Business & Entrepreneurship

It’s not just social security and health-care that could be adversely affected when the baby boomers leave the workforce; the stock market could go into shock as well. According to research at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, when people retire, they tend not invest as much they did in their younger years. With the boomer generation starting to pull out of the workforce, Wall Street is bound to feel the blow. More…

Temperature is rising as St. Louis tackles the ramifications of a flu epidemic.St. Louis is one of the few cities trying to stay ahead of the pandemic curve, thanks to workshops being conducted this spring and summer that bring together area institutions and businesses in round table formats. The Business Community and Pandemic Flu Roundtable is sponsored by the Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Center for the Application of Information Technology (CAIT) and the University’s School of Medicine. CAIT is St. Louis’ center for IT training, professional development, and executive interaction for more than 25 years. More than 100 business and institutional attendees are learning to address everything from potential vaccines and medications to sick leave policy and protective gear. More…

What challenges does globalization present for industrialized economies, such as the United States and the European Union? How will fluctuations in dollar and euro exchange rates affect economic growth, inflation and interest rates? Will globalization influence the role of the dollar and the euro in international financial systems? These are a few of the questions to be explored May 25 as high-ranking international finance policymakers from the European Union and the United States join scholars for a conference on “The Euro and the Dollar in a Globalized Economy” at Washington University in St. Louis.

Washington University in St. Louis will host a symposium May 30-31 to bring together people interested in developing new enterprises in Missouri based on research discoveries.

WarrenSpending by federal regulatory agencies is scheduled to decline when adjusted for inflation according to “Moderating Regulatory Growth: An Analysis of the U.S. Budget for Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007,” this year’s edition of the annual report on regulatory spending and staffing by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis.

On May 10 at 5:30 p.m., at Washington University — Hilltop Campus, Simon Hall, May Auditorium, the winners of the first-ever Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition will be named. More than $100,000 is available to winners in different categories.

The winners of the inaugural Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition (SEIC) will be announced at a special awards ceremony held on Washington University’s campus. The competition is designed to foster growth for social entrepreneurs who craft innovative processes, approaches, and solutions to help resolve social issues. Over $100,000 is available to winners under a variety of categories.

Photo by Joe AngelesEliot Society President Robert L. Virgil, Ph.D., presents the *Search* Award to Murray L. Weidenbaum, Ph.D., April 26.He’s one of the country’s most acclaimed economists and a distinguished WUSTL professor for more than 40 years; the Search is the Eliot Society’s highest honor.

“U.S.-China Business Relations” is the focus of a three-day academic symposium that kicks off with a public conference from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. May 11 in Room 311, Anheuser-Busch Hall. U.S.-China commercial relations and intellectual property rights are among topics to be covered.

Bob Boston/WUSTL PhotoTwo surgeons at the same hospital perform the same operations on patients with similar medical histories. Their costs to the hospital are similar, right? Not necessarily. There could be a difference as high as 45 percent. New research from Washington University in St. Louis finds that even when controlling for complexity of the operation and patient risk, surgeons incurred a wide range of hospital costs. More…