and mortgages. This conversion of short-term … Read the rest

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3 1 / 2 Job Hiring Practices That Can Skew Your Qualifications

 


Hiring practices have come a long way over the past century. There are now stringent laws which prevent hiring discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.[1] As a result, when an individual submits a job application, they should be evaluated based on their qualifications. Unfortunately, there are still hiring practices that may prevent a qualified person from acquiring a job.

 

1. Excluding the Unemployed

Some employers advertise that the unemployed need not apply.[2] It is absurd, however, to say that being unemployed can make someone unqualified to work without taking other factors into account. Accordingly, this hiring practice is banned in some states[3] and has a federal platform against it.[4] Furthermore, this hiring practice disproportionately impacts African Americans, mothers returning to the workforce, and older workers.[5]… Read the rest

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Weeding out the Odds: Analysis of Oregon and Washington’s Constitutional Amendments to Legalize Recreational Use of Marijuana

 

 

Far away in the backdrop of the 2012 Presidential election, laid a secondary story that would make for primetime headlines on any other given day. That particular secondary story was none other than the states of Colorado and Washington successfully passing constitutional amendments that legalized recreational use of marijuana.  Unlike California and fifteen other states, citizens in Colorado and Washington will not be required to have a medical prescription from a physician to legally possess marijuana.[i] Instead, personal possession of up to an ounce of marijuana will be legal for anyone who is 21 years of age or older.[ii] Though the passing of the law reflects a growing national support for measures that either legalize the drug or aim to reduce the criminal punishments associated with it, federal law still dictates that marijuana is an illegal substance.  Consequently, who wins? Does the argument of … Read the rest