J.P. Morgan shares slump after $2 bln trading loss
Description: Bank’s loss is embarrassment for CEO, fodder for regulators
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: May 11, 2012
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize the reasons for the loss.
- What do you believe this event will mean for the company, management, and regulators?
Online Movies Set to Overtake DVDs and Blu-rays
Description: Web-based movie download and rental services, coupled with tablets and connected TVs, have led to greater online movie consumption
Source: emarketer.com
Date: 04/02/2012
Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008945&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the changes taking place.
- What are the reasons for these changes?
- How would you suggest the industry respond?
Best Buy’s moves meet with investor skepticism
Description: Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics chain, swung to a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by charges and lower sales of notebook computers and televisions.
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: 03/30/2012
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/best-buy-swings-to-loss-to-shut-50-stores-2012-03-29?siteid=nwtwk
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the reasons for Best Buy’s financial problems.
- Do you think they can be resolved easily?
Total Worldwide Social Network Ad Revenues Continue Strong Growth
March 5, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information
Description: Worldwide social network ad revenues are still going strong and set to grow nearly 50% this year, according to eMarketer estimates.
Source: eMarketer.com
Date: 02/24/2012
Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008862
Questions for discussion:
- What explains this rate of growth?
- At what point do you think it will level off?
- How should marketing managers deal with this information?
YouTube bets $100 million on original content
March 5, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information
Description: YouTube is enlisting Hollywood’s help to reach a generation of viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes.
Source: USAToday.com
Date: 02/20/2012
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-02-20/youtube-original-content/53170394/1
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think this production strategy can work?
- What other YouTube channel concepts do you think would succeed?
- Who are the target markets for these concepts?
Gen Y Speeds Up Luxury Goods Spending
February 27, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information
Description: Flash sale sites and the fashion industry’s maturing web presence boost sales to young consumers
Source: eMarketer.com
Date: 02/22/2012
Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008854&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the highlights in this report.
- Do you agree with the reasons given?
- Where do you think the marketplace is headed?
How Millennial Men React to Mobile Ads
February 20, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information
Description: eMarketer estimates that the number of US smartphone users will rise 44% this year to over 106 million. And as these users continue to do more activities on their phones, their likelihood of exposure to mobile advertising becomes assured.
Source: eMarketer.com
Date: 02/13/2012
Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008834&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
Questions for discussion:
- What does this research suggest to marketing managers, from a strategic planning point of view?
- Do you think this phenomenon will affect overall advertising planning in the future?
250,000 ask Apple to change its labor ways
Description: Petitions with over 250,000 signatures were delivered to Apple stores calling for reforms to working conditions in its suppliers’ factories.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/02/09/t-ts-change-org-signatures.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think Apple is being singled-out when the concerns likely apply to any company manufacturing in China?
- How should Apple’s management deal with group?
How Zuckerberg changed the game
Description: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg grew the college dorm room startup to a global tech giant with more users than most countries’ populations.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 02/03/2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/02/02/f_game_changers_facebook.fortune/
Questions for discussion:
- Who is Mark Zukerberg?
- Do you think his engineering background affected the way he managed the development of the company?
The $1.6 Billion Woman, Staying on Message
Description: SEVENTY-TWO hours before Facebook’s big moment, Sheryl K. Sandberg was half a world away, hobnobbing with the likes of Bill Gates and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Source: NYTimes.com
Date: 02/03/2012
Questions for discussion:
- How would you describe Sheryl Sandberg?
- Do you think her gender has helped, hurt, or made no difference in her success?
