The tutor tells about using the Fill button to extend a number pattern. If you want a really quick way to extend a series of numbers, here’s how in Excel (2007): In adjacent cells, enter the known numbers of the …
Excel: extrapolating (following) a data trend quickly and easily Read more »
The tutor looks into why oil is less than half its price two years ago. Back when oil was over $100, I thought I understood the reason: China, India, and other developing countries have a growing middle class. Those swelling …
Business and Economics: The price of oil, Part II Read more »
With some reflections, the tutor opens a discussion about the price of oil. For years, I tutored high school math to young men headed to Alberta or Saskatchewan. Months later, in the oil fields, they made several times what I …
Business and Economics: ripples from the price of oil Read more »
The tutor explains the use of Excel’s built-in function to calculate the number of work days between two dates. Excel’s networkdays() function is located in the Formulas tab by clicking the Date & Time icon. It calculates the number of …
The tutor shares a find from today’s Excel session. I use Excel for very specific purposes, mainly programming and such. There are common skills I’m only now accumulating. Today, from Microsoft, I learned that the Select All button is the …
The tutor begins exploring the frontier of holding companies. Years ago, training in financial planning, I read about holding companies – mainly about their tax treatment. What I learned was that holding companies can be complex situations. A holding company’s …
Business and Economics: Holding Companies, part 0 Read more »
The tutor shares a really neat find from the world of accounting. Although I’m an academic, the first post-secondary diploma I received, believe it or not, was in accounting and office management. While I haven’t used it much professionally, what …
Accounting and Business: Depreciation: Sum-of-years’-digits method Read more »
The tutor covers a couple of fun features of the Staples BD-6120G. The Staples BD-6120G is a scientific calculator, but it’s got some neat features useful to buyers and sellers as well. In particular, it’s got some very handy percentage …
Calculator usage: percentage markups and selling price with the Staples BD-6120G Read more »
The tutor finally brings up the elephant in the room. I’ve been writing this blog since August 2012; herein are over 500 articles confronting problems, methods, or ideas that might occur in an academic milieu. Numerous of them centre on …
Spreadsheets: Excel: calculating internal rate of return (IRR) Read more »
The tutor brings up what he finds a fascinating concept: internal rate of return. The way I understand it, the internal rate of return is the interest rate that would make possible an exact sequence of deposits and withdrawals, with …
Financial math: Hewlett-Packard 10B: internal rate of return Read more »