Exam II is almost upon us (Monday, November 24th).  Because Thanksgiving follows by just a few days, you are sure to be busy in the next two weeks.  For that reason, I want to start the exam preparation process early by giving you some information about logistics, format and content.

Second, this exam will have more objective questions (i.e., fewer essay questions/problems) than last exam.  I have not written it yet, but as soon as I do, I will tell you exactly how many of each type of question will appear (as well as the split among Mankiw/lecture, WSJ articles, and Shlaes material).

Third, I will not be in town on Monday November 24th.  To make up for the 1.5 hours of missed office hours, I will hold office hours from 10 am - noon and 1 to 6 pm on Thursday, November 20th.  I will also phone the TAs proctoring the exam during the exam to answer any student questions that come up.

Finally, I post a new reading list to make clear exactly what will be on the exam no later than Monday.

We will talk about the unemployment rate on Monday.  Fortuitously, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the October civilian unemployment rate today.  That rate jumped 0.4 percentage points from September to 6.5% - 14-year high.  Here is a link to a WSJ article on the jump: Economy Sheds 240,000 Jobs.

Today’s WSJ also had an article on hedge funds.  It seems they are selling securities by the truckload to raise cash - and driving the market down in the process.  Here is the link: Hedge Fund Selling Puts New Stress on Market.

As always articles from the business press mentioned/linked in “Class Emails” (rather than “WSJ Emails”) are for your enrichment but are not required reading.

Have a great weekend!