Description: Brett Arends tells us about one of the greatest trade blunders ever – a decision by Steve Jobs in 2003 to accept a safer but much lower returning investment in exchange for his 55 million Apple Stock options, now worth nearly $13 billion. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report  Date: 05/18/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/steve-jobs-makes-the-worst-trade-ever/74CD1F05-723A-4E63-BB16-DA4AC94AFFD5 Questions… Read more »
Posts By: Brahm Canzer
Home Depot is still a fixer upper
Description: When Home Depot reported its first comparable store sales growth in almost four years on Tuesday, plenty of investors wanted to see it as evidence that housing is back. “Our sales are an indication that the economy is recovering and the consumer is back,” Carol Tomé, Home Depot’s chief financial officer, hopefully told The… Read more »
Fear index soars to 14-month high
Description: Wall Street’s key measure of volatility skyrocketed on Thursday, as all major stock indexes plummeted on concerns about the European debt crisis. Source: CNNMoney.com  Date: 05/20/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/20/markets/VIX_fear_index/index.htm Questions for discussion: What is the VIX? How is the VIX related to stock market activity? How do you think investors will behave over the… Read more »
A Treatment for Declining Sales
Description: Epidavros Day Spa, in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., bears the name of the ancient Greek coastal town known as a healing sanctuary. But by the end of 2009, owner Sandra Rovira says the spa’s atmosphere was anything but restorative. Source: NYTimes.com  Date: 05/20/2010 Link: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/a-treatment-for-declining-sales/ Questions for discussion: What did you learn from this… Read more »
Gold ATM debuts in Abu Dhabi
Description: The world’s first gold vending machine is drawing crowds to The Emirates Palace, the most expensive hotel in the world. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 05/13/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/05/13/n_gold_atm.cnnmoney/  Questions for discussion: Who is the target market for this ATM? How do you think this sort of machine might influence buyer behavior? What does… Read more »
Adobe New Ads Take Aim at Apple
Description: Adobe launched an advertising campaign Thursday that takes an unexpected tack in its ongoing feud with Apple: proclaiming, in huge letters, Adobe’s love for the computer giant. Alan Murray and Walt Mossberg discuss this latest development. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report  Date: 05/13/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/digits-adobe-new-ads-take-aim-at-apple/F79B3650-3A47-46EF-91EE-5779C256CEE6 Questions for discussion: Summarize the competitive conflict going… Read more »
‘Shocking’ conditions at Tylenol plant
Description: The quality and safety violations that led to the shutdown of a Tylenol plant were extremely serious, and could lead to tough action by regulators on drugmaker Johnson & Johnson. Source: CNNMoney.com Date: 05/14/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/14/news/companies/tylenol_recall_plant_conditions/index.htm  Questions for discussion: Are there any excuses that the firm could offer the public that might mitigate… Read more »
CEO Pay Breaks Glass Ceiling as Bartz Gets $47.2 Million in ‘09
Description: Chief executive officers’ pay is shattering the glass ceiling. Boosted by a $47.2 million package for Carol Bartz of Yahoo! Inc. and $26.3 million for Irene Rosenfeld of Kraft Foods Inc., compensation for woman CEOs at the biggest U.S. companies is booming. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 05/13/2010 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aM3CXlOJRBcs Questions for discussion: What does this… Read more »
Google Data Admission Angers Europe
Description: European privacy regulators and advocates reacted angrily Saturday to the disclosure by Google, the world’s largest search engine, that it had systematically collected personal data since 2006 while compiling its Street View photo archive. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 05/15/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/technology/16google.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Summarize what you learned from the article. Do you think the… Read more »
The cost of Mother’s Day
Description: All the presents and dinners purchased for America’s moms adds up to billions of dollars. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 05/07/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/05/07/n_cmr_mothers_day_numbers.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: According to the report, which businesses are big winners at Mother’s Day? How do the marketing models in the textbook explain shopping behavior for Mother’s Day? Why… Read more »
