Business - BusinessWeek

As an undergraduate, I studied music, majoring in composition and theory. My background in rock and roll differed from the formal training that most of my classmates brought to the table, but that was fine. I wanted to compose and perform avant-garde music, and I worked hard to develop the requisite skills. Like those in pretty much any other faculty, I was preparing myself for my future. Full Story »

The holiday break is the perfect time to gain an edge on the competition if you're an MBA student searching for an internship or full-time job. "The worst thing anyone can do is just sit back at this stage," says Jackie Wilbur, director of career development at the MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan Full-Time MBA Profile). Although some career placement directors at top business schools are reporting -- at least anecdotally -- that the traditional fall recruiting season for full-time jobs went as well as they expected, there are still students looking for work. ... Full Story »

With my first year of business school over, I took a quick trip to Australia to see my fiance (the last time I mentioned her was as my girlfriend). The break was much-needed as I was growing a little tired of life on campus and wanted to rest, see my family, and ideally start my internship reinvigorated and energized. Full Story »

As the nation's largest financial institutions scramble to pay back their bailout money, some regional banks may be on the government dole until at least 2011. Lending for offices, malls, hotels, and similar properties averages more than a third of loans at 35 of the biggest regional players with federal funds, according to an analysis by Bloomberg BusinessWeek . By comparison, such debt averages 9.5% of loans at Citigroup and Wells Fargo . And with defaults at a 16-year high and rising, the worst may be yet to come. Full Story »

As I write this, I am 35,000 feet in the air, returning from a weeklong trip to Japan. My friends and I chose to stay in Tokyo the entire time and leisurely explore the city, rather than run from one photo opportunity to another. Despite a missed connection with my luggage and a bit of a culture clash (I'm vegetarian), I had an amazing time. But even Tokyo, a city of wealth, glitz, and technological marvels, has its homeless. They crowd into cardboard shantytowns (the neatest I've seen) in underpasses and lie out of the way, ignored by the passing crowds. Full Story »

Just as cash-strapped consumers are more inclined to clip food coupons than they were when the economy was on firmer footing, investors need to be conscious of ways to legally minimize what they pay the government in taxes on gains in their portfolios. Full Story »

How valuable is a summer internship in a recession? Consider Goldman Sachs, the leading choice for students interested in a career on Wall Street. This year, the investment bank hired 600 fewer entry-level employees. That's not surprising given the stunted economy and the government bailout of banks. What is noteworthy is nearly 90% of Goldman's new hires were former interns. The previous year, Goldman wasn't as concerned about hiring a high percentage of students it had already invested time and money to train -- only 58% of entry-level hires had spent a summer at the company. Full Story »

Guest: Brian Lohr, director of MBA admissions at the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Full Story »

Over the past few decades, work experience has increasingly been a factor in MBA admissions, with many business schools now expecting applicants to have a minimum of five years before applying. In the 1960s and 1970s, most students pursued their MBA immediately after their undergraduate program. Ten years ago, the average age of a first-year MBA was 25. Today it is 28. While this has enhanced the profile of many business school classes (in terms of higher salaries and positions), the net impact on students has not been adequately determined. Full Story »

(Bloomberg) -- Senate Democrats tentatively agreed to abandon plans to set up a full government-run insurance program in a bid to remove one of the biggest obstacles to health legislation, a person familiar with negotiations said. Full Story »