In the twilight of last week's horrific close, Merrill Lynch investment analyst Willis Greco put vodka in his ginger ale, loosened his tie and picked up the phone to confide, "Wipe out." As breathtaking as the rise of the Nasdaq Composite was from mid-October to mid-March, so too was its downfall.
Reaching a scientific milestone at least four months ahead of industry expectations, biotechnology company Celera Genomics Group announced Thursday it had taken the first step in unlocking the human genetic code by sequencing the complete genome.
When Willis Greco, assistant trader at Merrill Lynch & Company, saw the Telerate numbers on his Internet hot stocks down by at least 30 percent at midday Friday, the honeymoon of his love affair with tech growth was over.
In abstraction, the flash of a light bulb often symbolizes a novice entrepreneur's idea; in the real world, however, an idea can stagger its conceiver like a bolt of lightning, rendering his vision blind to practicalities, and the fledgling startup that had shown so much promise spirals subsequently into ruin. The McIntire Entrepreneurs' Group was formed last spring to help make students aware of the myriad issues facing the potential venture, to provide guidance on getting a start-up company to work and to help foster and promote the entrepreneurial spirit. "It is a blessing and a curse that the momentum and euphoria a great idea imparts can also make its believer think he can do anything," Commerce Professor David LaRue said. Founding a business enterprise on one's own requires a different mindset than the traditional risk-averse business philosophy might allow.
Minus irascible brokers shouting amidst the torrent of flying paper, walk into the University's newest classroom and you may think you've stepped onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Promising to revolutionize the way the University teaches business and finance, the Bridge Trading Center was inaugurated Thursday in a reception at the Commerce School.
When the acceptance letter came in last November, fourth-year College student Luis Maes was finished with his job search.
Not so long ago, it was a novelty for muffled ringing to escape suddenly from a fellow student's backpack.
