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Bio

Ben Blau is a professor and the holder of the George S. Eccles Endowed Chair in Finance at Utah State University. Since arriving at USU in 2009, Ben has won multiple awards, including the the 2012 Huntsman School of Business Teacher of the Year and the 2013 Huntsman School Researcher of the Year. Before joining the faculty at Utah State, he taught at the Marriott School at Brigham Young University and received an undergraduate teaching award in 2009. Ben’s research interests are diverse and include financial markets, ethics, economic policy, and the interaction between government and firms. He has published more than ninety articles in a broad set of academic journals that include the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis and the Journal of Development Economics, among many others. His article titled, “Signaling, Free Cash Flow, and Nonmonotonic Dividends” won the Outstanding Paper award in the Financial Review in 2010. Another one of Ben’s article titled, “Trade Size and Price Clustering: The Case of Short Sales and the Suspension of Price Tests” won the 2012 Outstanding Article award at the Journal of Financial Research. His research has also been highlighted by several media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney Magazine, and Politico. 

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Benjamin M. Blau, Ph.D.
Professor
George S. Eccles Chair in Finance
3565 Old Main Hill
Department of Economics and Finance
Jon M. Huntsman School of Business
Utah State University
Logan, Utah 84322

Phone: 435-797-2340
Email: ben.blau@usu.edu

CV
SSRN
Google Scholar
ResearchGate
IDEAS/RePec

EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
July 2020-present

Department Head

July 2019-present

George S. Eccles Endowed Chair in Finance

Utah State University

Department of Economics and Finance

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

Utah State University

Department of Economics and Finance

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

July 2017-present

Professor

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Utah State University

Department of Economics and Finance

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

July 2013-June 2017

Associate Professor

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July 2009-June 2013

Assistant Professor

July 2008-June 2009

Visiting Assistant Professor

Utah State University

Department of Economics and Finance

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

Utah State University

Department of Economics and Finance

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

Brigham Young University

Department of Finance

Marriott School of Management

EDUCATION
EDUCATION
June 2008

Ph.D.

University of Mississippi

School of Business

Primary Field: Finance

Secondary Fields: Microeconomics and Econometrics

Dissertation: Three Essays on Return Predictability and the Behavior of Short Sellers

June 2005

Master's Degree

Utah State University

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

Major: Economics

Emphasis: Economic Theory

Thesis: An Economic Approach Toward Charitable Contributions

May 2002

Bachelor's Degree

Utah State University 

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

Major: Finance

Minor: Economics

PUBLICATIONS
CLIENTS

Books

[4] Personal Finance and Economic Decision Making, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, expected release in 2023, MyEducator

 

[3] Financial Analysis in Python, with J. Brau, A. Holmes, M. Keith, and S. Owen, 2022, MyEducator

 

[2] Financial Decision Making, with J. Brau and A. Holmes, 2014, MyEducator

 

[1] Principles of Finance, with J. Brau and A. Holmes, 2013, MyEducator

Journal Articles

[93] Daily Short Selling Around Reverse Stock Splits, with J. Cox, T. Griffith, and R. Voges, 2023, Journal of Financial Markets, Forthcoming.

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[92] Industry Regulation and the Comovement of Stock Prices, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, Journal of Empirical Finance, Forthcoming.

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[91] Anchor Reversion: The Case of the 52-week High and Asset Prices with T. Griffith, R. Whitby and D. Woodward, 2023, Journal of Behavioral Finance, Forthcoming.

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[90] Equity Borrowing Constraints and the Informed Trading Strategies of Short Sellers, with J. Della Vedova, C. Fox, and J. Smith, 2023, Market Microstructure and Liquidity, Forthcoming.

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[89] Do Retail Traders Destabilize Financial Markets? An Investigation Surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic, with A. Baig, H. Butt, and A. Yasin, 2022, Journal of Banking and Finance, Forthcoming.

 

[88] Airline Disasters and the Performance of Tourism and Hospitality Stocks, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2022, Tourism Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Journal 28, 269-281.

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[87] Pharmaceutical Innovation and Access to Financial Markets, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2022, PLoS One 17, e0278875.

 

[86] Lobbying and Lending by Banks around the Financial Crisis, with T. Griffith, and R. Whitby, 2022, Public Choice 192, 377-397.

 

[85] Corporate Lobbying and the Value of Firms: The Case of Defense Firms and the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, with T. Griffith, D. Larsen, and R. Whitby, 2022, International Review of Finance 22, 759-769.

 

[84] On the Ethics of "Non-Corporate" Insider Trading, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2022, Journal of Business Ethics 177, 79-93.

 

[83] Does Mutual Fund Ownership Reduce Stock Price Clustering? Evidence from Active and Index Funds, with A. Baig and J. Delisle, 2022, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 58, 615-647.

 

[82] Investor Sentiment and the Time Variation of the Illiquidity Premium, with R. Whitby and F. Young, 2022, Journal of Systematic Investing 2, 52-69.

 

[81] Inflation and Bitcoin: A Descriptive Time-Series Analysis, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2021, Economics Letters 203, 109848.

 

[80] Income Inequality and the Volatility of Stock Prices, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2021, Applied Economics 53, 4404-4416.

 

[79] Free Trade and the Efficiency of Stock Prices, with A. Baig, and N. Sabah, 2021, Global Finance Journal 48, 100545.

 

 

[78] Firm Opacity and the Clustering of Stock Prices: The Case of Financial Intermediaries, with A. Baig and T. Griffith, 2021, Journal of Financial Services Research 60, 187-206.

 

[77] Price Clustering, Preferences for Round Prices, and Expected Returns, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2020, Journal of Behavioral Finance, 1-15.

 

[76] Gambling Activity and Stock Price Volatility: A Cross-Country Analysis, with R. Whitby, 2020, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance 27, 100338.

 

[75] Accounting Information Quality and the Clustering of Stock Prices, with A. Baig, and J. Hao, 2020, American Business Review 23, 182-210.

 

[74] Religiosity and Loss Aversion: Does Local Religiosity Influence Stock Return Skewness, with B. Crane, 2020, International Review of Finance 21, 478-496.

 

[73] Does Probability Weighting Drive Lottery Preferences?, with J. Delisle and R. Whitby, 2020, Journal of Behavioral Finance 21. 233-247.

 

[72] Comovement in the Cryptocurrency Market, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2020, Economics Bulletin 40, 1-9.

 

[71] Skewness Preferences and Gambling Cultures, with J. Hsu and R. Whitby, 2019, Pacific Basin Finance Journal 58, 101206.

 

[70] The Introduction of Bitcoin Futures: An Examination of Volatility and Spillover Effects, with R. Whitby, 2019, Economics Bulletin 39, 1030-1038.

 

[69] Rethinking Decimalization: The Impact of Increased Tick Sizes on Trading Activity and Volatility, with R. Whitby, 2019, Market Microstructure and Liquidity 5, 2050006.

 

[68] Comovement in the Stock Prices of Banks: The Case of Opacity, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2019, Accounting and Finance 60, 3557-3580.

 

[67] Information in Stock Prices: The Case of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2019, Applied Economics 51, 4385-4396.

 

[66] Price Clustering and Economic Freedom: A Cross-Country Analysis, with A. Baig and R. Whitby, 2019, Journal of Multinational Financial Management 50, 1-12.

 

[65] Price Clustering and Sentiment in Bitcoin, with A. Baig and N. Sabah, 2019, Finance Research Letters 29,111-116.

 

[64] Price Clustering and Investor Sentiment (sole authored), 2019, Journal of Behavioral Finance 20, 19-30.

 

[63] The Maximum Bid-Ask Spread, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2018, Journal of Financial Markets 41, 1-16.

 

[62] Does Religiosity Affect Liquidity in Financial Markets? (sole authored), 2018, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance 19, 72-83.

 

[61] Exchange Rate Volatility and the Stability of Stock Prices (sole authored), 2018, International Review of Economics and Finance 58, 299-311.

 

[60] The Amendment of the U.S. STOCK Act and the Prices of Stocks Most Held by Congress, 2018, Law and Financial Markets Review 12, 210-227.

 

[59] Income Inequality, Poverty, and the Liquidity of Stock Markets (sole authored), 2018, Journal of Development Economics 130, 113-126.

 

[58] How Does Short Selling Affect Liquidity in Financial Markets, with R. Whitby, 2018, Finance Research Letters 25, 244-250.

 

[57] Short Interest, Skewness, and the Efficiency of Stock Prices, with R. Whitby, 2018, Applied Economics 50, 2229-2242.

 

[56] Option Introductions and the Skewness of Stock Returns, with R. Whitby, 2017, Journal of Futures Markets 37, 892-912.

 

[55] Idiosyncratic Kurtosis and Expected Returns, with R. Whitby, 2017, Journal of Investing 26, 81-88.

 

[54] Range-Based Volatility and Expected Returns, with R. Whitby 2017, PLoS One 12(11): e0188517.

 

[53] Bank Opacity and the Efficiency of Stock Prices with T. Brough and T. Griffith, 2017, Journal of Banking and Finance 76, 32-47.

 

[52] Price Dynamics and Speculative Trading in Bitcoin (sole authored), 2017, Research in International Business and Finance 41, 493-499.

 

[51] Key Stakeholder’s Stock Returns and the Affordable Care Act, with B. Daines, B. Karl, and C. Wade, 2017, Journal of Insurance Regulation 35, 1-25.

 

[50] Lobbying, Political Connections, and Emergency Lending by the Federal Reserve (sole authored), 2017, Public Choice 172, 333-358.

 

[49] Economic Freedom and Crashes in Financial Markets (sole authored), 2017, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions, and Money 47, 33-46.

 

[48] Social Trust and Liquidity in Financial Markets, 2017, (sole authored), Journal of Business Research 78, 155-171.

 

[47] Exchange Rate Volatility and the Non-Normality of Stock Returns (sole authored), 2017, Journal of Economics and Business 91, 41-52.

 

[46] Skewness Preferences, Asset Prices, and Investor Sentiment (sole authored), 2017, Applied Economics 49, 812-822.

 

[45] Information and Insurer Financial Strength Ratings: Do Short Sellers Anticipate Ratings Changes?, with A. Liebenberg and C. Wade, 2016, Journal of Risk and Insurance 83, 475-500.

 

[44] Gambling Preferences, Options Markets, and Volatility, with B. Bowles and R. Whitby, 2016, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 51, 515-540.

 

[43] Price Clustering and the Stability of Stock Prices, with T. Griffith, 2016, Journal of Business Research 69, 3933-3942.

 

[42] The Financial Impact of Lender of Last Resort Borrowing from the Federal Reserve during the Financial Crisis, with S. Hein and R. Whitby, 2016, Journal of Financial Research 39, 179-206.

 

[41] Guns, Laws, and Public Shootings in the United States, with D. Gorry and C. Wade, 2016, Applied Economics 48, 4732-4746.

 

[40] REITs and Market Friction with J. Eggington, and M. Hill, 2016, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 46, 1-24.

 

[39] Religiosity and the Volatility of Stock Prices: A Cross-Country Analysis (sole authored), 2015, Journal of Business Ethics 1-13.

 

[38] The Volatility of Bid-Ask Spreads, with R. Whitby, 2015, Financial Management 44, 851-874.

 

[37] Do Sophisticated Investors Interpret Earnings Conference Call Tone Differently than Investors at Large, Evidence from Short Sales, with J. Delisle and M. Price, 2015, Journal of Corporate Finance 31, 203-219.

 

[36] Skewness and Asymmetry of Earnings Announcement Returns, with M. Pinegar and R. Whitby, 2015, Journal of Financial Research 38, 145-168.

 

[35] Are Put-Call Ratios a Substitute for Short Sales, with T. Brough, 2015, Review of Derivatives Research 18, 51-73.

 

[34] Short Selling and Price Pressure Around Merger Announcements, with K. Fuller, and C. Wade, 2015, Journal of Financial Services Research 48, 143-160.

 

[33] The Distribution of REIT Liquidity, with N. Nguyen and R. Whitby, 2015, Journal of Real Estate Literature 23, 233-252.

 

[32] The Information Content of Option Ratios, with N. Nguyen and R. Whitby, 2014, Journal of Banking and Finance 43, 179-187.

 

[31] Short Sales and Option Listing Decisions, with T. Brough, 2014, Financial Management 43, 703-724.

 

[30] Short Sales, Class-Action Lawsuits, with P. Tew, 2014, Journal of Financial Markets 20, 79-100.

 

[29] The Reaction of European Credit Default Swap Spreads to the U.S. Credit Rating Downgrade, with B. Roseman, 2014, International Review of Economics and Finance 34, 131-141.

 

[28] Economic Freedom and the Stability of Stock Prices: A Cross-Country Analysis, with T. Brough, and D. Thomas, 2014, Journal of International Money and Finance 41, 182-196.

 

[27] Speculative Trading in REITs, with R. Whitby, 2014, Journal of Financial Research 37, 55-74.

 

[26] Autocorrelation in Daily Short-Sale Volume, with J.M. Smith, 2014, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 54, 31-41.

 

[25] Corporate Lobbying, Political Connections, and the Bailout of Banks, with T. Brough, and D. Thomas, 2013, Journal of Banking and Finance 37, 3007-3017.

 

[24] An Examination of Short-Selling Activity Surrounding Auditor Changes, with T. Brough, J.L. Smith, and N. Stephens, 2013, Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance 28, 348-368.

 

[23] Are Short Sellers Incrementally Informed Prior to Earnings Announcements?, with M. Pinegar, 2013, Journal of Empirical Finance 21, 142-155.

 

[22] Comparing the Information in Short Sales and Put Options, with C. Wade, 2013, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 41, 567-583.

 

[21] Informed Short Sales and Option Introductions (sole authored), 2013, Annals of Finance 9, 365-382.

 

[20] Short Selling After Hours, with D. Alldredge and T. Brough, 2012, Journal of Economics and Business 64, 439-451.

 

[19] Do Short Sellers Trade in Anticipation of Short Interest Announcements, with B. Van Ness and R. Van Ness, 2012, Journal of Trading 7, 35-46.

 

[18] Short Interest and Frictions in the Flow of Information (sole authored) 2012, Financial Management 41, 371-394.

 

[17] Trade-Size and Price Clustering: The Case of Short Sales with B. Van Ness and R. Van Ness, 2012, Journal of Financial Research 35, 159-182.

- Selected as Best 2012 Article in the Journal of Financial Research

 

[16] Short Sales, Stealth Trading, and the Suspension of the Uptick Rule with T. Brough, 2012, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 52, 38-48.

 

[15] Concentrated Short-Selling Activity: Bear Raids or Contrarian Trading?, with T. Brough, 2012, International Journal of Managerial Finance 8, 187-203.

 

[14] Short Selling around Dividend Announcements and Ex-Dividend Days, with K. Fuller and R. Van Ness, 2012, Journal of Corporate Finance 17, 628-639.

 

[13] Informed or Speculative: Short Selling Analyst Recommendations, with C. Wade, 2012, Journal of Banking and Finance 36, 14-25.

 

[12] Short Selling ADRs and Foreign Market Short-Sale Constraints, with R. Van Ness and R. Warr, 2012, Journal of Banking and Finance 36, 886-897.

 

[11] Information in Short Selling: Comparing NASDAQ and the NYSE with B. Van Ness, and R. Van Ness, 2011, Review of Financial Economics 20, 1 - 10.

 

[10] REIT Short Sales and Return Predictability with M. Hill and H. Wang, 2011, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 42, 481-503.

 

[9] Is the Trading of Inverse ETFs a Bearish Signal, with T. Brough, 2011, Journal of Trading 6, 32-40.

 

[8] Short Selling during Extreme Market Movements with B. Van Ness, R. Van Ness and R. Wood, 2010, Journal of Trading 5, 14-27.

 

[7] Signaling, Free Cash Flow, and Nonmonotonic Dividends with K. Fuller, 2010, Financial Review 45, 21-56.

- Selected as Best 2010 Article in the Financial Review

 

[6] Short Selling and the Weekend Effect for NYSE Securities with B. Van Ness and R. Van Ness, 2009, Financial Management 38, 603-630.

 

[5] Information and Trade Sizes: The Case of Short Sales, with B. Van Ness and R. Van Ness, 2009, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 49, 1371-1388.

 

[4] Intraday Stealth Trading: Which Trades Move Prices During Periods of High Volume?, with B. Van Ness and R. Van Ness, 2009, Journal of Financial Research 32, 1 - 21.

 

[3] Capitalizing on Catastrophe: Short Selling Insurance Companies around Hurricanes Katrina and Rita with R. Van Ness and C. Wade, 2008, Journal of Risk and Insurance 75, 967-996.

 

[2] Flexibility and Dividends, with K. Fuller, 2008, Journal of Corporate Finance 14, 133-152.

 

[1] An Analysis of Short Selling in NYSE-Listed Securities with B. Van Ness and R. Van Ness, 2006, Journal of Trading 1, 14-21.

CURRENT RESEARCH
SKILLS

Working Papers

[25] Does Corporate Lobbying Affect Market Concentration?, with E. Bickmore, T. Griffith, and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[24] The Ethical and Empirical Consequences of Maximizing Shareholder Value, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[23] The Gambler’s Fallacy in Financial Markets, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[22] Price Clustering and the Informational Efficiency of Stock Prices: The Case of the SEC’s Tick Size Pilot, with A. Baig, T. Griffith, and N. Sabah, 2023, working paper.

 

[21] Corporate Lobbying and Tax Avoidance, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[20] Banks, Credit Markets, and Innovation, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[19] The Economic Implications of Mass Shootings on Real Estate Prices, with R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[18] The Cost of Going Green, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[17] The Substitution Effects between Lobbying and Pharmaceutical Innovation, with D. Mosman and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[16] Credit Market Development and Mortality Rates, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[15] Equity Options and the Efficiency of Underlying Stock Prices, with T. Brough, 2023, working paper.

 

[14] The Peer Effects of Corporate Lobbying: The Case of Industry Spillover, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[13] Throwing in the Towel: When Short Sellers Fail-to-Deliver Price Reversals, with T. Brough, 2023, working paper.

 

[12] Investor Sentiment and the Idiosyncratic Volatility Puzzle, with B. Cannon and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[11] Economic Freedom and the Liquidity of Cross-Listed Securities, with D. Thomas, 2023, working paper.

 

[10] The 2003 Dividend Tax Cut and the Stock-Price Reaction to Corporate Payouts, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[9] Financial Market Efficiency and the Quality of Institutions, with R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[8] How Does Lobbying Regulation Affect the Stock Prices of Firms that Lobby?, with B. Stewart and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[7] A Simple Approximation for the Noisiness of Prices, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, 2023, working paper.

 

[6] The Effect of Leveraged and Inverse ETFs on Financial Market Quality with D. Woodward, 2023, working paper.

 

[5] The Tradeoff between Capital Investment and Corporate Lobbying, 2023, with T. Griffith and R. Whitby, working paper.

 

[4] Intraday Trading by Informed Short Sellers, with T. Brough and Y. Zhang, 2014, working paper.

 

[3] Short Sellers’ Informational Advantage and the Turn-of-the-Month Anomaly, with A. Shkilko, 2014, working paper.

 

[2] Information or Speculation: What Motivates Pre-Earnings Announcement Option Activity?, with D. Alldredge and M. Pinegar, 2014, working paper.

 

[1] Divergence of Opinion and Open Market Share Repurchases, with K. Fuller, M. Walker, and H. Wang, 2014, working paper.

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OTHER INFORMATION
EXPERTISE

Honors and Awards

George S. Eccles Endowed Chair in Finance - 2019 - present

The National Residence Hall Honorary Outstanding Teacher - 2017

Outstanding Reviewer Award - Financial Review - 2016

Huntsman Business School Graduate Research Mentor of the Year - 2015

Department of Economics and Finance Graduate Research Mentor of the Year - 2015

Huntsman Business School Researcher of the Year - 2013

Department of Economics and Finance Researcher of the Year - 2013

The Outstanding Article in the Journal of Financial Research - 2012

Huntsman Business School Professor of the Year - 2012

Department of Economics and Finance Teacher of the Year - 2012

Department of Economics and Finance Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year - 2011

Best Paper at FMA Semifinalist - 2010

The Best Article in the Financial Review - 2010

Brigham Young University, Marriott School Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching ñ2009

University of Mississippi Graduate School Summer Research Grant - 2007, 2008

American Finance Association Travel Grant - 2008

University of Mississippi Ph.D. Student of the Year, School of Business - 2007

University of Mississippi Graduate School Travel Grant - 2007

University of Mississippi Graduate School Honors Fellowship - 2005 to 2008

University of Mississippi Department of Finance Research Assistantship - 2005 to 2008

Utah State University Graduate School Dean's List - 2004

Other Experience

Principle Consultant - Nathan Associates Inc. - 2016 - present

Lead Consultant - Blau and Associates LLC - 2014 - present

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Memberships

American Finance Association

Association of Private Enterprise and Education

Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP)

Eastern Finance Association

Financial Management Association

Southern Finance Association

Western Economic Association

Media Mentions

U.S. News & World Report, May 2023

Utah Business Magazine, September 2022

Barron's, March 24, 2022

24/7 Wall Street, April 10, 2021

Yahoo! Finance, January 15, 2020

Quartz, January 15, 2020

Utah Statesman, January 9, 2020

The Pitt News, January 22, 2019

Utah Statesman, May 4, 2017

Hartford Courant, June 17, 2016

Washington Post, June 17, 2016

Utah Public Radio, February 20th, 2015

Utah Public Radio, February 9th, 2015

Fortune, October 28th, 2013

Washington Examiner, October 27th, 2013

Bloomberg, October 24th, 2013

Politico, October 24th, 2013

The Hill, October 24th, 2013

International Business Times, October 24th, 2013

American Banker, October 24th, 2013

Smart Money Magazine, October 26th, 2012

Wall Street Journal - MarketWatch, October 26th, 2012

Reuters, June 20th, 2012

The Chicago Tribune, June 19th, 2012

The Salt Lake Tribune, October 22nd, 2011

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