Oil traders eye $100 a barrel

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: NYMEX traders discuss high crude oil prices and the potential consequences for the economy.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 04/08/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2010/04/08/mkts_oil_traders_nymex.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the arguments presented that favor rising oil prices and arguments for prices heading lower?
  • Which direction do you see oil heading over the next six months?
  • Which stocks trading on the market will be most affected by a significant change in oil prices?

Yahoo sale of HotJobs gets closer scrutiny

Posted by & filed under Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Yahoo Inc.’s sale of the HotJobs jobs-listings service to Monster Worldwide Inc. is getting a closer examination from antitrust regulators at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Monster disclosed Friday.

Source: Marketwatch.com

Date: 04/09/2010

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yahoo-sale-of-hotjobs-gets-closer-scrutiny-2010-04-09

Questions for discussion:

  • Why does this sale by Yahoo make sense?
  • Why might there be concern of a reduction in market competition because of the sale to Monster.com?

Consumers in U.S. Face the End of an Era of Cheap Credit

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Even as prospects for the American economy brighten, consumers are about to face a new financial burden: a sustained period of rising interest rates.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 04/10/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/business/economy/11rates.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the predictions made in this report.
  • What affect they are expected to have on consumer spending.
  • Do you agree with these views?
  • What other factors will also likely influence consumers?

Innovation, by Order of the Kremlin

Posted by & filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description: AROUND the time that Apple Computer was making it big in California, Andrey Shtorkh was getting a first-hand look at the Soviet approach to high tech: he guarded the fence keeping scientists inside Sverdlovsk-45, one of the country’s secret scientific cities, deep in the Ural Mountains.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 04/10/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/business/global/11russia.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • What does this article suggest about changing attitudes towards business and entrepreneurialism in Russia?
  • Do you believe the movement described here is genuine and sustainable?

iPad searches for a use

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Apple loyalists are clamoring for their iPads, but it’s unclear how normal users will take to the tablet.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
 
Date: 04/02/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/04/01/tm_apple_ipad_sale.fortune/

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think the market for iPad is as big as the one for iPhone?
  • Are both products targeting the same customer?
  • Do you think iPad will turn out to be a huge success?
  • Would you consider the sale of college textbooks on iPad a good idea?

Costco mixes bagels, mahjong to woo customers overseas

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment.

Description: Looking up at the sign on a Costco building in Taipei, Taiwan, you could easily mistake it for one of the warehouse club’s giant U.S. outlets — until you notice the long line of customers snaking around the store, waiting to enter.

Source:  Marketwatch.com

Date: 04/01/2010

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/costco-seeks-to-lure-taiwan-shoppers-2010-04-01?siteid=nwtwk

Questions for discussion:

  • What are the similarities and differences between your local Costco outlet and the one described in this article?
  • Do you think that there is an “international Costco customer” that shops the same way anywhere in the world?
  • Why is Costco well suited for international business operations?

More anger expected to color annual meeting season

Posted by & filed under Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Emerging standard calls for directors to win backing of a majority of investors

Source: Marketwatch.com

Date: 04/02/2010

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-anger-expected-to-color-annual-meeting-season-2010-04-02?siteid=nwtwk

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think retail shareholders are more likely to exercise their voting power in the future?
  • How can corporate financial managers be expected to react?

Bargain Rates for a C.E.O.?

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description: LAST year may have been unnerving for chief executives accustomed to all of the familiar ornaments of corporate life: eight-figure pay packages, corporate jets, memberships in select clubs, and on and on.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 04/02/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/business/04comp.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think CEOs are fairly paid?
  • How would you set compensation for CEOs?

Increase in March Employment Shows U.S. Recovery Is Broadening

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment.

Description: Employment in March grew by the most in three years, representing a turning point for the labor market that will help broaden the U.S. economy as it recovers from the deepest recession in seven decades.

Source: Bloomberg.com

Date: 04/03/2010

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aDCWdea8_JO0

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the reasons given for economic and stock market optimism?
  • Do you agree with these opinions favoring economic improvement?
  • How do you expect the financial markets to perform over the next 12 months.

Converting Algae to Ethanol and into Money

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  Algae producers like Algenol — backed by Bill Gates, Exxon Mobil, Dow Chemical and the U.S. government, among others — work with the green plant to convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into biofuel. Steve Gelsi reports.

Source: Marketwatch.com – video report
 
Date: 03/15/2010

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/converting-algae-to-ethanol-and-into-money/78B02C2E-F227-4F8F-A952-3B5225E440E5

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think this sort of technology would be a high risk to investors?
  • How would you go about evaluating the price of the stock?
  • Does this sort of technology represent any special economic development opportunities for countries with access to sunlight and saltwater, like Florida?
  • Does this technology represent any threat to conventional energy producers?
  • Would it make sense for conventional energy producers to get involved in this effort?