Rising Expectations in Business Education

The article comments on the rising expectations in business education. It explains the term liberal education. It mentions the Liberal Education & America\u27s Promise Campaign launched by the Association of American Colleges & Universities in 2005. The article also notes that integrative learning is particularly relevant because it melds students\u27 professional and liberal educations

Are Weekly Inflation Forecasts Informative?

Are weekly inflation forecasts informative? Although several central banks review and discuss monetary policy issues on a bi-weekly basis, there have been few attempts by analysts to construct systematic estimates of core inflation that supports such a decision-making schedule. The timeliness of news releases and macroeconomic revisions are recognized to be an important information source in real-time estimation. We incorporate real-time information from macroeconomic releases and revisions into our weekly updates of monthly Swiss core inflation using a common factor procedure. The weekly estimates for Swiss core inflation find that it is worthwhile to update the forecast at least twice a month.Inflation, Common Factors, Sequential Information Flow

Monthly pass-through ratios

This paper estimates monthly pass-through ratios from import prices to consumer prices in real time. Conventional time series methods impose restrictions to generate exogenous shocks on exchange rates or import prices when estimating pass-through coefficients. Instead, a natural experiment based on data releases defines our shock to foreign prices. Our estimation strategy follows an event-study approach based on monthly releases in import prices. Projections from a dynamic common factor model with daily panels before and after monthly releases of import prices define the shock. This information shock allows us to recover a monthly pass-through ratio. We apply our identification procedure to Swiss prices and find strong evidence that the monthly pass-through ratio is around 0.3. Our real-time estimates yield higher pass-through ratios than time series estimates.Monetary policy ; Econometric models ; Foreign exchange rates ; Prices

Do macroeconomic announcements move inflation forecasts?

This paper presents an empirical strategy that bridges the gap between event studies and macroeconomic forecasts based on common-factor models. Event studies examine the response of financial variables to a market-sensitive "surprise" component using a narrow event window. The authors argue that these features - narrow event window and surprise component - can be easily embedded in common-factor models that study the real-time impact of macroeconomic announcements on key policy variables such as inflation or gross domestic product growth. Demonstrative applications are provided for Swiss inflation that show that (i) the communication of monetary policy announcements generates an asymmetric response for inflation forecasts, (ii) the pass-through effect of import price releases on inflation forecasts is weak, and (iii) macroeconomic releases of real and nominal variables generate nonsynchronized effects for inflation forecasts.Inflation (Finance) ; Forecasting

Time-Varying Pass-Through from Import Prices to Consumer Prices: Evidence from an Event Study with Real-Time Data

This paper analyzes the pass-through from import prices to CPI inflation in real time. Our strategy follows an event-study approach, which compares inflation forecasts before and after import price releases. Inflation forecasts are modelled using a dynamic factor procedure that relies on daily panels of Swiss data. We find strong evidence that monthly import price releases provide important information for CPI inflation forecasts and that the behavior of updated forecasts is consistent with a time-varying pass-through. The robustness of this latter result is underpinned in two ways: an alternative CPI measure that excludes price components subject to administered pricing and panels capturing different levels of information breadth. Besides implying a time-varying pass-through, our empirical findings cast doubt on a prominent role of sticky prices for the low pass-through findings.Common Factors, Pass-Through, Daily Panels

Fixing Advising: A Model for Faculty Advising

This paper addresses mandates to fix the advising process with a focus on faculty advising systems. Measures of student success and satisfaction, administrative issues, and faculty concerns are among the many factors discussed. Regression analysis is used to explore long-voiced faculty complaints that students do not follow advice. A case study is used to illustrate changes in one department’s advising process and measures of student satisfaction are reported. A model of advising components is offered to illustrate practices suggested to realize the full potential of the advising process

Effects of a falls exercise intervention on strength, power, functional ability and bone in older frequent fallers: FaME (Falls Management Exercise) RCT secondary analysis

OBJECTIVES: Falls Management Exercise (FaME) has been shown to reduce falls in frequent fallers and in lower risk sedentary older people. The effects of FaME on the strength, power, physical function and bone health of frequently falling older women are yet to be established. METHODS: This paper reports secondary analysis of data from the original randomised controlled trial of FaME in 100 community dwelling women aged ≥65 years with a history of ≥3 falls in the previous year. Intervention was group delivered, weekly one hour tailored dynamic balance and strength exercise classes and home exercise for nine months. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED: strength (handgrip, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip abductors, ankles), lower limb explosive power and functional tests (timed up and go, functional reach, timed floor rise and balance), analysed using Linear Mixed Model analysis. Bone Mineral Density (BMD) at hip and spine was measured in a smaller sub-group and analysed using t-tests. RESULTS: Significant time*group interactions in all measures of strength, except isometric ankle dorsiflexion, concentric hamstring and eccentric quadriceps strength. These improvements in strength equated to average improvements of 7-45%. There were also significant improvements in explosive power (W/kg) (18%, p=0.000), timed up and go (16%, p=0.000), functional reach (17%, p=0.000), floor rise (10%, p=0.002) and eyes closed static balance (56%, p=0.000). There was a significant loss of hip BMD in the control group (neck of femur p<0.05; ward's triangle p<0.02). CONCLUSION: The FaME intervention improves lower limb strength, power and clinically relevant functional outcomes in frequently falling older women