A class introduction (no numbers) to the Racism topic.  Frankly, I don't think it is great, but for such an important topic it did need an introduction.    Short version: racism is really bad, but still here, and in this section we will look at the psychology of racism and what we need to do to overcome biases.   

WHen most people think of behavioral finance, they think of the material we will cover in this section. It is a look at how biases can impact investor returns.   We will look at bubbles, excessive trading (and risk taking), and the social aspects of investing.  

Most work in the field of behavioral finance focuses on the investment side of the fence.  That is unfortunate as managers are people too and they fall prey to many of the same biases that investors do. In this section of the course we will look at how overconfident managers will take bigger risks than more rational managers.  

From Marketing to politics., from Healthcare to Education,  from International Development to treating addictions, the things we learned in Behavioral Finance and Economics can be used to help make the world a better place.    

While this is not a science class, we do need to have an understanding of the various parts of the brain, how we look at the brain, and how what we do (or don't do) can influence the brain and our decisions.  We also look some at addiction as it gives us insights into how the brain works, and also in the context of being "addicted to risk".   

This episode gives a short introduction into the two concepts covered in this part class:The concept of Scarcity as described in Mullainathan and Shafer's great book: Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It Defines Our Lives.  How having too little (or alternatively having too much stress) can impact brain development and rational decision making.  PS: this may be my favorite part of the class.  I see it constantly in my own life, but also in those of many of the people that BonaResponds helps.  

 An Introduction to Behavioral Finance and Behavioral Economics at St. Bonaventure University.  It is tailored to MBA 639 but can be listened to by anyone.  Not sure what happened to the audio quality.  Sounds like I was in a tunnel.  Which I assure you I was not.  But I recorded it twice and it sounded the same.  So, here we go!:Here are some notes for those who are interested: My presentation on it:https://www.dropbox.com/s/tqzxaxzaujtiyrs/Presentation%20for%20Behavioral%20Science%20and%20Teaching%20Paper%20%281%29.pptx?dl=0 What is Behavioral Economics?https://vimeo.com/38663941 What is Behavioral Finance? http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisionsGame Theory:http://www.cdam.lse.ac.uk/Reports/Files/cdam-2001-09.pdf If you want more, stay tuned!  Or better, sign up for my class :) 

This is an introduction to behavioral biases.   The short version: thinking is hard.  It can take time and effort.  So we have evolved to come up with shortcuts and biases that do not always help us when it comes to financial decisions (or other kinds of decisions either).This material is central to the whole course.  So be sure to understand it as you go through the various topics covered.  A few of the links we will be covering in class are:  Wikipedia, but very well done: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biasesDaniel Kahneman - Your Mind and Your MoDaniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and SlowDaniel Kahneman - Masters in BusinessDaniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow Animated Book ReviewFightMediocrity - Priming, Halo Effect, Hindsight Bias - Thinking, Fast and Slow (Part 3)Hidden Brain - I’m Right, You’re WrongBig Think - Your Brain is so JudgementalLong Luong - Loss Aversion and The Endowment EffectBehavioral Finance and Market BehaviorMeir Statman - Interview with Meir Statman: Masters in Business (Audio)Laurie Santos -  A Monkey Economy as Irrational as Ours

Hostile takeover defenses.  Takeover waves.  Still no voice, but a little better.  how to fight acquisitions Pre-bid defenses:Maximize Shareholder value!Shark repellentsSuper majority: For a takeover, you need more than 51% of votesFair Price Amendments: any takeover must be for more than some “fair price”Staggered Boards: Board members not all up for election at the same timePoison Pills (AKA Shareholder rights plans)Shop around clause: give you the right to shop around for a better dealDual classes of shares where managers/insiders hold multiple votes per share Post offer (i.e. you are in play!)Asset restructuringselling crown's jewels (divestiture, carve-out, spin-off)one-time dividend (this is also a Financial Restructuring)Financial RestructuringBuyback--possibly greenmailIncrease debtone-time dividend (this is also an asset restructuring)Litigation-sue everyoneMake it political: take it to the press etcPac-man Defense (make a counter bid on acquirer)White Knights- Find someone to come and take you over on more friendly terms. 

In an attempt to wrap up MBA 610, I made a list of things on the horizon.  It was a tough list to make.  A few things that were really close: FinTech, raising interest rates, the role of government in markets, and more.   The list: Income and Wealth inequalityThe Anti-globalization movement (a blip or a longer term thing?)AI and the coming machinesLiving longer and slower population growthHealth Care CostsGlobal WarmingThe bottom billionBig Data and online secrecyConfirmation bias and “us vs them”The changing of Wall Street: Passive and FinTech