Macy’s: They’re buying; we’re hiring

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: CEO Terry Lundgren says Macy’s has taken on extra staff to cope with holiday demand and expects to create permanent positions as well. Source:  CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 11/26/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/11/26/n_co_macys.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion:  How well is Macy’s shopping season going so far? Why is the business activity at Macy indicative of economic… Read more »

Rosenberg Interview on Holiday Shopping, U.S. Economy

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates, talks about the outlook for the holiday-shopping season. Rosenberg, speaking with Sara Eisen and Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg Television’s “InsideTrack,” also discusses the prospects for the U.S. economy. Source: Bloomberg.com – video report   Date: 11/26/2010 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/64814870/ Questions for discussion:  Summarize the opinions presented… Read more »

A Celebrity Bank Card, if Not the Bankroll

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  THEY’RE the faces of everything unapologetically excessive about pop culture: from Rodeo Drive shopping sprees to sex tapes to Nascar. So why wouldn’t the Kardashian sisters, nouveaux-celeb stars of the reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” promote a prepaid debit card? Source: NYTimes.com   Date: 11/26/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/fashion/28noticed.html?ref=business Questions for discussion:  What are… Read more »

Alec Baldwin for Wegmans’ Supermarkets: Now It’s Hip to Be Unironic

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Upstate New Yorkers are agog at Alec Baldwin’s completely unironic TV ads for a local grocery chain, Wegmans. There’s a cute backstory about why Baldwin is doing these ads — his mom shops there — but they illustrate one of the more charming new trends in advertising: to cast a famous person against type… Read more »

Pirate Bay appeal falls on deaf ears

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: In another blow to online file-sharing, a Swedish appeals court upheld on Friday the copyright convictions of three of the four founders of The Pirate Bay–perhaps the world’s most well-known and notorious file-sharing Web site. Source: CNET.com   Date: 11/26/2010 Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20023915-93.html Questions for discussion:  What are the legal and ethical issues surrounding file-sharing?… Read more »

Investors cheer GM debut

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: The automaker’s stock debuted at $35 a share, a 6% premium from the offering price, raising investor hope that GM will become a Wall Street darling. Source:  CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 11/18/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2010/11/18/mkts_gm_ipo.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Was the government’s decision to re-finance GM a good choice financially and socially speaking? Do you… Read more »

digits: The Beatles Invade iTunes

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Beatles songs are finally available in Apple’s iTunes store. But ATD’s Peter Kafka says that iTunes is all about apps these days, while digital music sales have flattened out – and even the Fab Four may have a hard time changing that. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report   Date: 11/16/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/digits-the-beatles-invade-itunes/874EB528-ED14-44A4-B14E-2529BB1659DC Questions for… Read more »

Unions Yield on Wage Scales to Preserve Jobs

Posted by & filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description:  Organized labor appears to be losing an important battle in the Great Recession. Source: NYTimes.com   Date: 11/19/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/business/20wages.html?ref=business Questions for discussion:  According to the report, how have unionized workers adapted to the economic conditions at their places of employment? Do you think this change will impact aspects in the workplace such as… Read more »

Israeli Biotechs Find Partners in Ohio

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment.

Description: Government incentives and an Ohio venture capital fund focused on Israel have drawn Israeli entrepreneurs to a state with top research clinics and a flourishing health-care industry. Source:  Businessweek.com Date: 11/18/2010 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2010/sb20101117_584843.htm?chan=smallbiz_special+report+–+focus+on+entrepreneurs+november+2010_special+report+–+focus+on+entrepreneurs+november+2010 Questions for discussion: What are the reasons motivating these parties to collaborate in this effort? What are the basic benefits for… Read more »

Retailers prep for sales frenzy

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: With just a week before the official kickoff of the year’s biggest shopping season, consumers are hitting the dozens of websites that track holiday sales and finding TVs, eBook readers and other items at their deepest discounts of the year. Source: Marketwatch.com   Date: 11/18/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unwrapping-black-friday-deals-2010-11-18?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion:  How important is “Black… Read more »