Description: Computer maker’s shares fall more than 5% after the company reports a drop in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report  Date: 02/26/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/02/23/f_tm_dell_hp.fortune/ Questions for discussion: Why is Dell’s stock value falling? What would management have to do in order to improve profits? Is Dell a good candidate for merger… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Part 4: Marketing Management
Wall Street sours on Palm as smartphone sales stall
Description: Analysts say wireless-device maker has few options; few see buyout as likely. Source: Marketwatch – video report  Date: 02/26/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/palms-survival-at-stake-if-smartphones-dont-sell-2010-02-26?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Do you think investors have properly valued Palm in the past or presently? On what basis would you set a stock value for the firm? Is there a marketing… Read more »
Buffett’s $50 million credit card blunder
Description: Peddling credit cards isn’t so easy that a caveman can do it. That seems to be the conclusion Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) chief executive Warren Buffett reluctantly reached last year, when he shut down a money-losing credit card business he had dreamed up for Berkshire’s Geico car-insurance unit. Source: CNNMoney.com  Date: 02/27/2010… Read more »
Cellphones Let Shoppers Point, Click and Purchase
Description: Shoppers will soon be able to stand outside the designer Norma Kamali’s boutique in Manhattan, point a phone at merchandise in the window and buy it  even late at night when the store is closed. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 02/26/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/business/27shop.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Do you think this shopping behavior will become more… Read more »
Bloom box challenges: Reliability, cost
Description: In the wake of Wednesday’s star-studded, feel-good rollout of Bloom Energy’s “Bloom box” server, the start-up now faces the gritty task of delivering products that are reliable and cheap. Source: CNET.com Date: 02/24/2010 Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10458980-64.html?tag=rtcol;pop Questions for discussion: What are the implications for the conventional energy suppliers in the marketplace if these products prove… Read more »
Making wheels for wheelchairs
A 30 year GM veteran is applying his auto industry knowledge to a company that makes vehicles for the disabled. Source: CNNMoney – video report  Date: 02/19/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/02/19/n_vpg_hogan.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Why do you think the big automakers have not produced this sort of specialized vehicle? Does this sort of product require a… Read more »
Banks Focus on People Who Can Pay More for Credit Cards
Description: Rewards cardholders take note: the price of perks is about to go up. After years of profiting from debt-ridden credit cardholders, lenders are turning their attention to a potentially lucrative new source of fee income, the moneyed users of rewards programs who spend big and pay their bills on time. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 02/19/2010… Read more »
Pay for Hulu on the iPad? It may be your only choice
Description: Will Hulu come to the iPad? Probably. One day. But you had better get ready to pay for it. Hulu and its owners, three of the big broadcast TV networks, want to bring some version of the Web video service to Apple’s device. Source: CNET.com Date: 02/19/2010 Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10456822-93.html?tag=mncol Questions for discussion: How do… Read more »
Vancouver Olympics goes green
Description: The Olympic committee’s $1.8 billion budget includes medals made from recycled circuit boards and a sustainable skating ring. Source: CNNMoney – video report  Date: 02/12/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/02/12/n_ef_vancouver_olympics_green.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Do you believe these efforts to promote “green-thinking†at the Vancouver Olympic Games will be successful in creating greater consumer awareness and interest?… Read more »
At $3,250, Olympic hockey tix trump the Super Bowl
Description: Fancy a last-minute ticket to the opening ceremonies? Get ready to fork over about a thousand bucks. How about a glimpse at Shaun White at Wednesday’s halfpipe finals? It’ll set you back another $1,400. And as for rink-side seats at the men’s ice hockey final game… those will cost you more than this year’s… Read more »
