All Posts – Page 12 – Vanderbilt Business Review

Nov

08

2020

6 Ways to Become a More Sustainable Consumer

All Posts, Sustainability

By: Jaime Svinth Consumerism-- we all do it, we all make a living off of it, and, quite frankly, our economy runs because of it. But, it’s 2020, and it’s time to get smart with our consumerism. When it comes to supporting the good of our world- both its people and the environment- we all can contribute, one dollar at a time. However, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with knowing where to begin making sustainable choices. For some of us, we have already shifted towards supporting more ethical brands and ditching plastic straws, but, for others, it can be difficult…

Nov

07

2020

By Trevor Jones

Nuclear Energy: The Bridge to a Cleaner Future

All Posts, Sustainability

By: Trevor Jones When you read the headline of this article, what came to mind? Giant Simpsons-esque cooling towers looming over an indistinct grey building? People’s homes and lives crumbling away because of the Chernobyl disaster? Overly complex diagrams of atoms and blueprints of a maze of machinery? For as long as it has existed, nuclear energy has been cloaked in mystery and fear, becoming a polarizing political issue worldwide. The argument against nuclear energy is more than valid: the looming risk of an accident and nuclear waste’s impact on the environment are the two most common reasons to oppose…

Nov

07

2020

By Anton Kozyrev

Shunned by the West, Huawei explores alternative paths

All Posts, Industries

By: Anton Kozyrev With the ever-escalating trade war with the People’s Republic of China, crackdowns on Chinese companies and entities are on the rise. Technological behemoth Huawei Technologies is no different. Within the past year, many Western governments have declared Huawei an agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and have therefore taken strong stances in order to restrict Huawei’s access to broader markets. In fact, the BBC reported in an October 8, 2020 article by Gordon Corera titled “Huawei: MPs claim ‘clear evidence of collusion’ with Chinese Communist Party,” various European parliamentary committees have continued to assert the existence…

Nov

02

2020

By Rohan Upadhyay

4 Steps to Beat Climate Change

All Posts, Sustainability

By: Rohan Upadhyay How to leverage the economy to fight climate change How do we beat climate change in a cost-efficient way? Addressing climate change is ethically correct. But people are concerned that jobs could be lost and the debt could grow from throwing lots of resources at the problem. What’s the answer? Liberals support the Green New Deal — a bold proposal to fight climate change and rebuild US infrastructure (among other things) with $16.3 trillion of government investment over about 10 to 15-years. The proposal means well and has some points about how it will pay for itself.…

Oct

03

2020

By Matthew Jean-Mary

The Sucky Word “Performative”

All Posts, Sustainability

Blackstone has recently made a commitment to cut emissions by 15% on investments within the first 3 years of its purchase. For those who are not familiar with Blackstone, it is an investment firm and is one of the largest owners of real estate anywhere on the planet. Blackstone plans to hold itself accountable, by closely charting its process going forward. While this is a big step for a big firm to take, it's certainly been a trend in the investment industry. Organizations such as UBS, Credit Suisse, and Morgan Stanley all have made their own large commitments to having…

Oct

03

2020

By Gabriel Hinojosa

Robinhood Changing the Game for Young Traders

All Posts, Industries

Stock trading was never really a young person’s game; in fact, stock trading was never free, at least not until now. The rise of the smart-phone and the digitization of our lives has changed everything from the way we shop to the way we trade stocks. Ten years ago, it was rare to see 20 year olds trading, now you can ask almost any group of friends and at least one of them will say they know someone trading stocks. Stock trading has opened up to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and ages for one sole reason: free mobile stock…

Oct

02

2020

By Maxwell Qian

The Great Moderation: Why Monetary Policy Matters

All Posts, Economy and Government

During the 1970s, the United States suffered from double-digit inflation, rising unemployment, and bleak economic prospects. Declining domestic industry and increasing global competition sowed the seeds of doubt in American minds and the OPEC oil embargo shook the economy to its core. The crisis culminated in a period of stagflation, a stagnant economy ill with both high unemployment and inflation. Monetary policy and the Federal Reserve had failed in both of their mandates: full employment and price stability. The global monetary order created by the Bretton-Woods agreement collapsed and the US found itself forced to detach the dollar from the…

Sep

19

2020

By Gabriel Hinojosa

Want a Student Loan? Now’s the Time!

All Posts, Economy and Government

The U.S. economy has drastically changed ever since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses shuttered, teleworking at an all time high, are all part of the “new normal” we are living through. The lack of economic growth has called for the Federal government to enact very low interest rates in order to spur economic growth and prevent an economic crisis like we had in 2008. What do low interest rates mean? The cost of borrowing any money is now extremely low compared to before because the government wants people to borrow money to spur economic growth. This low interest…

Sep

19

2020

By Matthew Jean-Mary

Wage Violations are Shameful

All Posts, Economy and Government

There has been a drastic increase in worker violations since the onset of COVID-19. The American employer has responded by seemingly being passive with regards to the exploitation of their labor as times have become especially dire. There is no time to be prideful with fighting for their deserved liberties, as now COVID has led many to the mentality of survival. Many workers are grateful for just having a job, as with an unemployment rate of about 8.4%, getting too picky can easily lead to them being one of millions not having a stable source of income. The Washington Center…