The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - 7
Shaman owner: Internet boom
hurting small, big stores alike
From Page 1
and, ideally, prevent the stock from
being delisted from the New York
Stock Exchange.
The NYSE has already extended
its deadline to June 30 for meet-
ing its stock listing requirements,
since the economic crisis has put
many companies in danger of being
delisted.
Local independent book stores
are experiencing the same decline
as chain retailers like Borders.
Karl Pohrt owns Shaman Drum
Bookshop on State Street in Ann
DRINKING
From Page 1
that the alcohol-related treatment is
linked to aviolent crime.
"There's a common mispercep-
tion among students that we call
DPS and that students will get
MIPs if they come to the hospi-
tal," Desmond told the Daily. "Our
interest is in making sure that
they're getting the help they need.
COMET
From Page 1
the coffee from the grounds.
"Supposedly there are things
you can read in the cone; the big
lumps, that's bad," he said. "And
if the coffee isn't spread evenly
on the side, that's bad as well. We
are just trying to get a really even
extraction."
Theresult ofthismeticulous pro-
cess is a coffee with the palatable
flavors of the roast - ranging from
apple to lemon zest to caramel.
Saborio uses specialty coffee
Arbor. Along with the state of the
economy and the shrinking place
for print media in the attention
span of today's consumers, Pohrt
said big booksellers suffer from
the same "shift to Internet sales"
that has recently hurt independent
bookstores like Shaman Drum.
"It's my contention that the
book business, as a business model,
doesn't work very well for any-
body," he said. "That's independent
bookshops as well as large chain
bookstores."
Pohrt said he is sympathetic for
Borders, whose flagship store is
We don't want to discourage some-
one from coming here."
Despite the hospital's policy, Psi
Upsilon Fraternity President Luke
Donahue said he has seen cases
in which people have not brought
friends to the hospital for medi-
cal attention for fear of getting an
MIP. He said he believed that cur-
rent laws have served as a deter-
rent for some students on campus.
"I do think that there are times
that people don't go to the hospi-
retailer 49th Parallel Coffee Roast-
ers based out of British Colombia
to get his premium roasts. He likes
the company because of its deliv-
ery speed.
Often delivered in less than four
days, Saborio said the company
guarantees the freshness of the
beans.
The menu at the cafe will rotate
throughout the week depending on
the freshness and availability of the
coffeeintheinventory,hesaid. Comet
Coffee also features a traditional
espresso menu and pastries from the
Pastry Peddler, a pastry shop located
onPackard Streetbetween HillStreet
around the corner from his own
shop.
Amazon.com, the online retailer
widely believed to be Borders's big-
gest foe, has had enormous success
despite the economic downturn.
On the day after Christmas, an
Amazon.com press release hailed
this holiday sales season as its "best
ever." Fourth quarter profits were
up 8.7 percent from last year for
the company - considerably higher
than analysts had predicted.
Today's report will include data
for the 13-week fiscal quarter that
ended on Jan.31, 2009.
tal for fear of legal repercussions,"
Donahue said. "I feel that lifting
the fear of those repercussions
would encourage people to go to
the hospital if they need help."
Current Michigan law classifies
an MIP as a misdemeanor charge
that carries a $400 fine. Minors
charged with the offense are also
required to appear in court. First-
time offenders may be subject to
probation and repeat offenders
could face jail time.
and South State Street.
Currently, the shop does not
have tables because of zoning
issues, but Saborio said he is sure
he will have seating within the
next couple of weeks.
While openinga business in the
current economy may be a bold
move, Saborio said Comet Coffee
has been off to a good start.
"Apparently there were a lot
of repressed coffee freaks in this
town," he said. "We have just had
such a positive response to the cof-
fee here, it's justbeen great. I had no
idea there were so many people in
Ann Arbor interested in coffee."
STEVE YEATER/AP
In this file photo from February, Mitt Romney speaks during the California Republican Spring Convention in Sacramento, Calif.
Romney's latest work puts
hi-m in spotligfht for 2012
Former candidate
signals another
presidential run in
subtle and overt ways
BOSTON (AP) - Mitt Romney
doesn't have a job for the first time
in his adult life. That hardly means
he's not working.
In ways both subtle and overt;
the 2008 Republican presiden-
tial contender, former Massachu-
setts governor, one-time Olympics
chief and high-flying businessman
is building toward a 2012 White
House campaign by judiciously
engaging and disengaging with the
national debate.
On Tuesday, he's in Chicago to
speak at a fundraiser for a prospec-
tive state treasurer candidate. On
Wednesday, he's in Washington to
headline a fundraiser for the Nation-
SUBPRIME
From Page 1
Soft information is derived from
questions the banks pose to poten-
tial loan recipientsrelatingto things
like job security and the potential
al RepublicanSenatorial Committee.
On Thursday, he's again the keynote
speaker at a fundraising dinner for
Republicans in New York City.
Afterthat, he's headingbackto his
oceanfront home in La Jolla, Calif.,
to continue writing newspaper col-
umns and a political book. Based on
the '60s tome "The American Chal-
lenge" by Frenchman Jean-Jacques
Servan-Schreiber, it will be aimed
at shaking American economic and
political complacency, he said.
Romney's also supervising the
sale of houses he owns in Mas-
sachusetts and Utah, the type of
excess real estate that brought
ridicule to John McCain last fall.
And his political action commit-
tee is seeding money to candidates
across the country.
"This is a quiet time," Romney
insisted Friday during a telephone
interview with The Associated
Press from Park City, Utah. He had
just completed loading a U-Haul
of major upcoming expenses.
Rajan, along with two col-
leagues, examined data on securi-
tized subprime loans issued from-
1997 to 2006 to determine the
reason why many models failed to
predict failure.
Securitization is the process by
DEAN
From Page 1
of consulting firm Greenwood/
Asher and Associates. In February,
three finalists for the position vis-
ited campus to participate in public
forums.
Linda Green, a spokeswomani for
the Division of StudentAffairs said
the search committee was better
prepared in its efforts the second
time around.
"The advisory board had more
experience in terms of what they
were looking for," Green said.
"They worked with a search firm
that really brought in some excel-
lent candidates, and so we had a
good pool to choose from."
Following the forums in February,
attendeessubmittedcommentsabout
the candidates to the committee.
Former Michigan Student
Assembly President Sabrina Shin-
gwani was one of three student
representatives on the search com-
mittee. She estimated that around
25 students attended each of the
forums, many of whom were from
student organizations.
Shingwani said in speak-
ing with students following the
forums, they "overwhelmingly"
supported Blake Jones as she was
able to speak from expdrience on
the issues students raised.
"She clearly had a strong under-
standing of what diversity meant
to the U of M," Shingwani said. "Of
the three candidates, she clearly
had the most hands-on experience
with students and student con-
cerns, and student issues."
Blake Jones has a bachelor's
degree from Miami University of
Ohio and a master's degree in Stu-
dent Personnel Services in Higher
Education from the University of
Vermont. She earned her Ph.D. in
Educational Leadership from the
University of Oregon.
Blake Jones has worked in stu-
dent affairs at each of her alma
maters as well as for the University
of California at Berkeley and the
University of California at Davis.
The dean of students oversees
student development units like
University Health Service, Spec-
trum Center, Multi-Ethnic Stu-
dent Affairs and Trotter House,
and Awareness Center and Servic-
es for Students with Disabilities.
Since former Dean of Students
Sue Eckland retired last year,
Harper has primarily served as
interim dean of students.
Take Back the Night Rally and March
U of M Diag Thursday, April 2nd 7pm
Take a Stand Against Sexual Violence
www.tbtnannarbor.org
Survivor Speak Out today, March 31st 7pm
Michigan Union-Parker Room
Share your story in a safe and supportive
space
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trailer with personal effects from
the ski home he's selling and was
about to set out - alone - for the
11/-hour drive back to California.
"At this stage, running again
is way beyond the horizon," said
Romney, 62. "This year is working
on a book. The next year will be
helping in Republican campaigns.
And I don't know what the year
after that will bring."
Republican strategist Mary
Matalin says she can easily see a
second campaign - and a more
successful one, at that.
"There'snothinglikegoingaround
the track once to broaden the field,"
Matalin said. "He has an intellectual
base. He has a politics-faith base.
He certainly has an economic base.
If there's anything illogical about
it, it's that he - and not some of the
other people who may appeal more
strongly to one of those elements -
has the greatest potential to pull all
those factions together."
which banks package various assets
- like risky loans, for example -
into securities, which they then sell
to investors.
The researchers found that as
the rate of securitization increased,
so did the reliance on hard infor-
mation about loan applicants. This
was because, Rajan said, the hard
information is easier to convey to
potential investors as the assets
were packaged and sold, repack-
aged and resold, and so forth.
Without securitization, the
lender is directly hurt if the bor-
rower defaults. However, after
the package is sold as a security
to an investor, the bank or lender
no longer bears the full risk of the
applicant potentially defaulting
on the loan. The responsibility
then falls, at least in part, on the
investor.
According to Rajan, lenders
were more aptto collect soft infor-
mation from borrowers before the
unprecedented growth in securi-
tization after the year 2000.
"A lender has an incentive to
verify undocumented informa-
tion, or soft information, about
the borrower," Rajan reported,
"but the incentive to acquire soft
information about borrowers is
lost under securitization, since
only hard data can be transmitted
credibly to the investor."
Thiscreatedasituationinwhich
high-risk applicants whose hard
information may have seemed
credible were able to obtain loans,
even though their soft informa-
tion showed they weren't likely to
pay the money back.
When investors purchased
securities containing these high-
risk loans, they were presumably
unknowingly putting themselves
at a great deal of risk, leading to
what has now become the sub-
prime mortgage crisis.
But the crisis is not entirely the
fault of statistical models' failures,
Rajan said. Rather, it was the veil-
ing effect that such models had on
greater economic problems that
truly got the economy in the mess
it is today.
"Statistical models that relied
on hard information did not
directly cause bad loans to be
made," Rajan said. "However, a
reliance on such models likely
prevented investors from learning
about the extent of the problem."
Rajan said he hopes the study
will have far-reaching implica-
tions for the financial sector as
a whole. He said it will help to
develop "more effective regula-
tion of the financial markets and
financial institutions" to prevent
similar scenarios from playing out
in the future.
Rajan has earned numerous
rewards for his work in the finan-
cial sector including the GSAM
award for best paper in the Review
of Finance and the NYSE award
for best paper on equity trading at
the WFA meetings, according to
his University biography.
ednesday, April 1, 2009
h 21 to April 19)
arguments with family mem-
ay, especially female relatives
ur mother). Keep your cool.
t your belly ina rash.
US
20 to May 20)
tra patient with others. Slow
hen driving. It's easy to get emo-
overwrought or too excited
omething today. People are
NIN
21 to June 20)
right be obsessed about buying
ng today. Or perhaps you're sim-
sessed about something at work
tes to your earnings. Take a deep
nd mellow out.
ER
21 to July 22)
struggles with partners can
ily today. Don't try to improve
r person, and don't let anyone do
ru. Be tolerant and accepting of
ier.
23 to Aug. 22)
hing secretive is taking place
ou might be dealing with some-
e's secrets, or you might be hid-
own. Either way likely will cre-
ion.
iO
23 to Sept. 22)
Ulties with a female friend are
today. People insist on getting
ay. Elements of jealousy also
a problem here. Take it easy.
A
23 to Oct. 22)
struggles with bosses, parents
s can arise very easily today.
are quick to take affront, and
lso very pushy. (Run away! Run
SCORPIO
(Oct. 22 to Nov. 2t)
This is a very pour day to engage in
debates and arguments about religion,
racial issues or politics. People are com-
ing from a purely emotional and very
personal point of view. Logic has gone
out the window.
SAGITTARIUS
(Nov. 22 to Dec. 21)
Money squabbles or difficulties about
shared property could arise today.
Postpone these discussions for another
day. (You'll be glad you did.)
CAPRICORN
(Dec. 22 to Jan. 19)
Difficulties with partners and close
friends are likely today, perhaps due to
feelings of jealousy or competitiveness.
Try not to give in to these emotions.
AQUARIUS
(Jan. 20 to Feb. 18)
People at work might be demanding
today. You might be huffy in your
response. You can see how quickly the
situation might deteriorate. Easy does it.
PISCES
(Feb. 19 to March 20)
Quarrels about children or romantic
differences are just some examples of
what could make this day difficult for
you. Don't take the bait. Remain calm
and mellow. If nothing else, do it for
your own peace of mind.
YOU BORN TODAY Many of you
are enormously self-disciplined. (You
are the warrior.) You have enormous
drive and energy. You do not shirk your
responsibilities; you meet life head on
You take your work seriously, and you
want to succeed. Friends know they can
rely on you. Your year ahead is exciting
because it is filled with new paths. Open
any door?
Birthdate of: Maathai Wangari, Nobel
laureate; Anne McCaffrey, author; All
MacGraw, actress.
1
n2009 King Features Syndicate, Inc.