Description: Corseted into a size 18 white denim dress, wearing heels that made her about 6-foot-2, Gwen DeVoe, a former model and fashion-show producer, stepped onto a runway in Manhattan this week and made a pitch to retailers for the plus-size woman. Source: NYTimes.com  Date: 06/18/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/19/business/19plus.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: What are the… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Part 1 Business in a Global Environment
A car for tree-huggers
Description: The new Smart fortwo EV doesn’t burn gas but an 85-mile range means frequent recharging. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 06/11/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/06/10/n_rw_smart_ev_review.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Why do you think the car will only be available for leasing and not for sale? Why do you think the majority of leases will be offered… Read more »
Business ethics, with a chuckle
Description: The quick videos can be described as “The Office” meets YouTube meets your annual Business Ethics 101 seminar. Source: MSNBC.com Date: 06/11/2010 Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37595722/ns/business-small_business/ Questions for discussion: Do you think this approach is better than traditional training efforts? Do you think this sort of training would appeal more to certain target markets rather than… Read more »
Study Says Math Deficiencies Increase Foreclosure Risk
Description: IF you can’t divide 300 by 2, should you qualify for a loan? That is one of the questions raised by a new study led by a Columbia University assistant business professor, Stephan Meier, who found that borrowers with poor math skills were three times more likely than others to go into foreclosure. Source:… Read more »
BP flexes muscle in D.C.
Description: Even before the April 20 explosion on its rig off the Louisiana coast, BP spent millions of dollars lobbying Washington’s power players. BP will now tap that power and influence as it tries to repair its image. Source: CNNMoney.com Date: 06/04/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/04/news/economy/BP_Washington_power/index.htm Questions for discussion: Do you believe BP has behaved ethically? Do… Read more »
McDonald’s recalls 12 million Shrek glasses
Description: McDonald’s is recalling 12 million drinking glasses featuring characters from the “Shrek” movie series because the paint used contains cadmium, which can pose health risks. Source: CNNMoney.com Date: 06/04/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/04/news/companies/mcdonalds_recall/index.htm Questions for discussion: What are the arguments that could be made that support the notion that this recall might harm McDonald’s brand in… Read more »
Inside the ugly world of vulture finance
Description: By his own admission, Allan Jones of Cleveland, Tennessee, has had to tighten his belt. He apparently still has his two jets, his vintage Rolls, his Bentley, and the Maybach his son drives to high school when the boy’s own car is in the shop. But Jones did have to sell the 157-foot yacht,… Read more »
Facebook Bows to Pressure Over Privacy
Description: Ever since Facebook was founded in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg, its chief executive, has pushed its users to share more information about themselves. Time and again, users have pushed back, complaining that some new feature or setting on the site violated their privacy. Source: NYTimes.com  Date: 05/26/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/technology/27facebook.html?scp=4&sq=Facebook&st=Search Questions for discussion: Summarize the… Read more »
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 »
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 »
