Media Coverage

Interaction on social media during an event increases our enjoyment in the moment and beyond.

The admonition to “Put your phone away!” while attending an event is universal.
Yet people persist in texting or posting on social media during experiences of every variety.
Our recent work indicates that these assumptions may not reflect how most consumers actually generate content during experiences. The concerns so regularly expressed by the popular media may be greatly overstated.

In our paper, “Generating Content Increases Enjoyment by Immersing Consumers and Accelerating Perceived Time”, published in the Journal of Marketing, Gabriela Tonietto (Rutgers Business School) and I found that those who generate relevant content during an experience enjoy it more than those who don’t.

Rudi Leuschner, program director of the Master of Supply Chain Management at Rutgers Business School, stresses that passion is equally as important as academic ability when studying supply chain management.

“The two most important factors for a potential candidate of a Master of Supply Chain Management are motivation and proof that they can academically handle the program,” he says.

Leuschner says that the supply chain management discipline has developed quickly and continues to do so — especially since the onset of Covid-19. “It’s important to stay engaged with the supply chain community, whether it’s through professional organizations or seeking educational opportunities. Learning just never stops, especially in the supply chain field.”

Operating since 2015, Rutgers Business School enrolls approximately 150-200 students in its supply chain management program with small, 20-person classes. While the Master of Supply Chain Management teaches timeless principles, such as procurement, operations, logistics, and forecasting, the school created an optional pop-up class to teach students how the supply chain is currently being affected during the pandemic, and how companies can face challenges during this difficult time. So far, the pop-up class has been the highest attended class yet.

“We actually had to remove caps from the enrollment system to let more people in. On average, between prospective students and alumni, there were around 70 students showing up live,” says Leuschner.

A year’s worth of economic and employment upheaval has left everyone — employees, communities and society as a whole — feeling anxious, concerned about our health, disconnected from colleagues and suffering other mental health challenges.

My research team at the Rutgers Institute for Corporate Social Innovation examined what the future of work may look like as a result of these new pressure points, and how companies can help build a healthier, more sustainable and equitable economy.

We identified five opportunities that businesses can take to “build back better” as we move into a post-pandemic normal.

We found that this last point — supporting a baseline level of mental health for employees, communities and society — is a foundation for all the rest. While there are benefits to working remotely, our current reality of 100% remote work is not ideal for brainstorming or the social interactions that make for an effective team.

1 year since we began this new normal

1 year since my role as CEO of the House took on new meaning

1 year since I’ve physically been on campus and taught inside a classroom

1 year since I’ve hugged any friends or extended family

It’s been surreal, yet it is so real. Over 500,000 deaths in the US alone. The impact to women and years of progress wiped away. The racial and socio-economic inequities magnified. The loss of jobs and closure of businesses. The loss of learning for the majority of children. The loss of social connection for almost all of us. Yes, I am sad. Yes, I am frustrated. Yes, there are days when I am downright mad.

Yet, I see some light, and while that may be because it is 70 degrees and sunny today in New Jersey, there have been some silver linings.

Known in the industry as "power buyers," large retailers have had an advantage for years when buying goods because they order larger quantities than smaller wholesalers do, said Rudolf Leuschner, associate professor of supply chain management at Rutgers University, who studies the relationships between suppliers and buyers.

It makes intuitive sense: Large retailers' scale and buying clout make them a top priority for manufacturers, he said, and they often get promotions, special packaging or new products early.

Manufacturers have to "give them the best service, the best on everything because they mean more to you," Leuschner said, comparing it to how airlines give perks to first-class fliers over customers sitting in coach.

I recently binged Netflix’s Bridgerton, a soapy depiction of London’s Regency era marriage market where high stakes debutante balls and cutthroat gossip abound as families compete to position daughters for a shot at an eligible bachelor. A young woman’s entire future hinges on this moment. Will she catch the eye of a wealthy man and have a secure future or is it a one-way ticket to shame and spinsterhood?

While the depiction of a do-or-die marriage market in Bridgerton teeters on farcical, the damage of not securing a partnership with a man was very real for women throughout human history, and the sting of not getting married is still alive and well.

During the podcast, Assistant Professor and Director of Master of Healthcare Analytics and Intelligence Xin (David) Ding comments on the production and distribution of coronavirus vaccines.

He says the Biden administration is relying on the Defense Production Act of 1950 to keep manufacturing on pace. The law allows the president to direct private companies to prioritize federal government needs.

DING: Basically, they are working closely with different pharmaceutical companies to boost up their production of vaccines.

President Biden is also encouraging pharmaceutical competitors to share manufacturing space and ingredients to speed up production. It’s called “coopetition.”

DING: For now, those pharmaceutical companies are working with the competitors to enhance the capacity. For instance, Pfizer is working with Santa Fe, and Moderna is working with Catalent. And Johnson Johnson is working with a Merk.

But getting everyone their initial vaccination might not be the end of this distribution challenge.

Dr. Jeffrey Robinson of Rutgers Business School named as research fellow

Filene Research Institute launches its Center of Excellence for Innovation and Incubation today and welcomes Dr. Jeffrey Robinson as its new research fellow.

"This is my life's work, what I've been doing, and what I want to do. I am interested in supporting an industry I admire—I got my first car loan from a credit union and I am a member of a credit union now," said Dr. Robinson. "As a researcher, I am interested in this work because I want to better understand and reveal deeper insights on how an industry like credit unions is reacting to social, technological and economic challenges, what kinds of business models are changing, how they are changing, who is changing them, and what kinds of innovations are coming out of these changes."

"Cooperative finance is not just a business model, it's a movement—and I like to be involved in movements that matter," he added.

United Airlines in October was the first domestic carrier to test a digital health pass for international travelers just as the race to vaccinate Americans against COVID-19 was heating up.

Rutgers University Business School Professor Wayne Eastman said pressure to broaden the use of digital health passes would intensify as companies market secure digital wallets that could develop into a universal standard for people to store proof of their COVID-19 status and quickly produce it.

“It is understandable they would want to set up some kind of system, but, when you do that, you create real concerns about a two-tier system in which some people are locked out,” Eastman said.

In the final months of 2020, Harvard Management Company sold its shares in multiple major technology companies, including Google’s Alphabet, Inc., and made new investments in others, like Microsoft, while maintaining portfolio growth from the previous quarter.

John M. Longo — a professor at Rutgers Business School and the Chief Investment Officer for the Beacon Trust — wrote in an email that the University’s new holdings in Microsoft and Salseforce are “excellent long-term prospects.”

“There are two new sizeable positions in HMC's public equity portfolio, Salesforce and Microsoft, with 11.2% and 9.9% portfolio weights at the end of 2020, respectively,” Longo wrote. “They are blue-chip software companies with excellent long-term prospects, so I wouldn’t be too concerned with their high weights.”

Advocates are pushing the city’s universities, hospitals, and large companies to buy from local Black and brown-owned businesses to boost the economy.

Similar efforts are underway in other cities. In Newark, N.J., anchors including Amazon’s Audible and Prudential Financial have collectively increased local spending from 3% in 2017 to about 14% last year, said Kevin Lyons, a Rutgers Business School professor who heads the city’s “Buy Newark” initiative. Lyons said he’s still working on an analysis of the impact of the local spending, but anecdotally he has seen suppliers boost revenues.

“In a handful of the situations, they’ve had to hire additional staff because this is probably one of the largest contracts that they’ve gotten,” Lyons said. “They want to make sure that they keep it.”

The February 2021 reading of the LMI suggests that the logistics industry has continued to expand through the beginning of the year. The February LMI reads in at 71.4, up (+4.2) from January’s reading of 67.2. This is well above the all-time average of 62.7, and significantly above (+18.8) last February’s reading of 52.6. Much of the increase in this month’s LMI are driven by increases in the rate of growth for price and cost metrics across the board.

The Logistics Manager’s Index (LMI) is a joint project between researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, University of Nevada, Reno, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Rutgers University, supported by CSCMP. It is authored by Zac Rogers Ph.D., Steven Carnovale Ph.D., Shen Yeniyurt Ph.D., Ron Lembke Ph.D., and Dale Rogers Ph.D.

Companies are setting up programs to improve working capital and cut costs while disclosing few details.

Large manufacturers, such as airplane manufacturer Boeing Co., and other global companies, including soft drinks producer Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., are avid users of supply-chain financing to extend payment terms.

But there tends to be a barrier to entry for some businesses, especially those with weaker credit ratings. These ratings help determine the discount rate applied to the payment the supplier receives. The better the credit rating of a company, the cheaper it is for the supplier to participate in the program.

“Smaller companies have to just deal with the fact that their discount rates are fairly high,” said Rudi Leuschner, associate professor of supply chain management at Rutgers University.

Discover credit cards are known for generous rewards, 0% introductory APRs, no foreign transaction fees, and offers for applicants of all credit levels. Discover also is unique because it is both a credit card issuer and a card network.

Ask the experts: Arthur GuarinoAssociate Professor of Professional Practice, Rutgers Business School–Newark and New BrunswickArthur Guarino.
Discover does not currently charge annual fees or foreign transaction fees on any of their credit cards; how likely is that to last?

Probably not for very long depending on the value of the dollar on foreign exchange markets. If the dollar stays strong then there may not be any fees or foreign transaction fees.

Which do you think resonates more with consumers: an initial rewards bonus of a few hundred dollars for spending a few thousand dollars in the first three months, or a one-year anniversary bonus that doubles the rewards a cardholder earned the first year?

Probably the one-year anniversary bonus since it may take that amount of time for a cardholder to spend that much to earn such a reward.

After a near-death beating by the police in Los Angeles, California, in 1991 that sparked riots in which 63 people were killed and over 2000 injured, Rodney King famously asked, ‘Can’t we all just get along?’. This unfortunate incident occurred 25 years after the U.S. Civil Rights Act was passed, which itself was followed by riots—some called them rebellions—often sparked by police brutality toward unarmed Black men and women. Thirty years later, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, another killing by the police of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, led to massive protests for social justice across the U.S. and even in other parts of the world. Between these two events, many unarmed Black men and women have been killed by the police, while inequality in wealth and income has grown, political polarization has become pronounced, and global crises have created constant threats. In this environment, both countries and companies are facing the challenges of people getting along, especially as populations have become more diverse with migrations of people from different races, ethnicities, and religions occurring on a grand scale.

The pandemic brought with it a number of unexpected economic surprises, among them a booming housing market in much of New Jersey, with low inventory and intense competition among buyers often leading to bidding wars; average home prices are at the highest level in state history.

Contributing to the competitive real estate market, says Morris Davis, the Paul V. Profeta Chair at the Rutgers Business School, is that millennials are reaching the age when they’re starting families and looking for homes. Correspondent Joanna Gagis reports.

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The University’s endowment growth for fiscal year 2020 is consistent with its peer institutions but falls slightly below the national average.

John Longo, a professor of finance at Rutgers University and the chief investment officer at the wealth management firm Beacon Trust, said universities’ endowment growth may be explained by factors like a strong governmental fiscal and monetary response to the pandemic as well as speedy vaccine development that happened toward the end of the fiscal year.

“If you told me that we would have the worst pandemic since the early 1900s and the world economy would have a deep recession, I would have been very surprised that most endowments wound up in positive territory,” Longo said.

One of the hardest parts of working remotely is losing the built-in social life an office environment provides. But just because you’re not in the same building as others doesn’t mean you’re doomed to be a hermit.

When friendships happen among colleagues, “people feel more engaged, turnover and absenteeism go down, we see better performance, people are better communicators, there’s even a link to innovation,” says Terri Kurtzberg, a professor of management and global business at Rutgers Business School and author of the book Virtual Teams: Mastering Communication and Collaboration in the Digital Age.

During the call or video chat, Kurtzberg encourages people to be vulnerable and share what’s really going on in your life. “Sometimes we aim for professionalism to the point where we don’t come across as human, and I think people like it better if you’re just a person,” she says. “Let people in a little bit to your world. It goes a long way in building connections.”

For several years, Rudolf Leuschner, Rutgers University associate professor in the department of supply chain management, has taught a class on risk mitigation. The 2021 course focuses exclusively on the pandemic.

Each week, guest speakers from different organizations virtually discuss challenges they've faced during the past year. Students break into groups to brainstorm potential solutions, and then the presenter discusses the approach the organization actually took.

When developing this version of the course, Leuschner and his colleagues "didn't know if 10 students or 100 students would attend," he says. As it turns out, enrollment was the highest it has been, at about 60. Most are current Rutgers students. They're joined by about a half-dozen alumni and several prospective students auditing the course.

Students say they appreciate learning firsthand the challenges encountered by supply chain professionals working through the pandemic.

Just as COVID-19 has altered supply chain organizations, it's also having a lasting impact on supply chain education.

Warren Buffett will no longer host business student groups in Omaha.

The decision, relayed by Buffett’s office to college professors who brought thousands of their students to visit Buffett in Omaha over more than two decades, noted that he will turn 88 on Aug. 30. The note to professors says Buffett “has decided to cut back on speaking engagements — especially commitments many months into the future.”

“We were sad to get the news,” said Rutgers University business professor John Longo, who has brought groups of students three times to the Buffett question-and-answer program and hoped to bring another group in 2019. “I guess it had to end sometime, but I’m sad it’s ending now.

Word of the decision has gotten to the students, Longo said. “There was some disappointment that we couldn’t go back, but I have nothing but fond memories of the experience, and I’m grateful for the trips we took. ... I hope he lives past 100.”

IIM Indore signed an MoU with the state university of New Jersey (Rutgers) for development of joint and dual degree programmes and
collaboration for student and faculty exchange.

IIM-Indore director Prof Himanshu Rai signed the MoU with Rutgers University academic affairs executive vice president Prabhas V Moghe and global affairs vice president Professor Eric Garfunkel.

He also welcomed Professor Ashwani Monga, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark on the International Advisory Board of IIM Indore, that has renowned academic and corporate leaders from around the world.

The Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance launched its Fintech and Blockchain Collaboratory on February 19 with an event that involved nearly 40 participants, including leading law firm partners, counsel from major blockchain and fintech (financial technology) companies, former regulators, a representative from the World Economic Forum, and academics from American and European universities.

Besides leading the Collaboratory, the Rutgers Center sponsors a course on financial regulation and innovations. Professor Guseva co-teaches the course with Merav Ozair, associate professor and fintech faculty member at the Rutgers Business School. The instructors have invited several guest speakers and crypto-practitioners to share their expertise with the students.

Governor Phil Murphy today announced the appointment of members to the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy. The Council, which was established under Executive Order No. 221, will be overseen by the Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy, and serve to develop a blueprint for expanding the green economy and building a diverse workforce to support the Administration’s clean energy and climate goals.

“It is an honor to be asked by Governor Murphy to serve with the NJ Council on the Green Economy,” said Kevin Lyons, Associate Professor Supply Chain Archaeology, Rutgers University. “I am looking forward to contributing to the development of a comprehensive green economy strategy to support New Jersey’s clean energy future and the jobs that will be created.”

Report Illustrates How Credit-Based Pricing Perpetuates Economic and Racial Inequalities Impacting Millions of Americans

"We're at a pivotal point where things are going to be different," said Dr. Jerome Williams, Rutgers University Distinguished Professor. "Companies that continue to exploit and treat consumers unfairly, will eventually see consumers start to exit and voice their concerns. It's going to hurt the company, and sometimes it will hurt the company so much that it's tough to turn it around."

A new study by the University of Málaga, Spain, published in the journal Business Research Quarterly, reveals Rutgers is “the most prolific institution” for scholarship on disability and work. Led by Kruse and Schur’s Program for Disability Research in the School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), Rutgers turned out more peer-reviewed, published journal articles between 1991 and 2017 than any other college or university in the world.

Yana Rodgers, faculty director of SMLR’s Center for Women and Work and a professor in the School of Arts and Sciences, and Mason Ameri, assistant professor of professional practice and director of special projects at Rutgers Business School, join Kruse and Schur on the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC)team. The first study, now under journal review, examines the impact of COVID-19.

Fitchburg State celebrated Black History Month by holding a series of conversations referred to as Falcon Talks. These conversations were hosted by the Fitchburg State University’s Alumni Association. Yla Eason, an entrepreneur and Fitchburg State ‘71 alumna, put together a presentation concerning black images and black representation in toys and the media. She presented this information in a Google Meet on Feb. 11. Afterwards, a question and answer session was held so as to extend the conversation to the university community.

Rutgers Business School in New Jersey offers the Mini MBA in Digital Supply Chain, which is an executive education course. The majority of learners are leaders of organizations, or hope to become leaders.

The program currently covers ten topics across various parts of the supply chain, such as supply chain analytics, robotic process automation, supply chain finance and economics.

“Participants learn about what drives the supply chain of the future,” says Rudolf Leuschner, associate professor in the department of Supply Chain Management at Rutgers, adding that the curriculum has to change very frequently to keep up with developments in the sector.

Indeed, other courses in the Mini MBA now cover how the pandemic has affected supply chains and in particular, the importance of resilience. “Most customers have delayed payments to suppliers and there is a significant liquidity crunch affecting smaller and medium-sized suppliers,” explains Leuschner, adding that the economic disruption will continue even after the pandemic abates.

“This scholarship money will help make it possible for underrepresented students to attend Rutgers Business School, to study the field of supply chain management, and to consider many possible career paths,” says Lei Lei, dean of the Rutgers Business School. “We strive to promote diversity and inclusion across all of the academic programs within Rutgers Business School. The ability of companies like Gebrüder Weiss to create scholarships for underrepresented students helps us to achieve that and strengthens our efforts to cultivate professionals and leaders for the future business world.”

In the wrong hands, companies can have a progressive hiring policy yet they flatten out the mental diversity.

It's the mix of different ways of thinking and frames of reference that can be so potent for great work.

Professor Daniel Levin of Rutgers Business School asked more than two hundred executives to reactivate contacts who were relatively dormant.

Some were then asked to to get two contacts to give advice on an ongoing project, while others were asked to get advice from more active contacts.

Overall, they found the most valuable, productive advice came from the dormant contacts.

Why? Because these are the people less likely to share our worldview or think and work like us.

It's so easy to give into the comfort of folks who agree with you, who are easy to work with.

But easy rarely leads to great.

Despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the President’s Task Force on Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience remains on schedule to deliver a climate action plan this summer that will lay out a path to reduce the university’s carbon footprint and help Rutgers and the state of New Jersey manage the risks of a changing climate.

“In the next few months, we will be choosing the building blocks of the climate action plan, establishing priorities and timing – what we can do right away, what can be done in two to three years, and what the university can do long range,” said task force co-chair Kevin Lyons, associate professor of professional practice at Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick and associate director of the Rutgers Energy Institute.

The online mentoring program, Rutgers Business School Guiding and Retaining Outstanding Women Students (GROWS), launched this semester in partnership with the Rutgers Business School Center for Women in Business (CWIB).

Lisa Kaplowitz, assistant professor of professional practice in the Department of Finance and Economics at Rutgers Business School and the center’s co-founder and executive director, said the program aims to give students insight on how to succeed as a woman in business and how to overcome the barriers they may face.

“Companies are ... trying to do a good job of getting equal representation of women at that entry-level, but they have not done a great job of making women feel that they are included and belong,” Kaplowitz said. “Where we see the biggest drop-off, if you look at the (McKinsey & Company) research, is at that mid-career level.”

Sangeeta Rao, assistant dean for mentoring programs at the Rutgers Business School, said the program entails five meetings in which mentees receive guidance and professional planning advice from their mentors.

The five meetings cover five essential skills for women in business: self-assessing strengths and weaknesses, articulating effectively, communicating with confidence, dealing with imposter syndrome and positioning oneself for success, she said.

Panelist Lyneir Richardson, executive director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED), at Rutgers Business School, discussed the many “capacity-building” programs aimed at Black and Latino students and community members. These programs provide skills, knowledge, tools and mentorship to get urban businesses to the next level.

CUEED started more than 10 years ago in order to foster more diversity among entrepreneurs. “Over the last 10 years, we’ve assisted over 500 entrepreneurs, with 70 percent of entrepreneurs of color and over 60 percent women,” Richardson stated.

He added, “I’m proud of the fact that over 40 percent of them now [each generates] more than $1 million in revenue.” A million dollars is a threshold of business viability and customer acceptance, Richardson noted. It indicates a company’s readiness to talk to bankers and investors. The Center’s goal is to help 1,000 entrepreneurs achieve a million dollars in annual revenue.

Yla Eason
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick

In a recent report by Citibank, their research revealed startling facts about the cost of discrimination. When I read that “not addressing racial gaps between Blacks and whites has cost the U.S. economy up to $16 trillion over the past 20 years,” I was stunned.

First, I was amazed that Citibank would begin to explore racial financial discrimination when banks are often contributors to this malaise. I knew research by the late Rutgers professor Jerome Williams revealed that the actual treatment of Black-owned businesses seeking small business loans from banks “is consistently poor” and “significantly inferior in critical ways.”

Second, it made me think of the harsh criticism I often hear that generally starts with: “Why don’t Black people own more businesses?” I bristle at this question because it assumes a level playing field exists for those of us who do start businesses. Too often we discover the strange ways our efforts to create wealth through individual ownership of the means of production – basically capitalism – is thwarted by the very institutions that would benefit from it.

As a Black woman business owner who started a toy company in 1985 and grew it to $5 million in sales, I sadly learned that my revenue achievement put me at the top 3 percent of Black-owned businesses. While proud of my accomplishment, it was a stark reminder that our upper level was a lower-middle range for white-owned businesses. The lack of access to capital is one of the reasons for this disparity.

As the report summarized, “providing fair and equitable lending to Black entrepreneurs, might have resulted in the creation of an additional $13 trillion in business revenue and potentially created 6 million jobs per year.”

It’s not too late to change.

Rutgers Business School professor John M. Longo called the University’s 2020 return “very respectable,” comparing the 7.3 percent return to a passive investment strategy of investing 60 percent in more risky assets and 40 percent in less risky assets.

“The 7.3% return of Harvard endowment in the most recent fiscal year is very respectable,” Longo wrote in an email. “Although not exactly comparable, a low cost, 60% stock, 40% bond fixed income U.S. portfolio delivered a return of 6.7%.”

Longo wrote that Harvard’s generalist model allows the school to vary its investment strategy for its financial gain.

“No one firm or institution has a monopoly on investment talent. Harvard’s generalist model has the advantage of not being beholden to a single manager or single investment approach,” Longo wrote. “Rather, Harvard’s investment team may scour the world for best-of-breed investment managers across a range of asset classes.”

The Thirty-Fifth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-21) kicked off today as a virtual conference. The organizing committee announced the Best Paper Awards and Runners Up during this morning’s opening ceremony. Three papers received Best Paper Awards and three were recognized as Runners Up.

Best Paper Awards
Informer: Beyond Efficient Transformer for Long Sequence Time-Series Forecasting

Institution(s): Beihang University, UC Berkeley, Rutgers University, Beijing Guowang Fuda Science & Technology Development Company

Authors: Haoyi Zhou, Shanghang Zhang, Jieqi Peng, Shuai Zhang, Jianxin Li, Hui Xiong, Wancai Zhang

Sankofa is a word in the Twi language of Ghana that literally translates “fetch it go back and get it or “it is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.”

The Sankofa concept advocates and encourages efforts to explore, examine, and educate blacks about the cultural and historical contributions of the Black diaspora. The foundations of Sankofa, fueled the establishment of a designated period to reflect and commemorate the historical contributions of peoples of African descent.

The evolution of Black History Month in the United States coincided with and was informed by the civil rights and Black movements. It would take decades of struggle for those movements to awaken the national consciousness and receive broad endorsement — particularly at the federal level. Today, Black History Month is widely observed not only in the United States but in several foreign countries throughout the diaspora. Despite wide acknowledgement, the observation, incites considerable controversy.

Fitchburg State University will celebrate Black History Month in February with a series of events exploring themes centered on the Black family.
The theme for the university events was inspired by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
For the university’s exploration of these topics, Fitchburg State’s Black History Month committee, including cross-sectional representation within the institution, solicited programs from across all campus constituencies.

Presentations will include a talk by Fitchburg State alumna Yla Eason ’71, a professor at Rutgers University, who founded a multicultural toy company that featured the first Black superhero toy created to promote positive self-images for her son and other children.

The transformation, fueled largely by a push to expand affordable housing and homeownership in this city of renters, is part of a deliberate strategy with an ambitious goal: erasing Newark’s long legacy of blight without pushing out residents, 86 percent of whom are Black or Latino.

Lyneir Richardson, executive director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at Rutgers Business School, ran Newark’s economic development corporation under the city’s former mayor, U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
“Getting investment to happen — it’s evolutionary, not revolutionary,” Professor Richardson said.
“And you’ve got to celebrate flowers in the concrete.”

As the saying goes, “money can’t buy love.” But it certainly can express it. This year, Americans collectively will spend more than $21.8 billion on Valentine’s day gifts — from greeting cards to jewelry to a special night out — with the average lovebird shelling out $164.76.

What can Valentine’s spending trends tell us about consumer confidence and the health of the overall economy?

Vice Chair and Associate Professor of Marketing, Kristina M. Durante said, "Like the holidays (Christmas, New Year’s) a couple of months ago, Valentine’s Day is an excuse to bring a little cheer to an otherwise uncertain time. Consumer spending may look different from other years with much of it happening online. Also, many of the options for bigger ticket spending are off the table such as weekends away or dinners out. While total spending may be down, consumers will still be motivated to bring some positivity to lockdown and some warmth to the frigid winter across much of the nation."

What are the most common mistakes people make when shopping for a car?

One common mistake is not being aware of the dealer invoice price, which is usually several thousand dollars below the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). Consumers should aim for a price as close as possible to the dealer invoice price. Another mistake is not shopping around for a good deal. A fair amount of pricing knowledge may be obtained by searching the internet. People that hate haggling over prices, a sizeable part of the population, should look into car buying services, such as that offered by Costco.

Make sure your emergency fund is set before spending on wish-list items, advises John M. Longo, Ph.D., CFA, professor of finance and economics at Rutgers Business School and author of “Buffett’s Tips: A Guide to Financial Literacy and Life.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made most understand that they should have an emergency fund of at least six months living expenses,” Longo said. “If you must shop online for non-necessities, then wait until your emergency fund is fully funded.”

What a post-pandemic recovery and the Biden White House could mean for the state’s manufacturers.

On Jan. 26, President Joe Biden signed the “Buy American” order, aiming to close loopholes in the federal government’s requirement to buy anything it needs from American companies. The move, Biden argued, is meant to bolster the nation’s manufacturing industry at a time when the economy as a whole could use a boost.

Kevin Lyons, an associate professor of supply chain management at the Rutgers Business School, said that local and state level economic efforts bode well for buying domestically, as long as public officials and business executives coordinate their efforts. Lyons is involved with the 2020 “Buy Newark” initiative, under which businesses headquartered in the state’s largest city buy directly from Newark businesses.

Wilmington Alliance’s annual Yes, Wilmington! fundraiser on March 18 will, like most events, be virtual this year. With a focus on equitable economic mobility, three national speakers will be featured, discussing topics like community growth and revitalization, income security and wealth accumulation for all.

Lyneir Richardson, the executive director of the Rutgers Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. He’s also the founder of Chicago TREND, a social enterprise that works with organizations seeking to better understand the trajectories of Chicago neighborhoods and invest in profitable retail projects that can drive transformative change.

Bill Ritter, "Tonight a look at a pandemic business trend that is rattling the pros on Wall Street. Amateur stock traders keeping busy while at home and taking some stocks to surprising heights. All of this to the 'say what?' of stockbrokers. Case in point: the computer store called GameStop the target of some amateur investors using Reddit to talk to each other and drive the stock up, despite the market blunders today. ABC7 reporter Darla Miles speaks with John Longo, Finance & Economics professor at Rutgers Business School."

How often should drivers get new car insurance quotes?

I would suggest reviewing your options annually, or perhaps every two to three years if you are happy with your current provider. In addition, if you ever file a claim, you will get a feel for what it is like to work with that particular firm. If you find the claim process to be unfair or a major hassle, it probably makes sense to look around.

What major factors should drivers consider when comparing car insurance quotes?

There are several factors to consider, with the most important being the cost, amount of coverage, and the timeliness and quality of the service.

Why should shoppers consider full coverage auto insurance over liability-only auto insurance?

If you have a newer car that is financed and you get in an accident that is your fault, it may result in a very expensive repair. If you have full coverage insurance, you will likely only be responsible for the deductible, which usually ranges from $250 to $1,000 per incident for most people.

What strategies can buyers use to find affordable full coverage insurance from a reputable provider?

It pays to shop around using various sites on the Internet. Most of the big insurance providers, such as GEICO, State Farm, Progressive, and Allstate, will also provide free insurance quotes. It is important to try to get an "apples to apples" quote since it is possible to get lower prices by having a higher deductible, lower cap, different coverage levels, and so forth.

The Center for Real Estate at Rutgers Business School has added a well-known title insurance professional to the team of industry leaders at the helm of its advisory board. Monica Casiello, director of marketing and business development at U.S. Title Solutions, joins the board’s executive committee alongside several developers, investors, and other commercial real estate influencers in New Jersey.

“Anyone that knows Monica knows that she is a driving force for real change and innovation for the real estate industry in New Jersey,” said Morris Davis, the Paul V. Profeta Chair of Real Estate and the center’s academic director. “Monica has been a strong supporter of the Center since it first began, participating on the Conferences and Events Committee and promoting the activities and programs of the Center to her expansive professional network.

This article originally appeared in Bloomberg.

Black paid Epstein $50 million in 2013, $70 million in 2014 and $30 million the following year. He made a $10 million donation to Gratitude America in October 2015, which was a charitable organization affiliated with Epstein.

That sort of compensation is unusual. Estate planning attorneys and tax advisers are typically paid by the hour or by the transaction. IRS regulations forbid tax practitioners from charging contingent fees “in connection with any matter before the Internal Revenue Service.”

But Epstein, with his atypical role and background, could avoid those rules, said Jay Soled, a Rutgers University professor who is also a practicing estate tax attorney. “This is a very unusual arrangement because he doesn’t really have training.”

As cashierless technology becomes normal, it could be used problematically for purposes beyond payment, particularly shoplifting detection.

Jerome Williams, a professor and senior administrator at Rutgers University’s Newark campus, told NBC that a theft-detection algorithm might wind up unfairly targeting people of color, who are routinely stopped on suspicion of shoplifting more often than white shoppers. A 2006 study of toy stores found that not only were middle-class white women often given preferential treatment, but also that the police were never called on them, even when their behavior was aggressive. And in a recent survey of Black shoppers published in the Journal of Consumer Culture, 80% of respondents reported experiencing racial stigma and stereotypes when shopping.

“The people who get caught for shoplifting is not an indication of who’s shoplifting,” Williams told NBC. In other words, Black shoppers who feel they’ve been scrutinized in stores might be more likely to appear nervous while shopping, which might be perceived by a system as suspicious behavior. “It’s a function of who’s being watched and who’s being caught, and that’s based on discriminatory practices.”

New Jersey employers are digging into their pockets to jump-start the state's vaccination program, but they are stopping short of using one tool at their disposal: making employees get the shot.

COVID-19 may give employers a more compelling case to mandate a vaccine, said Joanne Ciulla, director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick.