Olin Business School

Fannie Mae, the biggest source of money for United States home loans, said last week it will need another $7.8 billion in federal aid following a third-quarter loss of more than $5 billion. As long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are receiving subsidies, say banking experts at Washington University in St. Louis, there exists potential for another economic meltdown.

A field of 18 teams was narrowed to just eight finalists during the annual Olin Cup “elevator pitch” competition Nov. 10. Forty teams began the competition in September, vying for $70,000 in seed money to start a new company, but 12 were eliminated in an earlier round of judging.

Crowd funding, in which a group of investors pools money to fund a project or startup business — often online through social media and sites such as Kickstarter.com — has gained attention recently as a possible source for stimulating economic growth. But an expert on entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis says crowd funding may not be all its cracked up to be.

Olin Business School aggressively seeks and recruits students with military backgrounds like Tod Stephens, who is in the joint MBA/JD program. Olin recently become a full partner in the Yellow Ribbon Program, in which tuition costs are covered jointly by Olin and the Department of Veterans Affairs. And it has for years provided scholarship opportunities for many former junior military officers and non-commissioned officers through Olin Veterans Association Scholarships. 

When it comes to charitable giving, details matter. A new project by a marketing professor at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that when charitable organizations approach potential donors with a more detailed description of the charity, donors give more.

More than 100 area executives joined 30 Olin Business School student leaders at Washington University in St. Louis in discussing topics from U.S. economic policy to business growth during the third annual Leaders in Business Summit Oct. 14 in the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center.

The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., and Washington University in St. Louis announce recipients of grants from the joint Academic Venture Fund. The purpose of the AVF is to support collaboration between scholars at WUSTL and the Brookings Institution, particularly long-term projects that impact research, education and policy.

Nestlé Purina’s latest commercial for its Beneful dog food, aimed directly at canines by using high-frequency noises inaudible to humans, should serve to increase the bond owners feel with their pets, says a marketing expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Washington University in St. Louis is among five finalists for the MBA Roundtable Innovator Award Program, which is designed to recognize and promote educational initiatives that advance innovation in MBA education and acknowledge institutions that are driving change in the field.

Interest in social entrepreneurship — using innovation and enterprise to address social problems — has exploded, but training has always been from a business perspective. This fall, the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will be home to the first social entrepreneurship program based in a social work setting.