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… Read more »
Monthly Archives: April 2010
Oil traders eye $100 a barrel
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… Read more »
Yahoo sale of HotJobs gets closer scrutiny
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… Read more »
Consumers in U.S. Face the End of an Era of Cheap Credit
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… Read more »
Innovation, by Order of the Kremlin
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… Read more »
iPad searches for a use
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… Read more »
Costco mixes bagels, mahjong to woo customers overseas
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… Read more »
More anger expected to color annual meeting season
Description: Emerging standard calls for directors to win backing of a majority of investors Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 04/02/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-anger-expected-to-color-annual-meeting-season-2010-04-02?siteid=nwtwk 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.?
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… Read more »
Increase in March Employment Shows U.S. Recovery Is Broadening
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?… Read more »
