Harley-Davidson shares jump 11%
April 12, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: Shares of the motorcycle-maker jump to their highest level in 3 months after analysts predict improving sales.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 04/06/2010
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2010/04/06/mkts_harley_davidson_motorcycle.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- Explain the connections between Harley’s marketing success and its stock market valuation?
- Why do you suppose Harley’s sales have improved?
- Who do you think is driving sales growth at Harley?
- Do you believe that this growth is sustainable?
Oil traders eye $100 a barrel
April 12, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: NYMEX traders discuss high crude oil prices and the potential consequences for the economy.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 04/08/2010
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2010/04/08/mkts_oil_traders_nymex.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- Explain the arguments presented that favor rising oil prices and arguments for prices heading lower?
- Which direction do you see oil heading over the next six months?
- Which stocks trading on the market will be most affected by a significant change in oil prices?
Yahoo sale of HotJobs gets closer scrutiny
April 12, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: Yahoo Inc.’s sale of the HotJobs jobs-listings service to Monster Worldwide Inc. is getting a closer examination from antitrust regulators at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Monster disclosed Friday.
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: 04/09/2010
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yahoo-sale-of-hotjobs-gets-closer-scrutiny-2010-04-09
Questions for discussion:
- Why does this sale by Yahoo make sense?
- Why might there be concern of a reduction in market competition because of the sale to Monster.com?
Consumers in U.S. Face the End of an Era of Cheap Credit
April 12, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management
Description: Even as prospects for the American economy brighten, consumers are about to face a new financial burden: a sustained period of rising interest rates.
Source: NYTimes.com
Date: 04/10/2010
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/business/economy/11rates.html?ref=business
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the predictions made in this report.
- What affect they are expected to have on consumer spending.
- Do you agree with these views?
- What other factors will also likely influence consumers?
Innovation, by Order of the Kremlin
April 12, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Description: AROUND the time that Apple Computer was making it big in California, Andrey Shtorkh was getting a first-hand look at the Soviet approach to high tech: he guarded the fence keeping scientists inside Sverdlovsk-45, one of the country’s secret scientific cities, deep in the Ural Mountains.
Source: NYTimes.com
Date: 04/10/2010
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/business/global/11russia.html?ref=business
Questions for discussion:
- What does this article suggest about changing attitudes towards business and entrepreneurialism in Russia?
- Do you believe the movement described here is genuine and sustainable?
iPad searches for a use
April 5, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 4: Marketing Management
Description: Apple loyalists are clamoring for their iPads, but it’s unclear how normal users will take to the tablet.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 04/02/2010
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/04/01/tm_apple_ipad_sale.fortune/
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think the market for iPad is as big as the one for iPhone?
- Are both products targeting the same customer?
- Do you think iPad will turn out to be a huge success?
- Would you consider the sale of college textbooks on iPad a good idea?
Costco mixes bagels, mahjong to woo customers overseas
April 5, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment
Description: Looking up at the sign on a Costco building in Taipei, Taiwan, you could easily mistake it for one of the warehouse club’s giant U.S. outlets — until you notice the long line of customers snaking around the store, waiting to enter.
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: 04/01/2010
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/costco-seeks-to-lure-taiwan-shoppers-2010-04-01?siteid=nwtwk
Questions for discussion:
- What are the similarities and differences between your local Costco outlet and the one described in this article?
- Do you think that there is an “international Costco customer” that shops the same way anywhere in the world?
- Why is Costco well suited for international business operations?
More anger expected to color annual meeting season
April 5, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: Emerging standard calls for directors to win backing of a majority of investors
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: 04/02/2010
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think retail shareholders are more likely to exercise their voting power in the future?
- How can corporate financial managers be expected to react?
Bargain Rates for a C.E.O.?
April 5, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Description: LAST year may have been unnerving for chief executives accustomed to all of the familiar ornaments of corporate life: eight-figure pay packages, corporate jets, memberships in select clubs, and on and on.
Source: NYTimes.com
Date: 04/02/2010
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/business/04comp.html?ref=business
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think CEOs are fairly paid?
- How would you set compensation for CEOs?
Increase in March Employment Shows U.S. Recovery Is Broadening
April 5, 2010 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment
Description: Employment in March grew by the most in three years, representing a turning point for the labor market that will help broaden the U.S. economy as it recovers from the deepest recession in seven decades.
Source: Bloomberg.com
Date: 04/03/2010
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aDCWdea8_JO0
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the reasons given for economic and stock market optimism?
- Do you agree with these opinions favoring economic improvement?
- How do you expect the financial markets to perform over the next 12 months.
