«We are pleased with the government’s opening of dialogue and will continue to work with them, hoping that they will make revisions to the age and (exam) average,» said Rene Mezui-Menie, head of the National Federation of the Associations of Parents of School Pupils and Students. In late March, a draft decree reduced access to state grants for aspiring university students, setting 19 as the maximum age for access to funds and requiring applicants to reach a relatively high mark in the school certificate exam — at least 12 points out of a maximum of 20. The ministry of higher education has published figures showing that 65 percent of students awarded grants in 2017 on the strength of the grades of their baccalaureat — or high school certificate — were aged 20 or over. The CFA Institute’s staff and consultants will discuss how to respond at a two-day workshop starting on Sunday in Chicago. Topics under consideration include artificial intelligence, machine learning, algorithms and robo-advisers, which are automated online investment services. The grueling set of three exams that leads to the credential already covers a sweeping range of topics, from understanding how corporations spend cash to the mechanics of complex financial instruments and regulation. The Daily Progress reports the CFA Institute agreed to pay a $321,000 without admitting wrongdoing as part of the settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice released Monday. The investigation found the nonprofit had violated the Immigration and Nationality Act when it hired temporary exam graders from outside the country. Fund managers who pick individual stocks and bonds are under increasing pressure and reaching to increasingly esoteric techniques to deliver strong performance as investors take money management into their own hands using cheaper index funds. «In its desire to calm the situation and listen to the public, the government of the republic has decided to suspend classes across the country,» Education Minister Michel Menga M’Essonne said in a statement. The ministry of higher education has published figures showing that 65 percent of students awarded grants in 2017 on the strength of the grades of their baccalaureat — or high school certificate — were aged 20 or over. NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) – The CFA Institute will weigh changing its formidable exam to tackle artificial intelligence and the «big data» investors cull for an edge in markets, a senior official from the U.S. accrediting group said on Tuesday. Yet Stephen Horan, managing director of credentialing for the CFA Institute, said investment managers are increasingly collecting and processing huge amounts of data, such as satellite images of parking lots, http://www.google.com that they use to guide their investments. Those topics are not addressed in the CFA exam. Gabon, a former French colony in Equatorial Africa, achieved a high standard of living in African terms funded primarily by oil and tropical hardwood exports, but the economy nosedived after the drop in crude oil prices in 2014. Gabon, a former French colony in Equatorial Africa, achieved a high standard of living in African terms funded primarily by oil and tropical hardwood exports, but the economy nosedived after the drop in crude oil prices in 2014. «We’ve always had a very big emphasis on statistical analysis, econometrics and data analysis in the program, and from what the industry is telling us folks still need this,» Horan said in an interview. (AP) – A nonprofit that administers exams for the chartered financial analyst certification will stop paying exam graders after a federal investigation into its hiring practices. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The department found that CFA set aside annual temporary positions for members with high-skilled temporary visas. CEO Paul Smith says the company would hire 150 foreigners each year so the grading pool would include people for whom English was a second language. Most of those who take the English-only exam are not in the U.S.