26 November 2018 FT — Articles to Read

26 November 2018

 

Question: According to MSN: Lifestyle, what are ten (10) signs you are about to fall for a bad Airbnb listing?

 

Bloomberg’s gift opens doors to a top education – Pg. 11

–          When the business Johns Hopkins set aside $7m in the late 19th century to fund the creation of a hospital and a university in his native Baltimore, it was the biggest known philanthropic gift in US history

–          Last week…Michael Bloomberg…$1.8bn donation to Johns Hopkins University far outstrips the original benefactor’s grant, worth an estimated $140m at today’s prices

–          …already given $1.5bn ahead of his latest contribution

–          …Mr Bloomberg’s donation reflects a focus not on physical assets but instead a significant practical concern at the heart of contemporary US education debates: the unequal level of access and future opportunities for potential students, in part driven by the high costs – which run to $72,000/year for undergraduates at Johns Hopkins

–          His $1.8bn donation will be invested alongside the university’s existing endowment, which the income generated designed to make applications “needblind” in perpetuity by offering scholarships to encourage more low and middle-income students to apply

 

Black Friday sets record but store sales drop further – Pg. 13

–          Sales in stores during Thanksgiving and Black Friday dropped between 4 and 7% compared with last year, …

–          Footfall was estimated to have declined even more, between 5 and 9%.  But those consumers who did show up spent more, driving average transaction values up about 3%

–          It was at least the fourth consecutive year of declines in both traffic and sales recorded…

–          Black Friday online spending leapt 24% from a year ago to $6.22bn, …

–          For the first time, online prices on Thanksgiving were as low as they were on Black Friday

–          In another threat to stores, consumers are more comfortable buying more expensive items online

 

Answer: (1) Photos that leave you with more questions than answers; (2) You cannot find any reviews; (3) You are finding only negative reviews; (4) You are not finding photos that match the description; (5) You cannot believe the price; (6) You are finding errors; (7) You are not sure whether it is legal; (8) You booked the first place you found; (9) Your host is taking forever to respond; (10) You feel like it is too good to be true