Description: Gallup’s recent study on the U.S. travel industry shows more bad news — on top of six months of losses — for airlines, one of the hardest-hit industries during the pandemic. The study finds that 68% of respondents don’t plan on air travel at all in the next six months, and most are very… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Shoppers Came Back To Department Stores In September, Lifting Retail Sales
Description: Shoppers bought more clothes and cars, and even returned to beleaguered department stores in September. Source: NPR.org Date: Oct 16, 2020 Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/10/16/919330560/shoppers-went-back-to-department-stores-in-september Questions for discussion: Summarize the highlights in this report. What is the overall impression you have of the retail picture and consumer shopping behavior?
Opinion: The stock market’s strength tells us less about the true state of the economy than at almost any other time over the last five decades
Description: The disconnect between the stock market and the economy increases as valuations become more stretched Source: MarketWatch.com Date: Oct 17, 2020 Link: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-stock-markets-strength-tells-us-less-about-the-true-state-of-the-economy-than-at-almost-any-other-time-over-the-last-five-decades-2020-10-13?mod=home-page Questions for discussion: What is the conventional understanding of the relationship between the stock market and the economy? What is the argument presented in this article? Do you agree?
Editor’s Edition: Can Canada shake its carbon belching image with clean energy?
Description: Yahoo Finance Canada’s Jeff Lagerquist speaks with Tom Rand, managing partner at ArcTern Ventures, about the future of clean energy in Canada. Source: Yahoo.Finance.com – video report Date: Oct 14, 2020 Link: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/video/editors-edition-canada-shake-carbon-132140399.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the key points debated about the energy industry as presented in this interview. What direction do you… Read more »
New job listings for Amazon’s internal telemedicine service, Amazon Care, hint at expansion
Description: Amazon Care, the company’s online medical clinic for its own employees, is trying to hire half a dozen people in business development roles to “build and grow relationships with commercial and public sector enterprises.” Most of the roles were posted in the past month. Source: CNBC.com Date: Ocy 16, 2020 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/16/amazon-care-telemedicine-service-job-listings-hint-at-expansion.html Questions for… Read more »
When Shoplifting Is A Felony: Retailers Back Harsher Penalties For Store Theft
Description: A new report by the consumer-interest nonprofit Public Citizen calls out major retailers — Best Buy, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Target, Walmart and others — for donating to trade associations and campaigns promoting harsher shoplifting penalties in at least 18 states. The retailers succeeded in 11 of them, according to the report. Source: NPR.org Date: Oct 16,… Read more »
Rethinking Success Metrics in the Time of Coronavirus
Description: Covid-19 has changed business. How you measure success must change too. Source: INC.com Date: Oct 09, 2020 Link: https://www.inc.com/maria-haggerty/rethinking-success-metrics-in-time-of-coronavirus.html?utm_source=incthismorning Questions for discussion: Summarize the key arguments presented in this article that argue for alternative metrics of success. Do you think most business people would agree with this assessment and advice?
Air Canada slashes price of Transat deal, citing COVID impact
Description: Air Canada slashed the purchase price for tour operator Transat AT Inc. to almost a quarter of its earlier offer, citing the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the air transport industry. Source: BNNBloomberg.com Date: Oct 10, 2020 Link: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/air-canada-slashes-price-of-transat-deal-citing-covid-impact-1.1506462 Questions for discussion: Explain the change in valuation for Transat. How does the reduction… Read more »
SPOS #743 – Gary Hamel On Creating Amazing Organizations
Description: Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #743 – Host: Mitch Joel. It’s hard to imagine a more recognized business thinker than Gary Hamel. He is, without question, one of the world’s most influential and iconoclastic business thinkers. He has worked with leading companies across the globe, and is a dynamic and sought-after management speaker…. Read more »
Fourth-generation movie theater operator says chain is months from bankruptcy
Description: B&B Theatres, the sixth-largest cinema chain in the U.S., has been operating for nearly 100 years. Its owners now say it is months away from filing for bankruptcy protection. Source: CNBC.com Date: Oct 09, 2020 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/09/movie-theater-operator-bb-theatres-says-its-months-from-bankruptcy.html Questions for discussion: Are there any solutions to this situation? What can management do to prolong operations… Read more »
