Industries

The Most Popular Careers for Vanderbilt Graduates and Why 

The Most Popular Careers for Vanderbilt Graduates and Why 

Rudzhan Nagiev via iStockPhoto Many colleges have a pre-professional track they are known for that students often consider when applying. At a school like Vanderbilt, students are obviously driven, motivated, and intelligent people, but what is it exactly that these students are driven towards? What careers are Vandy grads drawn to and which industries are looking for them?   As someone who wanted to keep as many options as possible open after college, this wasn't a huge factor in my personal decision process. However, after arriving on campus and listening to the various internships, future plans, and job prospects students were…
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The Rise of the Coffee Futures Price: What Happened?

The Rise of the Coffee Futures Price: What Happened?

Photo taken by Anna Song In the past month, the coffee C Price has experienced a dramatic increase from over $2/lb to over $3/lb. The current C price of over $3/lb has reached a historical high over the past 13 years. What is the C Price and what happened with this dramatic increase? The C Price and Its History Coffee is a global commodity and is the most traded good in the world. Brazil has been one of the largest producing countries of coffee and Vietnam’s exports have also been rising since the late 20th century. Some other main producing…
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Luxury Brands Race to Nashville

Luxury Brands Race to Nashville

helloabc via iStockPhoto Nashville is one of the fastest growing cities in the country—a status that offers countless market opportunities for luxury brands. With rising tourism and a growing real-estate market, companies such as Hermès and Dolce & Gabbana have identified it as an ideal avenue to achieving higher sales. While luxury brands reap many benefits when they touch down in Nashville, there are also challenges and potential downsides for local businesses. Today, we’ll examine both.  The Rise of High-End Retail Recently, luxury retail activity in Nashville has been rampant. In mid September of 2024, TAG Heuer landed a shop…
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Story Behind a Stock: MicroStrategy (MSTR) — Business Intelligence Meets Bitcoin

Story Behind a Stock: MicroStrategy (MSTR) — Business Intelligence Meets Bitcoin

Vladimir Kazakov via iStockPhoto Introduction MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) is often associated with Bitcoin and is called by some as the next Gamestop for its rise in stock price of approximately 359% this year. However, what exactly does this company do, and why has its stock price soared? This article is part of a series exploring companies whose stocks attract significant market attention, focusing on what they do and the unique strategies that have captured market attention. The goal is not to make investment recommendations but to deliver insights into industries and market trends for Vanderbilt students. MicroStrategy’s Origins and Core…
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Coke vs. Pepsi: The Battle for University Soda Machines 

Coke vs. Pepsi: The Battle for University Soda Machines 

Nutthaseth Vanchaichana via iStockPhoto The age-old rivalry that has long divided the nation: Coke vs. Pepsi. Some claim they taste the same, while others say they are incomparable. Those with a strong preference for one of the two find themselves in unfortunate situations when the waiter replies, “sorry, we don’t carry [preferred cola drink], just [undesired cola drink].” For the consumer who enjoys both Coke and Pepsi alike, this poses no real inconvenience. But for consumers on either end of the spectrum, the lack of their favorite cola turns day into night. Now imagine a die hard Coke-lover coming to…
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GLP-1s: A Game Changer. But for Whom?

GLP-1s: A Game Changer. But for Whom?

PeopleImages via iStockPhoto What are GLP-1s? The emergence of GLP-1 drugs as effective treatments for obesity has dominated the recent news. Top headlines from Bloomberg, CNBC, The New York Times, People, and numerous other publications illustrate how this product has quickly become a mainstream part of our culture.  GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, is a peptide hormone antagonist that blocks glucagon secretion to prevent excess glucose from entering the bloodstream. Initially developed over 15 years ago for lowering blood sugar for Type 2 diabetics, GLP-1 drugs are now also clinically proven to reduce weight significantly. Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk led…
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The Future of AI and Education: ChatGPT Takes the World by Storm

The Future of AI and Education: ChatGPT Takes the World by Storm

(Image: Creative Common License) By Brian Zhao Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT quickly became the world’s newest sensation, amassing over 100 million users as of January 2023. Millions of people spanning various industries recognized its potential for revolutionizing our workstyles.  The language model chatbot powered by artificial intelligence technology captured everyone’s attention mainly due to its ability to have human-like conversations with users and provide detailed and accurate responses.   Some of its capabilities include answering questions, writing essays, compiling poems, translating languages, telling jokes, and writing code, among many other endless applications that users have tested. However, providing…
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From Traditional Medicine to Digital Health: How China is Transforming Healthcare

From Traditional Medicine to Digital Health: How China is Transforming Healthcare

(image: iStock) By Anton Kozyrev In January of 2023, fresh demographic data from the People’s Republic of China caused a stir. For the first time in 60 years, China’s population had experienced a contraction, with its 2022 population falling by 850,000 from that of 2021. While the phenomenon of deaths exceeding births is a common expectation for many developed nations around the globe, China’s situation poses unique challenges. For the most part, experts suggest that this demographic change is the result of government policies, including the well-known “One Child Policy.” The government ended this policy in 2016, switching to a…
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Reevaluating Demand: Apple’s iPhone 14 Plus Put On Hold

Reevaluating Demand: Apple’s iPhone 14 Plus Put On Hold

By Brian Zhao  (Image: creative common license) Has Apple fallen from grace? Despite Apple’s fanbase being notoriously loyal, the iPhone 14 Plus model has greatly underperformed in terms of its sales numbers as compared to its much higher expectations. In October 2022, The Information reported that Apple has currently paused production of the iPhone 14 Plus despite it only being on sale for less than two weeks due to having to reassess demand for the smartphone. Specifically, Apple’s supply chain partners have cut iPhone 14 Plus production by 40% according to Digitimes. So, why hasn’t the iPhone 14 Plus been…
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