Description: Commentary: How much will you pay to regain personal time? Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 11/04/2011 Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-tv-business-model-is-doomed-2011-11-04 Questions for discussion: Do you believe the current business model is doomed? Do you believe there is a sizable segment of the market that would be willing to pay $1 per hour of commercial-free television? Where do you… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Apple Doles Out $60M Stock Grants to Execs
Description: Apple Inc. (AAPL), seeking to retain its management team in the wake of former Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs’s death last month, gave $60 million restricted-stock grants to most of its senior vice presidents. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 11/04/2011 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-04/apple-doles-out-stock-grants-to-several-of-its-top-executives.html Questions for discussion: Do you believe this is a wise financial planning decision at… Read more »
China’s vanishing factory bosses
Description: No one believed more fervently in China’s economic miracle than the residents of this pretty coastal city, which produces shoes, eyeglasses and cigarette lighters sold around the world. The good times of the past decade made many in Wenzhou rich, and residents repeatedly doubled their bets, pouring their earnings and more into stock markets… Read more »
Alaska’s Billion Dollar Mountain
Description: The story of one man who used a little persuasionâ€â€and a lot of luckâ€â€to win the rights to millions of tons of rare earths Source: Businessweek.com Date: 10/27/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/alaskas-billion-dollar-mountain-10272011.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the key points in this report? What did you learn about the industry from an “on the ground†point of… Read more »
Amazon falls on forecast; Street stays bullish
Description: Investors sold off shares of Amazon.com Wednesday, though Wall Street retained a largely positive view of the stock. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 10/26/2011 Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-falls-on-forecast-street-stays-bullish-2011-10-26?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Why did Amazon stock prices fall? Do you think the sellers made the right investment decision? Do you think Amazon is a good investment at this time?
Yahoo Said to Lean Toward Dividend, Buyback
Description: Yahoo! Inc. is leaning toward selling its Asian assets and redistributing the proceeds to shareholders, rather than selling itself to a group of buyers, according to five people familiar with the situation. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 10/29/2011 Link:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-28/yahoo-said-to-lean-toward-dividend-buyback-instead-of-sale.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the main points presented in this report. Do you think the decision… Read more »
The Green Bay Packers Have the Best Owners in Football
Description: The fans are shareholders. The CEO is a union leader and ex-player. The city is a dot on the map. The bizarre anomaly of the franchise that rules the NFL Source: Businessweek.com Date: 10/20/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/the-green-bay-packers-have-the-best-owners-in-football-10202011.html Questions for discussion: Explain the strategic success of the team from a managerial, marketing, and financial point of… Read more »
Can bank stocks bail out your portfolio?
Description: Year’s tumble lures value seekers, but they could be a trap Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 10/21/2011 Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-bank-stocks-bail-out-your-portfolio-2011-10-21 Questions for discussion: Summarize the main points presented in this report. Do you agree with the analysis and conclusions?
Gas pipeline CEO backs more regulation
Description:  Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel says that more regulation of oil pipeline safety will give the public greater confidence in the oil industry. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 10/13/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/10/12/n_enbridge_oil_sands_pipeline.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: What are the advantages and disadvantages of a pipeline supplying energy? Do you think a pipeline delivering energy from Canada’s… Read more »
Language Line Plans a Roll-Up as Translation Demand Soars
Description: The University of California Medical Center in San Francisco spends more than $3 million a year on translation services for thousands of patients who don’t speak English. Since 2009, the demand for foreign language interpreters from the center’s medical personnel has risen by a third, for languages ranging from Farsi to Mongolian. Source: Bloomberg.com… Read more »
