Economist-Niall Ferguson

Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson was born on April 18 1964, in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a British historian who specializes in financial and economic history as well as the history of colonialism. He is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University and the William Ziegler Professor of Business Adminsitration at Harvard Business School. He was educated at the private Glasgow Academy in Scotland, and at Magdalen College, Oxford. He is praised for his revisionist views rehabilitationg imperialism and colonialism. In 2008, he published his most recent book, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World. At Harvard he teaches a popular undergraduate class entitled "Western Ascendancy: The Mainsprings of Global Power from 1600 to the Present.

In 2007, Ferguson was appointed as an Investment Management Consultant by GLG Partners, focusing on geopolitical risk as well as current structural issues in economic behaviour relating to investment decisions.

He also has prospered as a commentator in his established career. In October 2007, Niall Ferguson left the Sunday Telegraph and joined the Finacial Times, where he currently is a contributing editor. Ferguson believes the European Union is a disaster waiting to happen, and has criticized President Vladimir Putin of Russia for authoritarianism. In Ferguson's belief, Putin's policies stand to lead Russia to catastrophes equivalent to those that affected Germany during te Nazi era.

After attending the Glasgow Academy, he recieved a Demyship at Magdalen College, graduating with a first class honours degree in History in 1985. He is married to journalist Susan Douglas, whom he met in 1987 when she was his editor at the Daily Mail, they have three children together. In February 2010 the Daily Mail reported that Ferguson had left his wift for former Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

His most well known books include; The Ascent of Money, The Cash Nexus, Colossus and Empire, and War of the World.

Unemployment-NBA Coaching Carousel Spinning Faster Than Ever

In a staggering display of upheaval and dwindling job security, more than a fifth of the NBA's coaching experimentswill change hands before the start of 2010-11. Seven clubs have been in the market for a sideline since the regular season's end, though jobs have come off the board at a dizzying pace in recent days. Recent coaching changes and hirings include former Portland assistant Monty Williams who joined the New Orleans Hornets, in an attempt to regain their franchise status as a playoff contender. Former coach of the year Avery Johnson has agreed to join Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov in New Jersey after spending the last two years as an ESPN commentator. The Nets were the worst team in the league last year with only 12 wins in total on the 82 game season, this hiring is an example of hiring a new established coach in an attempt to change the culture to winning ways. He taking the job from the mainstay coach named Lawrence Frank who has been with the team for the six years, this firing was to send a message that a 12 win season will result in plenty of changes and upheaval in a franchise. Boston defensive guru Tom Thibodeau has also verbally agreed to take the coaching duties in Chicago after the NBA finals conclude. He is replacing Vinny Del Negro who was fired for not taking the young Bulls past the first round for two consecutive years.

An intriguing coach change and opportunity takes place in Cleveland. As heavily advertised the Cavaliers superstar Lebron James is facing free agency in a couple weeks, the Cavs are ready to make huge changes with the franchise as they fired coach Mike Brown, who took the team to the finals and has had major playoff success with the team for the last 6 years. General Manager Danny Ferry has also resigned from his general manager duties. The Cavs have question marks surrounding their franchise on every level. The firing of Mike Brown displays my reasoning that coaches are the first to exit when a team does not meet expectations. With the talented team Cleveland had this year they were kicked out in the second round by the Celtics, this shows that the team expected to have a dynasty with Lebron still in his prime but have not produced anything but unexpected playoff losses.

Coaches are glorified when the team is having success but are critcized the most when the team underachieved. The coach of the year award is a mystique as many coaches who have recieced the award have been fired shortly after being at the top of their class. Raptors coach Sam Mitchell is a prime example, after a breakout year for the Raptors with a 47-35 record, Atlantic Division title Sam got the award and everyone was praising the Raptors as an up and coming team. The next year the Raptors stuggled out of the gate and he was fired at the start of the season. Avery Johnson fits as well as his Mavericks had great playoff runs but could not win a championship, he won the award and was shortly fired. Mike Brown of the Cavaliers is the largest example of coaches reaching sky high and dropping to rock bottom after winning the coach of the year award.

Competition- Battle of Detroit Sports Powers

In a clash between metro Detroit's two giant sports empires, Palace Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Detroit Pistons, is suing Olympia Entertainment, owners of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings, alleging former Palace employees stole confidential information when they left to work for Olympia earlier this year.

The lawsuit names nine former key employees who followed Tom Wilson; the former CEO of Palace Sports and Entertainment, who recently shifted to Olympia beginning in February. These nine employees included sales and marketing executives. The lawsuit describes that the nine employees stole customer databases which included e-mails of ticket buyers, and that one of the former employees tried to hack into a Palace Sports & Entertainment database from his Olympia computer. The lawsuit demands the Olympia employees from using any confidential information obtained from Palace Sports, unspecified damages and the return of all electronic data, documents and computer hard drives, that previously belonged to Palace Sports.

This lawsuit is surrouned around Tom Wilson because he has recently shifted across town to help out the Illitch's and they believe he stole confidential data to fill seats and suites at Joe Louis Arena and unlawfully compete for sponsors, advertisers, concessionaires and vendors.

At stake are thousands, perhaps millions of dollars, in entertainment-industry related funds coveted by Palace Sports and also Olympia. Palace Sports owns and operates the Detroit Pistons, The Palace, Meadow Brook Music Hall and DTE Energy Theatre. Olympia owns and operates the Fox Theatre and books and operates Joe Louis Arena, Comercia Park, Cobo Arena, Masonic Temple Theatre and City Theatre. Olympia is a division of Illitch Holdings that includes the Detroit Red Wings Detroit Tigers, Little Caesars Pizza and more.

Demand or Supply- Obama's Demanding for Lebron to Join Hometown Team

If LeBron James isn't sure he can win in Cleveland, President Barack Obama thinks there's an opportunity with his hometown Chicago Bulls. "You know, like I said, I don't want to meddle," Obama told TNT. "I will say this: (Derrick) Rose, Joakim Noah it's a pretty good core. You know, you could see LeBron fitting in pretty well there." Lebron James will become a free agent this summer, and his decision whether to leave the Cavaliers is by far the most speculated and discussed topics in sports history. Though he's never said he wants out of his native Ohio, there's speculation he'd consider it after the Cavaliers were knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Boston Celtics. In Lebron's seven years in Cleveland he has not been able to carry his team to a championship and many believe he might not be a franchise leader despite the many talented teams he has been with for the Cavs. For the most famous sports fan in Barack Obama to promote the most famous sports athlete in Lebron James to committ to his hometown Chicago Bulls says a lot of how sports culture has spread throughout North America and the rest of the world. For a president to have such an impact on sports culture and huge financial decisions for Lebron James it displays the attention that basketball has gained over the years. Even that the president is able have a sit down interview strictly about basketball hottest topics shows how much Obama's opinion and words grab the attention of the media and fans and people in professional sports. "I think that the most important thing for LeBron right now is actually to find a structure where he's got a coach that he respects and is working hard with teammates who care about him and if that's in Cleveland, then he should stay in Cleveland," Obama said. "If he doesn't feel like he can get it there, then someplace else."America's most famous sports fan has endorsed a hoops outsourcing plan? Obama's LeBron Plan would destroy Cleveland sports on a scale rarely seen before in professional sports history. And with just a few words Obama's presidential advisers slammed their heads into their West Wing desks over and over. The delicate electoral alchemy of winning the state of Ohio in 2012 just got a lot tougher. Since Obama has spoken out on Lebron's decision, people in Ohio and especially Cleveland will have a tough time trying to win the votes in the state of Ohio. This decision affects the city of Cleveland and the state of the Ohio economically and politically. If Lebron James leaves the Cavaliers the interest and more importantly the revenue of the franchise completely vanishes. Interest will be lost because they lost their beloved hero in Lebron and they will lose millions in sales in jerseys, merchandise and ticket sales or even season seat renewals. Obama's opinion on Lebron will for sure cost him plenty of votes in winning the state of Ohio since they will be so against Obama for endorsing their hometown superstar to leave the city. When all the votes from the 2008 election were tallied, Obama received more political support from the city of Cleveland than just about anywhere in the United States, this might be the worst city for him in the next election if Lebron James ends up leaving to his Chicago Bulls.

Opportunity Cost- Home or Residence, Ryerson or Brock

With the deadline for University acceptances approaching rapidly on May 3rd, I have very important decisions and choices to make regarding my future. There is an opportunity cost related to both University scenario's for me as I am still unsure if I would like to commute to Ryerson or stay in a residence at Brock. At this stage in my teenage years I feel there is too much pressure and life changing decisions to make a choice that can impact our careers and future life so significantly. But fortunately I have narrowed my decision down to two choices. My main choice would be to go to Brock university and end up with a degree in Sports Administration. Going to Brock would mean I would live on campus and in residence, have a set meal plan and have plenty of other costs to make life away from home more convenient. My second option would be Business Management at Ryerson University in the Ted Rogers School of Business. This would mean I would have to commute daily by the Viva bus, and then the Subway, which are both public transportation systems I do not trust, would want to rely on or deal with the traffic and time taken away from anything I would be doing that would benefit me like finishing homework. The commute to Ryerson University takes roughly an hour and a half, but could take past two hours depending on the time of day. Commuting to Ryerson would mean I would have to buy monthly passes for the subway and Viva which would cost roughly $150/month. Commuting to Ryerson would also mean I could work more often and earn more money to pay off school expenses, since I make $10.50/hour, over time this would help cover some necessary expenses instead of the very odd weekend I would come back from Brock and have the opportunity to go to work for a shift or two. This is one of the main opportunity cost situations that will alter my decision. I will also leave my family, relatives and friends as I will literally be isolated from all people I am comfortable with and have to enter unfamiliar surroundings and deal with issues and problems by myself. This is also another form of opportunity cost weighing in on my decision. Since tuition to both programs is the same at about $5000, in Ryerson I would have to pay $150 multiplied by eight months of school which would be $1200. That would push the yearly total to just over $6000. With Brock University the cost would include $5000 tuition, roughly $12000 including a meal plan, this places the Brock total to over $17000. These calculations are just looking at immediate needs and costs and it excludes costs like textbooks and other fees. So looking at the totals now I would save about $11000 by choosing Ryerson over Brock. This is the main factor related to opportunity cost, is the fact that there would be thousands of dollars saved by going to Ryerson. In the end I will have to choose between my number one choice of study being in Brock or save money for a more general type of study that would second choice in Ryerson. Hopefully the decision I make will not be a pressured one that will not lead me where I want in my career and future ambitions.